Global overview
Sustained patent filing activity in the last decade
Non-pesticide pest and disease management encompasses a range of innovations designed to control crop pests without relying on chemical pesticides. The approaches vary a lot and include:
Living organisms: various species of animals and microorganisms used as natural enemies, predators or infectious agents of agricultural pest species
Compositions: these can be chemical or natural substances that act as repellents to deter pests, attractants to lure them into traps, or even bio-natural pesticides derived from essential oils, plant extracts or microorganisms
Devices: traps, sprayers and dispensers used in conjunction with other biocontrol methods
Genetic modification: production of transgenic plants resistant to specific pests.
Upon analyzing 9,354 international patent families, it was found that there is a flat growth trend in the technological field, with a CAGR of +1.4% between the years 2017 and 2021 (Figure 2.22). This indicates that the field may be mature, with no significant emergence of disruptive technology.
WIPO has processed the highest number of international patent families in this field, totaling 7,959, indicating that many applicants seeking patents outside their home countries opt for the PCT route. This is closely followed by the United States with 7,258 international patent families. In third position, EPO filing (Europe) accounts for a total of 5,240 international patent families (Figure 4.1).
Asia is not far behind, with China making a significant contribution of 3,836 international patent families, Japan adding 3,370 international patent families, India contributing 2,334 international patent families, and the Republic of Korea with 1,792 international patent families. Oceania and Latin America and Caribbean are also represented, respectively with Australia having 2,843 international patent families, and Brazil with 2,576 international patent families.
It is also important to highlight that this analysis does not include non-international patent families, which may have an impact on the overall influence of Asian jurisdictions in the patent filing landscape.
Regarding the growth rate of international patent families, China and the Republic of Korea show an upward trend, with a CAGR of 2.5% and 2.8% from 2017 to 2021 respectively. The number of patents filed in Canada, India, Australia, Brazil, and those processed by WIPO has remained relatively stable.
Inventive regions
Pesticide replacement as a major concern worldwide
According to Figure 4.2, North America is the leading location for R&D activities, with the United States accounting for over 99% of the total. Despite this dominance, there are indications of a possible decline in R&D activity in the region. The CAGR for R&D filings from 2017 to 2021 is negative, standing at -4%. This suggests a potential slowdown in innovation and research efforts in North America in the coming years.
In recent years, Asia has emerged as a key player in the field of R&D. This is evident from the substantial number of first priority filings in the region, totaling 2,278. Furthermore, the CAGR for patent filings in Asia between 2017 and 2021 was recorded at +5.6%. China and India are on an upward trajectory, experiencing strong CAGRs of +19.1% and +24.6%, respectively. On the other hand, Japan and the Republic of Korea, while still being large sources of patents in the region, with 922 and 348 international patent family filings respectively, have maintained stable patent application volumes with a CAGR from 2017 to 2021 of 0%.
The first-filing dynamic in Europe reveals a concerning trend, with an overall flat CAGR of -0.8%. This trend seems to be driven by a decrease in filings from all major European jurisdictions except France, which has seen a growth of 5.9% in first filings during the 2017–2021 period.
Asia
Several regional policies support the growth trend of the patents related to non-pesticide pest and disease management in Asia. (1)National Pathways Analysis Dashboard | UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (https://www.unfoodsystemshub.org/member-state-dialogue/national-pathways-analysis-dashboard/es).
China practices green development and has formulated and implemented the National Sustainable Agricultural Development Plan (2015–2030), launched initiatives to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for efficiency gains, and actively extended efficient agricultural technologies that save water, fertilizers or pesticides.
Japan supports sustainability of agriculture, forestry and fisheries by reducing the environmental load caused by the use of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers through the circulating use of organic resources and disseminating smart agriculture, forestry and fisheries, customizing them to each region.
The Republic of Korea will boost measures to control pests and diseases based on inspections to find newly emerging pest species as a result of climate change.
Europe
In the European Union, the Biodiversity Strategy aims to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. (2)National Pathways Analysis Dashboard | UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (https://www.unfoodsystemshub.org/member-state-dialogue/national-pathways-analysis-dashboard/es). This strategy aims to build societies’ resilience to future threats (forest fires, food insecurity, climate change, disease outbreaks) and sets global targets to protect and restore biodiversity in Europe across natural and managed ecosystems. The Commission adopted the legal proposals on Nature Restoration Law and Sustainable Use of Pesticides. The 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), to which Europe and all its member states are party, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). (3)Convention on Biological Diversity (https://www.cbd.int/gbf). The associated proposal for a Regulation on Sustainable Use of Pesticides has a target of reducing by 50% the use and the risk of chemical pesticides by 2030 as well as the new rules on environmentally friendly pest control. This aims to reduce the environmental footprint of Europe’s food system, protect the health and well-being of citizens and agricultural workers, and help mitigate the economic losses that are already being incurred due to declining soil health and pesticide-induced pollinator loss.
Other regional policies provide additional support.
The French Ecophyto II+ plan aims to accelerate the withdrawal of substances of greatest concern (4)National Pathways Analysis Dashboard | UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (https://www.unfoodsystemshub.org/member-state-dialogue/national-pathways-analysis-dashboard/es). ; promote the recognition and dissemination of biocontrol products and natural preparations of little concern; strengthen the prevention of public exposure to pesticides and their impact on the environment and biodiversity; support research, in particular on alternative solutions; support farmers in the transition with a set of measures including exchanges between farmers.
Spain promotes measures to ensure sustainable food production: these measures respond to the urgent need to reduce reliance on pesticides and antimicrobials, reduce over-fertilization, increase organic farming, improve animal welfare and reverse biodiversity loss. It includes objectives in the 2030 horizon (also included in the Europe Biodiversity Strategy 2030) to promote actions that aim to reduce the use and risk of synthetic chemical pesticides, to a greater extent high-risk pesticides; reduce the loss of nutrients (especially phosphorus and nitrogen) and the use of fertilizers; reduce sales of antimicrobials for farm animals and in aquaculture; increase the agrarian surface of ecological agriculture.
The United Kingdom government is helping to fund work to research, develop and promote means to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides and maximize the use of lower risk methods, including improving indicators, increasing the use of nature-based, low-toxicity solutions and precision technologies, with the potential to enhance biodiversity. (5)National Pathways Analysis Dashboard | UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (https://www.unfoodsystemshub.org/member-state-dialogue/national-pathways-analysis-dashboard/es).
Top players
German and the United States agrochemicals at the forefront of the field
The Non-pesticide pest and disease management field is dominated by industrial actors, with 12 out of the top 20 patent applicants falling into this category (Figure 4.3). These include established chemical and agrochemical giants like BASF and Bayer, which hold the top spots. Notably, 4 out of the 16 private entities are United States-based companies, while the remaining industrial players come primarily from Japan (Sumitomo Chemical, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Earth).
BASF and Bayer boast diverse biocontrol technologies. Their portfolios encompass devices for insect control, such as bait stations and traps, biocompositions targeting specific pests and chemical formulations working as allelochemicals.
Asian players in the field are largely established chemical companies, including Sinochem from China and Sumitomo Chemical and Shin-Etsu Chemical from Japan. Shin-Etsu focuses on innovative pheromone-based pest control solutions, while Sumitomo’s patent filings highlight methods that utilize essential oils and devices for their dissemination, such as heat evaporation units.
Seoul Semiconductor, through its subsidiary Seoul Viosys, primarily focuses on protecting innovations related to insect traps using ultraviolet lights. Companies from the United States leading the field exhibit more diverse approaches. FMC Corporation, a prominent chemical company specializing in agrochemical technologies and pest control products, holds patents for methods of producing insect pheromones and bacterial strain compositions that benefit plant growth and combat plant diseases. AgriTech companies from the United States, such as Pioneer Hi-Bred and Corteva, developed diverse approaches centering on chemical compounds, peptides, and DNA-based methods/compositions for pest control.
Academic institutions from the United States, France and China also make their presence felt among the top players. Notably, France’s CNRS and INRA have developed technologies across various biocontrol compositions. Their inventions include repellents, attractants, pesticide properties derived from plant extracts and protein-based compositions that target pheromone receptors.
Emerging technologies: microorganisms
Using microorganisms and their derivatives might be slowly gaining ground as an alternative to conventional pesticides
The number of international patent families in IPC subclasses and the variation in the number of international patents in these IPC subclasses during the period from 2017 to 2021 have been analyzed to identify emerging technologies (Figure 4.4).
The top of the most represented IPC classification subclasses, A01N, A01P and A61K generally point to the application domains of technical solutions (biocides, pest repellents or attractants, anti-infectives, antiparasitic agents) not allowing a conclusion as to their nature/origin without further analysis. Meanwhile, in the top 10 of the most represented subclasses, there are subclasses related to microorganisms: C12N, C12R; to trapping systems: A01M; and to new plant variety creation including genetic modification: A01H.
To identify growing IPC subclasses, the CAGR in the period from 2017 to 2021 was calculated for each of them, highlighting rapidly expanding areas of interest. The analysis revealed some fast growth IPC subclasses related to chemical separation (B01D), physical or chemical treatment (B01J), and inorganic fertilizers (C05D) comprising correspondingly patents on extraction of active compounds with pesticidal properties from microorganisms (WO2013/110258, WO2014/063070), encapsulation of active compounds (WO2022/182793, WO2022/123596), and co-formulation of fertilizers with biocontrol agents, most often for seed treatment (US20230048051, WO2020/245586).
While filing patents in the field of trapping systems is declining, with a negative CAGR for the period from 2017 to 2021, one IPC subclass, from the top 10 most represented, namely C12R, showed a CAGR of nearly 10% or higher. This subclass focuses on categories related to indexing microorganisms. It includes patents related to plant microorganism pathogens and biological methods aimed at enhancing plant health and preventing diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms. Additionally, this subclass covers methods that utilize microorganisms to promote plant growth or combat pest pathogens. Its identification within both most represented and fastest growing subclasses might reflect a trend in the technologies aiming to substitute conventional pesticides by microorganisms. Nevertheless, the growth of the trend is modest, probably reflecting low cost-efficiency and high specificity of these pest protection means compared to low-cost and relatively wide pest coverage of conventional pesticides.
Patents related to using microorganisms as pesticide replacements encompass various technologies, including the growth and production of beneficial microbes or their products, and the selection of suitable microbial species. Their functions include fighting pests and preventing or treating diseases. The application fields include use in soil, plants and seeds (Table 1).
Emerging technologies: formulation technologies
Non-pesticide pest and disease management innovations are centered on formulation technologies, with leading roles played by Bayer, BASF, Sumitomo Chemical, Sinochem, and Corteva
Non-pesticide pest control innovations can be divided into five distinct segments (Figure 4.5):
biosynthesis & extraction
formulation
encapsulation
traps
other devices.
Most patents in this field are related to formulation technologies for pest control products. This diverse group encompasses compositions containing proteins, microbe-based agents, or chemical compounds that target pests through various mechanisms. These mechanisms include repellency, attraction (luring pests to traps) or biocidal effects.
Biological agents in pest control come from various sources, all naturally occurring. This includes essential oils extracted from plants, proteins and hormones derived from plants, animals or microorganisms, as well as pest-pathogenic and plant growth-promoting microorganisms.
Despite the growing focus on environmentally friendly methods, as reflected in the SDGs and public preferences, there has been no overall growth in patent filings related to the biosynthesis and bio extraction of biological agents for pest control. A deeper analysis might be necessary to understand the specific trends within the various technologies under this category.
Similar to the observations in other segments, the number of patent filings associated with traps and other devices (including sprayers, dispensers, and biodegradable devices) has seen a decline during the 2017–2021 period.
Germany dominates the Non-pesticide pest and disease management innovation landscape with chemical giants Bayer and BASF ranking first and second respectively in the fields of formulation, biosynthesis and extraction, and other devices. This highlights their leading role in developing advanced technologies across multiple segments.
United States company Corteva has secured a place within the top five in all three aforementioned areas, demonstrating its significant contributions to the sector.
Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical also stands out, ranking within the top five in formulation, biosynthesis and extraction, encapsulation, and other devices. Notably, Sumitomo Chemical holds the first position in the encapsulation segment, despite not having a high total number of international patent families (Figure 4.6).
Deep dive
Non-pesticide pest and disease management strategies first target moths and legumes as pests and cultures of interest respectively
A semantic analysis of key concepts in Non-pesticide pest and disease management revealed the most targeted culture types and the most frequently mentioned pests.
Legume cultures, such as lentils and soybeans, were the most frequently mentioned culture type associated with pest control technologies. Interestingly, most mentioned cultures are linked to the food industry, apart from cotton, a non-food culture, ranking fourth (Figure 4.7).
In the analysis of patents, moths were found to be the most frequently mentioned pest, while aphids were mentioned the least when pests were specified. These statistics may not accurately represent the true significance of pest management in the agribusiness sector. Although moth species have the potential to cause damage, they are generally not considered as big of a threat as aphids or beetles (Figure 4.8).
The majority of patents that mention these pest categories describe specific methods and compositions that are designed to target particular species of pests. This emphasis aligns with the nature of species-specific attractants like pheromones. However, some patents reveal formulations of pheromones without explicitly stating which pests or cultures they are targeting. These patents often focus on protecting the chemical formula and derivatives of synthetic pheromones used for specific pest control, which are typically further explained in the patent description.
In contrast to pheromones, allelochemicals and natural pesticides (such as essential oils and microorganisms) generally have a broader range of targets. While pheromones act as attractants, innovations related to allelochemicals primarily focus on repellents that deter various insects, including aphids, beetles, worms and bugs.