KingAgroot’s patented herbicide Bipyrazone project wins National Science and Technology Award in China

 KingAgroot’s patented compound Bipyrazone and application research project, which is incorporated in the project of the “key technology for control of resistant food crop weeds” submitted by Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was awarded the Second Prize of National Science & Technology Progress Award under the umbrella of National Science and Technology Award, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on November 3.

 In the past 20 years, weed resistance has dramatically increased in agricultural production, resulting in a vicious circle of “increased resistance to weeds – the increased use of herbicides.” This poses a serious threat to food security, safety and the ecology. The research program aims to solve the problems of resistant weeds in China, such as the large variety distributed widely and leading to significant losses.

Twenty years after research on the dynamic monitoring platform and rapid detection, the company has identified the resistant mechanism of weeds and created a novel herbicide. It has established a highly-efficient precision control system for the control of resistant weeds. The system has been used on large area plantations and resulted in remarkable economic and ecological benefits.

The HPPD inhibitor Bipyrazone, developed by KingAgroot with its independent intellectual property rights, is free of cross-resistance with common wheat field broad-leaf herbicides such as ALS, PPO, PSII and hormones. The product is very effective against resistant weeds in a wheat field, with a low risk of resistance.

Via application of the “differentiated target control by rotated herbicide application against resistance” and the “multi-target herbicide application against resistance” technologies, the product ensures a significant reduction of herbicide selection pressure, playing an essential role in precision prevention and control. The application of the system in different regions and by different planting modes shows a significant effect of control, which can reduce dosage by 30% or above. 

Structure of Bipyrazone

The Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Award is China’s recognition of KingAgroot’s novel herbicidal compound. KingAgroot has achieved a lot in the development of novel herbicidal compounds. In the past decade, KingAgroot has commercialized four patented herbicides – Cypyrafluone, Bipyrazone, Fenpyrazone and Tripyrasulfone. In the next few years, one expects several novel patented compounds in the market. When that happens, KingAgroot could become the company with the largest number of valid patented herbicides worldwide.

By the end of October 2021, KingAgroot has filed for 189 invention patents in China, of which 80 are authorized. It has filed 113 PCT invention patents and launched 763 patents to various countries via PCT or Paris Convention, a total of 157 items of patents were authorized accumulatively. 

In recent years, KingAgroot has continued its technical innovation and is building up to higher standard research and development facilities to meet the new requirement. On New Year’s Day this year, the epoch-making KingAgroot Innovation Center, located within the Sino-German Ecopark, was brought on stream, comprising three world-class research and development platforms: herbicidal compound creation platform, biotech breeding platform and software platform. The innovation center serves as an accelerator of incubation and commercialization of herbicidal breeding. It is also an engine that drives the business growth of KingAgroot.

KingAgroot says that the company is determined to adhere to its mission, “To build a world without famine by exploring life-science”, and will constantly increase spending on innovation to devote itself to world food security.

About the National Science and Technology Award

Established in 2000 by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the National Science and Technology Award rewards citizens and organizations to make outstanding contributions to China’s scientific and technological advancement. The award consists of five individual awards: National Top Science and Technology Award, National Award for Natural Sciences, National Invention Award, National Science & Technology Progress Award and International Science & Technology Cooperation Award. Among them, the National Science & Technology Progress Award is awarded to Chinese citizens and organizations that have made creative contributions in technical research, technical development, technical innovation, promotion, application and commercialization of advanced scientific and technological achievements and in planning and completion of key science and technology research programs.