KingAgroot CropScience: Transformation from herbicide specialist to global agricultural technology innovator

Editor’s Note: Qingdao KingAgroot CropScience Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ″KingAgroot″) is an emerging multinational agricultural biotechnology company based in Qingdao. As a representative of the rapid advancements in China’s agrochemical industry, KingAgroot is evolving into a globally influential agricultural technology innovator. The company’s operations encompass pesticide research and development, manufacturing, sales, and biotechnology-based breeding, with a commitment to delivering innovative crop protection and enhancement solutions for agriculture worldwide. KingAgroot has escalated itself from a provider of solely herbicides to a comprehensive crop science company, expanding its portfolio to include insecticides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, and more.

Recently, AGROPAGES had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with senior executives from KingAgroot. Let’s explore the company’s developmental journey, innovation strategies, and future aspirations.

Kevin Cheng, General Manager, China/APAC	Jack Chen, Deputy General Manager and CMO, China/APAC	Hua Cheng, Marketing Director, China	Carrick Zhong, Customer Marketing Director, China

AGROPAGES: The agrochemical industry is currently navigating a critical phase of development, with companies across different tiers of the global agrochemical value chain performing at varying levels. In this context, how do you perceive the present industry cycle?

Kevin Cheng: The industry is indeed experiencing a distinctive historical period due to factors such as supply-demand imbalances, geopolitical tensions, and a slowdown in innovation. Some industry peers refer to this as a downturn cycle. However, it is precisely in such challenging historical times that a company’s innovation pipeline, talent pool, marketing system, sustained reserves for and construction of operational excellence, as well as its determination and execution in management optimization and transformation, are put to the test. Whether through adding or subtracting resources, restructuring, or pivoting, the capacity for continuous innovation and self-driven evolution is essential for most companies to navigate the challenges posed by industry cycles. Moreover, these cycles can act as both a crucible and an opportunity for a company’s growth and success. In light of the current industry landscape, KingAgroot is also implementing more proactive adjustments.

AGROPAGES: In the current industry landscape, how does KingAgroot define its development strategy as an innovative company? What has been KingAgroot’s development journey, and how will it evolve in the future?

Jack Chen: KingAgroot positions itself as an innovator in new pesticides and seeds from China, focusing on two key areas to drive agricultural advancement: first, plant protection, which involves the research and innovation of patented insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and biostimulants; second, biotechnology-based breeding, which includes hybrid breeding, genetically modified organisms, and gene editing. KingAgroot’s development can be divided into three stages:

First Stage (Before 2018): KingAgroot primarily focused on in-depth research and innovation of post-patent compounds, such as cyhalofop-butyl, promoting it a more widely used herbicide to control barnyard grass following the introduction of penoxsulam.

Second Stage (2018 to 2023): KingAgroot successfully launched its first batch of self-developed patented products. This included four patented herbicides—Cypyrafluone (CPF), Bipyrazone (BPZ), Fenpyrazone (FPZ), and Tripyrasulfone (TPS)—which effectively tackle significant resistant weed issues in wheat, corn, and rice. The success of these products established KingAgroot as one of the agrochemical companies capable of consistently developing new compounds.

Third Stage (Since 2024): KingAgroot is set to launch its second batch of patented compounds, including Flusulfinam (FSM), Flufenoximacil (FFO), and Fluchloraminopyr-tefuryl (FCA). These compounds mark a new pinnacle in KingAgroot’s R&D capabilities. From the perspective of the R&D pipeline, aligning with its repositioning as a leader in ″Crop Science″ after changing the company name, KingAgroot has expanded into the areas of insecticides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, and biotechnology-based breeding.

I would like to invite Hua Cheng, the Market Director for the China region, to give us a more in-depth introduction to KingAgroot’s product pipeline.

Hua Cheng: Looking ahead to 2030, KingAgroot plans to introduce 16 innovative compounds into its pipeline, each with an average of 3-4 formulations, aiming to launch approximately 60 patented formulations in the Chinese market. From an R&D perspective, starting in 2024, we also intend to begin the registration process for 3-4 new patented compounds each year, covering categories such as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and more.

Here are some characteristics of several newly ISO-named compounds:

1. Flusulfinam: This is a new generation of HPPD-inhibiting herbicides with an amide structure. It is safe for use on both indica and japonica rice varieties and effectively controls annual resistant grasses, some broadleaf weeds, and annual sedges, demonstrating excellent herbicidal efficacy even under low-temperature and low-light conditions.

2. Flufenoximacil: This is a new generation of PPO herbicides that significantly enhances efficacy against grass weeds, exhibiting high activity even at gram-per-mu usage levels. It acts quickly, demonstrating exceptional effectiveness against resistant Eleusine indica and offers a broad spectrum of activity, effectively managing over 170 weed species. It also boasts stable performance in low temperatures, is environmentally friendly, and provides high flexibility for subsequent crops.

3. Fluchloraminopyr-tefuryl: This synthetic hormone, non-selective herbicide has a broad spectrum of activity, effectively managing resistant Eleusine indica, Conyza canadensis, Commelina communis, Cirsium segetum, Sonchus arvnensis, Alternanthera philoxeroides, vines, small shrubs, and couch grass. It offers good stability in low temperatures and possesses strong systemic activity, making it an excellent tool for resistance management. Its extended control period provides 1 to 2 times longer weed suppression compared to conventional solutions, effectively reducing the frequency of application needed while saving labor.

4. Cinflubrolin: This is a new type of FAT (fatty acid thiolase) inhibitor that can be safely applied in transplanted, dry direct-seeded, and wet direct-seeded rice fields. It effectively suppresses major grass weeds like Echinochloa, E. oryzicola, Leptochloa chinensis and Digitaria sanguinalis, as well as certain annual sedges, while also providing some efficacy against early-stage small weeds post emergence. With a long-lasting effect and no cross-resistance with current mainstream herbicides, it serves as an essential tool for managing weed resistance in rice cultivation. 

5. Isoflualanam: This is a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride channel allosteric modulator, featuring a unique mechanism of action that does not exhibit cross-resistance with other insecticides. Isoflualanam offers systemic and translaminar activity, acting rapidly against a broad spectrum of pests, including lepidopterans, coleopterans, acarina, hemipterans (such as aphids), and thysanoptera (thrips).

6. Broclozone: This is a patented DOXP inhibitor, featuring both soil and foliar activity, making it suitable for a wide range of crops including wheat, soybeans, cotton, garlic, peanuts, watermelon, and rapeseed. It offers flexible post-crop application options and effectively controls key weeds like Italian ryegrass, cleaver, speedwell, malachium, wild oats, Echinochloa, Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus retroflexus, and Portulaca oleracea. With no cross-resistance with existing mainstream herbicides, it represents a powerful solution for managing resistant weeds.

In addition to the above-mentioned compounds, KingAgroot’s pipeline also includes FX-577, an excellent innovative fungicide/nematicide. This product helps growers effectively address challenges posed by Fusarium-induced diseases such as fusarium head blight, sclerotinia, stem base rot, bakanae disease, and root-knot nematodes. Another noteworthy addition is FL-131, a fungicide with a novel mechanism of action that delivers high efficacy against a range of higher fungi and oomycetes, including downy mildew, gray mold, powdery mildew, anthracnose, and sclerotinia.

It is predicted that, just for herbicides, the new products will serve over 300 million mu in the next five years, offering growers a more streamlined farming experience, effectively managing resistance development, and providing robust support for increased crop yields.

AGROPAGES: In 2022, your company transitioned from focusing solely on herbicides to becoming a comprehensive crop science company, rebranding itself as ″Qingdao KingAgroot CropScience.″ What are the strategic motivations behind this shift? Could you elaborate on the brand structure and the origin of the name KingAgroot?

Jack Chen: As a biotechnology company, KingAgroot aspires to be an innovator and leader in the fields of new pesticides and seeds. We understand that future agricultural solutions will not depend solely on individual pesticides or seeds; instead, they will require integrated crop protection and biotechnological advancements in variety improvement. The rebranding to ″Qingdao KingAgroot CropScience″ marks our strategic transition from a firm dedicated to the herbicide sector to a comprehensive crop science company.

The 清原 brand draws its inspiration from the phrase ″思与天下式明王度，正本清源″ from the ″Book of Jin: Annals of Emperor Wu,″ which implies solving problems from the root. The ″root″ in our English name ″KingAgroot″ also reflects this philosophy. In terms of the brand structure, the ″KingAgroot″ brand originated from the agrochemical sector and represents the main brand of the crop science company. Under the ″KingAgroot″ umbrella, we have established the sub-brand ″KingField″ specifically for the seed science sector.

AGROPAGES: We’ve observed that KingAgroot has recruited numerous talents from multinationals, many of whom have prior experience at leading firms like Syngenta, Bayer, and ADAMA. How do you perceive the shifts in KingAgroot’s talent strategy, and how have these talents integrated into the company?

Kevin Cheng: Attracting talents from multinationals is a key aspect of KingAgroot’s growth strategy. The inclusion of colleagues with international backgrounds brings international management experience and perspectives, showcasing our commitment to learning from global firms. Not only in the Chinese market, but as KingAgroot expands its teams overseas, we are adopting best practices from multinationals in talent attraction and development. I’d like to highlight a few reasons why these professionals chose to join KingAgroot and how they have integrated into our organization:

First, it’s the environment. Recently, during a discussion with the founder about KingAgroot’s inclusive corporate culture, we discovered that over 60% of our management team, including director-level scientists, have backgrounds in multinationals. Additionally, more than 20% of our R&D team, which consists of nearly 100 PhDs, has studied abroad. Embracing diversity and international perspectives has become a defining feature of KingAgroot’s talent structure. While respect and empowerment are often touted as culture of knowing and practicing in many organizations, our founders, Lian Lei and Zhuang Runqing, take a more pragmatic approach. To build an extraordinary KingAgroot, we not only need to attract top talents but also inspire the dreams of every individual.

Second, it’s innovation. Throughout the development and refinement of numerous compounds, multinationals have been the primary drivers of innovative research and development. KingAgroot’s unique approach to innovation is focused on learning from and honoring all pioneering R&D multinationals. What sets us apart, I think, is that our innovation outcomes integrate traditional chemical pesticides with modern biotechnology, prioritizing practical resource allocation, swift market responsiveness, and targeted agility for specific crops and regions.

Third, we embrace the concept ″You succeed, China succeeds.″ Many individuals are drawn to multinationals for their patent advantages, strong brands, advanced operational efficiency and effective management models, as well as fair performance recognition and incentives. They aspire to become elite professional managers as their companies grow. ″You succeed, China succeeds″ is prominently displayed on a wall in KingAgroot’s lobby, and seeing it for the first time made me reflect: Can KingAgroot emerge as a leading voice and force for innovation in China’s agrochemical industry? Is there potential for the KingAgroot brand to stand alongside established multinationals? As KingAgroot continuously refines its development, engages in agile learning, and implements practical empowerment, how do these efforts measure up against the challenges faced by traditional multinationals? Does KingAgroot’s focus on talent and incentive policies provide a competitive edge comparable to that of leading global firms? If we can align our understanding on these questions and have the opportunity to witness and support the advancement of Chinese innovative enterprises, what remains is the courage to step out from under the shadow of larger platforms and redefine ourselves.

KingAgroot is currently at a pivotal moment for significant business growth, and the demand for diverse talents is greater than ever. As the saying goes, ″Heroes are not defined by their origins.″ In this spirit, KingAgroot is embracing self-reflection, encouraging open-mindedness, and actively seeking to attract the best talents from across the industry.

AGROPAGES: In China, some large companies have recruited senior talents from multinationals, but these individuals often struggle to adapt. Mr. Chen, as an executive with a multinational background who has spent many years in a private enterprise, what are your thoughts on this?

Jack Chen: It’s hard to believe I’ve been at KingAgroot for nearly seven years now, which is roughly the same length of time I spent at Syngenta. I think the reasons I've been able to stay at KingAgroot for so long—and plan to continue doing so—are primarily the following:

First and foremost is innovation. KingAgroot offers a wealth of opportunities for innovation, making it highly attractive to ambitious professionals. At times, I feel like KingAgroot resembles a school; our office buildings are named ″Science Building,″ ″Pursuit of Truth Building,″ and ″Exploration Building,″ which lends an academic atmosphere to the environment.

Second, there is a strong emphasis on respect and collaboration. The distinction between foreign and private enterprises often hinges on specific qualities, and I believe there are notable differences even among similar companies. The experience of joining at various stages of development can vary significantly. The founders of KingAgroot are dynamic individuals who have no desire to turn the company into a personal venture; instead, they aim to build a company for a community of dreamers. The overall culture at KingAgroot greatly values professional expertise and talent. It has implemented equity incentive programs for management, key positions, and exceptional contributors. The company empowers its management team, facilitating agile decision-making. Beyond the typical characteristics of a startup, I find many aspects reminiscent of outstanding foreign companies. Additionally, KingAgroot offers free meals and well-equipped fitness facilities, and I personally enjoy the pleasant coastal climate of Qingdao.

Third, it’s all about dreams. China is now in an era ripe for the emergence of a new generation of multinationals. We have the opportunity to leverage innovation to showcase Chinese technology on the global stage and create enterprises akin to Huawei or BYD.

AGROPAGES: What expectations does KingAgroot have when looking for channel partners?

Carrick Zhong: KingAgroot currently boasts a distribution network of over 10,000 partners across platforms, wholesale, and retail. When evaluating potential channel partners, we consider several key factors in addition to financial strength and strategic alignment:

Willingness to collaborate and value alignment: Shared values are essential for successful partnerships, as they ensure all parties are aligned and working toward the same objectives.

Market coverage capability: We seek partners with strong market coverage that is both broad and deep, allowing for prompt and efficient delivery of products and solutions to end-users.

New product promotion capability: Experience and innovation in marketing and promoting unique or patented products are essential.

Reputation: The degree of contract compliance across different channel levels is also significant.

Whether for existing clients or new ones, with the launch of our pipeline products, KingAgroot hopes to grow and create value together with our partners. We believe that collaboration built on shared values and mutual benefit is essential for lasting stability, allowing us to tackle market challenges and seize opportunities together.

AGROPAGES: In terms of external collaboration, does the company plan to expand its partnerships in the future? What is KingAgroot’s strategy for external cooperation? What is KingAgroot’s perspective on collaborating with multinationals?

Kevin Cheng: I’ve only been with KingAgroot for a few months, but I have witnessed a high volume of strategic partnership visits from global and China headquarters executives of top R&D multinationals and leaders of major domestic enterprises. This highlights a strong recognition and acknowledgement of our innovative R&D pipeline and capabilities. KingAgroot maintains an open attitude towards collaboration with multinationals, guided by a win-win principle that emphasizes respect, professionalism, and pragmatism. If opportunities arise, such as in business collaborations, KingAgroot is eager to jointly launch patented compound formulations in the domestic market and share resources while expanding into overseas markets with multinationals.

AGROPAGES: Thank you for the insightful sharing. Finally, could you summarize and give us an outlook on KingAgroot’s future development?

KingAgroot: As a rapidly growing innovative agricultural technology company, we see a future full of both opportunities and challenges. Our development strategy is centered around several key areas:

Continuous innovation: We will continue to invest in research and development in the pesticide and seed sectors.

Comprehensive approach: Our aim is to become a comprehensive crop science company that offers integrated solutions for growers.

International expansion: We are actively expanding into overseas markets, aiming to establish KingAgroot as a globally influential Chinese brand.

Digital transformation: We are embracing digital technology to drive the digital transformation of agricultural production and management, providing farmers with more precise and efficient solutions.

Sustainable development: We are committed to sustainable development principles, creating more eco-friendly products to support global sustainable agriculture.

Talent cultivation: We will continue to attract and nurture international talents to foster a diverse workforce.

Industry chain integration: We will capitalize on our strengths in the pesticide and seed sectors to explore opportunities for integrating the industry chain, delivering more comprehensive solutions for our clients.

Looking ahead, we will embrace the philosophy of ″solving problems from the root,″ using innovation as a catalyst for development to make a meaningful contribution to the sustainable growth of global agriculture. Through our unwavering efforts, we believe KingAgroot will emerge as a leading example of the Chinese agrochemical industry on the global stage.

Conclusion:

Through this in-depth interview, we have observed KingAgroot’s strategic alignment and evolution from a firm primarily focused on herbicides to a comprehensive crop science company. KingAgroot’s success is evident not only in its innovative capabilities and expanded product offerings but also in its keen understanding of industry trends and proactive strategic planning.

KingAgroot’s development strategy encompasses innovation, market expansion, talent cultivation, and sustainable development, reflecting the holistic approach of a growing enterprise. Notably, KingAgroot’s efforts to attract international talents and establish a global brand provide a strong foundation for its international expansion and offer valuable insights for other Chinese agrochemical companies venturing into the global market.

In light of the current challenges facing the global agrochemical industry, KingAgroot’s growth strategies and future plans undoubtedly bring fresh energy to the industry. We look forward to witnessing KingAgroot maintain its innovative momentum and make greater contributions to the sustainable development of global agriculture. At the same time, we hope to see more Chinese agrochemical companies emerge on the global stage, demonstrating the strength of Chinese innovation.