Status and outlook for acaricide and insecticide discovery

To guarantee sustainability and progress, the agrochemical industry is faced with several major challenges. Currently, loss of active ingredients due to consumer perception, changing grower needs and ever-changing regulatory requirements is far higher than the number being introduced into the market. Therefore, there is a need to develop new products that can provide improved efficacy, selectivity and favorable environmental profiles. Strategies to achieve these goals are the search for acaricides and insecticides with new modes of action, or the discovery of novel molecules with activity on the most attractive target sites having resistance breaking properties against pest species. In this context, the introduction of halogen atoms or asymmetric centers into an active ingredient remains an important tool to modulate their properties, but so too is the pro-pesticide concept. This review gives an overview of agrochemicals launched over the past 8 years, reflects new insights into known mechanisms of action, and describes the status and outlook for acaricide and insecticide discovery.