Agrochemical company PI Industries has unveiled Pioxaniliprole, an insecticide molecule that India's Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB&RC) has formally recognised as the first insecticide active ingredient discovered in the country. The company made the announcement in New Delhi on Thursday.
The molecule is aimed first at fall armyworm, a pest that does heavy damage to maize. The company expects it to work against certain pests of paddy and chillies as well.
PI Industries says the discovery is the result of more than a decade of research and investment. The molecule was assessed under Indian conditions through multi-location field trials, scientific evaluations and regulatory studies, with State Agricultural Universities among the research bodies that took part. Its registration came from the CIB&RC, which sits under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
"Today, Pioxaniliprole demonstrates what is possible when our deep understanding of Indian agriculture meets world-class science," said Mayank Singhal, the company's Vice Chairperson and Managing Director. He said the company began building its own crop protection discovery capability more than ten years ago, which took long-term investment.
Chairperson Narayan K. Seshadri called the molecule an important milestone for Indian agricultural science and the foundation for the company's next generation of discoveries.
The company's research covers molecular discovery, chemistry, biology, formulation science, toxicology, agronomy, process development and manufacturing. It says it employs more than 700 scientists, over 200 of them with PhDs, and holds more than 260 patents.
For maize growers, a new active ingredient adds one more option against a pest that is hard to control. The announcement, reported by Ajeet Singh for Rural Voice, did not say when the product will reach farmers or what it will cost.
Photo: Wee Hong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Rural Voice
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