The Fungicide Market is valued at USD 20.8 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 28.0 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period.
The fungicide market has been influenced by some of the macro indicators witnessed across the globe. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, total agricultural land under organic farming for grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables is increasing year after year. Global agricultural land under organic farming in 2020 was 74.95 million hectares, showing a growth of 5.40% from 71.11 million hectares in 2018. This increase in agricultural land under organic farming, provides farmers with the opportunity to fulfil rising domestic and worldwide organic food demand. As a result, farmers are using fungicides to protect their crops from various fungal infestations to minimize crop losses and increase overall crop yield.
With the rise in global pesticide consumption and the increase in foreign direct investments in agricultural activities, the trend of investing in R&D activities to sustainable agriculture techniques has significantly boosted the use of various fungicides in the agriculture industry. The major crop type on which the maximum fungicides application is carried out is cereals and grains with the mode of application being spraying and seed treatment.
High demand for seed coating in commercial agricultural operations is driving the market
Because several fungi pathogens are carried on or in the seed, seed treatment with fungicides is critical. Furthermore, once the seed is sown, it is vulnerable to attack by many common soil-borne pathogens, which can result in seed rot, seeding mortality, or disease production later. Seed treatment is the most effective and cost-effective method of disease control, and is promoted as a standard practice in crop protection against soil and seed-borne pathogens. Seed treatment is therapeutic when pathogens infect embryos, cotyledons, or endosperms under the seed coat, as seeds have protective seed surfaces which prevent soil-borne pathogens from entering the seedling.
Some active ingredients used for seed treatment fungicides are metalaxyl, mefenoxam, captan, carboxin and thiram, carboxin and captan, fludioxonil and mefenoxam and thiram, applied to provide protection against pythium, phytophthora, rhizoctonia, Phomopsis, and fusarium.
Curative disease control, internal protection and translocation to hidden plant parts is showing an efficacy thus driving the market towards systemic fungicide
Systemic products, often referred to as penetrants, are absorbed by the plant and can spread to other areas of the plant from the location of application. They are locally systemic (only move a short distance away from the spray droplet) others are more mobile in the plant (systemic) and can move to the tip of the leaf or shoot and still others are highly systemic and can move throughout the plant, including roots. Most systemic fungicides are highly effective against their target pathogens, whether locally or systemically applied. However, systemic products have a longer post infection activity because they penetrate deeper into plant tissues and can catch advanced infection. Locally systemic fungicides have a translaminar mode of action. This implies that they move through the leaf from one side to another or across the leaf. By this form of fungicide, only new shoots are protected for a short time.
Systemic fungicides protect the plants internally as they are absorbed by the plants unlike contact fungicide which protects plants externally and can only eliminate the activities of pathogens. System fungicides can prevent some fungi infection when applied and absorbed by the roots too. These pose lesser threats to the environment as they are biodegradable by plants. Using a low volume of this fungicide results in maximum impact in fungi eradication and control. The prominent benefit of systemic fungicide is its translocation to other parts of the plant when applied on one surface is beneficial in shielding the crop from fungal attacks.
The key players in this market include BASF SE(Germany), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), Corteva Agriscience (USA), UPL Ltd. (India) and FMC Corporation (US).
