Targeting chemical inputs and optimising HTS for agrochemical discovery

In vivo high throughput screening (HTS) has been adopted by most of the larger crop protection companies as an important tool for the discovery of new agrochemicals. There has been a paradigm shift in capabilities from screening a few thousand compounds a year to several hundred thousand and the quantity of screening sample required has fallen dramatically. The unifying goal now bringing together screens and inputs is the need to maximise the flow of useful information from HTS and thereby minimise the time taken to discover robust leads and new products. This review examines the positive changes that have occurred towards targeted design and selection of chemical inputs for agrochemical discovery over the last ten years and corresponding developments in HTS assays, data analysis and the logistics of compound storage and dispensing.