Pilarbio：Working imaginatively on CS – an innovative cutting-edge formulation

Editor：Mickey Shan

Feature : Showcase of China’s ″Specialized and Novel″ crop protection products/technologies/applications

▋ Special sponsor: Lansheng Biotechy 

▋ A total of 11 enterprises are introduced in this series; The Feature was first published in the latest "2023 China Pesticide Industry Watch" 

The overall industrial upgrading of Chinese manufacture industry happens to coincides with the unprecedented changes in the last 100 years. 

In this new era full of opportunities and policy support, the Chinese pesticide enterprises have worked hard to achieve constant technical breakthroughs via innovation and upgrading, as based on the experiences gained in the past decades. Some enterprises have so far made preliminary achievements, having formed an advanced and sophisticated technology and product cluster. 

In this Feature, we have selected 11 Chinese pesticide manufacturers that are characterized with professionalism, intensification, specialization and novelty, which is a presentation of Chinese pesticide enterprise’s research and development of new products, breakthroughs in technical innovation, upgrading of type of formulations and continued exploration of applications. The publication will exhibit the achievements in each individual sector, which is internationally advanced, revealing the new competitiveness of Chinese pesticide industry.

▉Series of special topics are released in succession → specially planned by AgroPages

• Lansheng Biotech：Green chemical innovation drives fine chemical production to reach a new level

• Eastlake High-Tech: Application of microreaction, continuous flow technologies to improve quality of plant growth regulators

• Qilu, industry leader of high quality spinosad

• KingAgroot – Innovative flagship integrating compound creation and biotechnical breeding

• CAC Nantong: Cyproflanilide, a created novel insecticide with unique action mechanism

• Yonon: Production of L-glufosinate on multienzyme

• Lier Chemical: 20,000-ton L-glufosinate production capacity to start running soon

• Red Sun: Diquat dichloride aims to create new burndown herbicide market trend

• Fosetyl-aluminium: Focusing on European wine grape market, Limin’s product concept upgraded

• Pilarbio: Working imaginatively on CS – an innovative cutting-edge formulation

• Chengdu New Sun: Making breakthroughs in industrialized application of plant growth regulation coronatine, first time in the world

【 Pilarbio：Working imaginatively on CS – an innovative cutting-edge formulation 】

The pressure of chemical pesticides on human and animal health and ecological environment has become increasingly a concern among governments and international organizations around the world. The goal of environmental conservation, improvement of the effectiveness of pesticides and the sustainable development of agriculture suggests a higher requirement on pesticide formulation and application technologies.

Pesticide microencapsulation is one of the measures to improve the utilization rate of pesticides. This technology uses macromolecular organic materials, utilizing the microcapsule preparation technique to encapsulate chemical pesticide molecules to improve the lasting effect of pesticide formulations through a balanced control via rapid release and slow release. Pesticide microcapsule technology can also reduce the amount of use of pesticides while improving the utilization rate of active ingredients, which greatly improves the utilization rate of chemical pesticides, thus having attracted the attention from the pesticide formulation research and development practitioners worldwide.

Over the last 10 years, the Chinese pesticide industry has advanced rapidly, where cutting-edge formulation technologies such as microencapsulation has progressed significantly and has become one of the fastest growing types of formulation. Accordingly, the CS formulation has appeared as one of the most excellent pesticide formulations today. Since 2011, Pilarquim has focused on the research of the microencapsulation technology of chemical pesticides, focusing on a differentiated strategy of development. The company has grown into an international industry leader in pesticide microencapsulation through its continued effort on innovative development of pesticide formulations, having successfully promoted the high-quality formulation products of Chinese brands to the global market.

As one of the drafters of the industry standard of lambda-cyhalothrin CS, Pilarquim has done a lot of in-depth research work on lambda-cyhalothrin CS, covering different content, different control target, mixture variety, application of seed treatment agent and soil insect control. The research carried out by the company enabled a full play of all functions of lambda-cyhalothrin CS. In 2014, Pilarquim launched its first CS product - PILARMD (lambda-cyhalothrin 23%), which was highly regarded by users once it was released to market. Since then, Pilarquim has worked on development of lambda-cyhalothrin CS and launched several products of the kind, forming its strong product portfolio of the lambda-cyhalothrin CS series.

The CS agent produced by Pilarquim has an excellent particle size distribution, which is of optimal particle size (BOD) fit for uptake by creatures. The CS agent can also ensure a proper spreadability on crops or pests, so as to maintain its quick effect. In the early stage, the control release technique of Pilarquim is a zero-level release, which is identical to the release mechanism of regular products, aiming to maintain the quick effect; in the later stage, the release technique is of 1/level release, which ensures a lasting effect.

PILARMD’s Particle Size Distribution

Microscope Photos of PILARMD (lambda-cyhalothrin CS 23%)

Syngenta is the first company in the world to make lambda-cyhalothrin CS formulation. Via consolidation of the microcapsule technology of Zeon in Japan, Syngenta developed the first synthesized lambda-cyhalothrin + thiamethoxam formulation (ZC) in China; Pilarquim made further optimization to synthesize the brand-new mixture ZC product PILARCLOTRIN, which is based on lambda-cyhalothrin + clothianidin. PILARCLOTRIN has the respective advantages of lambda-cyhalothrin and clothianidin, which are proportioned in a best manner to have the maximized cotoxicity coefficient of the two, thus killing insects more quickly, whilst the microcapsule technology prolongs the lasting period of PILARCLOTRIN. Hence, the mixture can truly reduce the amount of use and increase the efficiency of use, which is the distinctive feature of the microcapsule technology.

In 2021, Pilarquim made one more technical breakthrough in the microencapsulation development, which solved the problem of skin irritation of lambda-cyhalothrin to sensitive people in the course of spraying. The new PILARCLOTRIN uses a patented irritation-reducing technique, which adds a special capsule wall material to firstly coat the agent while using algae extracts to modify and upgrade the original capsule wall material, having effectively solved the problem of skin irritation.

In 2021, Pilarbio, a new group, was established, based on the integration of Pilarquim’s domestic, overseas, and other specialized subsidiaries. Through 10 years of continuous research on microencapsulation technology, Pilarbio has formed its technical origination system, including the insecticide-oriented ″microcapsule step release″ technique, the fungicide-oriented ″twice film formation″ technique and the herbicide-oriented ″wait-for-weed″ technique, which uses different production processes, or different capsule materials, or different release curves against different compounds in order to achieve desired results. The technology has become the core competitiveness of Pilarbio.

Up to date, Pilarbio possesses four major product series, including fungicide microcapsule series, insecticide microcapsule series, herbicide microcapsule series and seed treatment microcapsule series, which are based upon lambda-cyhalothrin, S-metholachlor, prochloraz and abamectin. Today, more than 20 products have been registered or are waiting for registration. With grant of overseas registrations of a large number of microcapsule products, Pilarbio’s microencapsulation technology already goes global. In 2021, the lambda-cyhalothrin CS was released to the Brazilian market. In the next three years, more than 20 new microcapsule products are expected to be released to the markets at home and abroad.

Going forward Pilarbio is prepared to maintain its R&D spending at above 4% of annual sales, which will target at the following key areas: Move from slow release toward controlled release; environment-friendly material to supersede synthetic wall materials to reduce disposal of microplastics in the environment; formula design customized to different application scenarios; safer and more environment-friendly preparation method; and scientific evaluation criteria.

This article was initially published in AgroPages' 2023 China Pesticide Industry Watch magazine.