Why Superior Performance Will Drive Biologicals' Use in Crop Protection

By David Eddy|July 22, 2022

Pam Marrone is fired up about biologicals. At the 2022 Biocontrols^SM USA Conference & Expo earlier this year, she predicted that within 20 years, sales of biological products would equal those of more traditional synthetics. Asked recently if she would elaborate on her prediction, Marrone says there are many reasons, but it all gets down to the one thing growers care about: Performance.

As more growers adopt biologicals, they will learn these new products can outperform synthetics in the field, which Marrone says they absolutely will. Not only that, biologicals are superior for many reasons, and the fast-talking scientist-turned-CEO of Marrone BioInnovations — she hasn’t worked in a lab for decades, but she was originally an entomologist — says as that superiority becomes more evident, a sea change in crop protection is coming.

It may seem hard to grasp now, with biological products having just 5% of the market, how much agriculture will change in the coming two decades, Marrone says. A lot of it just has to do with the numbers. She notes the relative cost to develop a new synthetic product is now estimated at $300 million, so it’s no wonder there is just a new product or two approved each year. Compare that to the 20 to 30 promising new biological products being developed annually — thoroughly tested products, a far cry from some of the unproven biologicals of yesteryear — at a relative pittance compared to their chemical counterparts and in a greatly reduced time frame.

Another important factor for growers to consider is the improved biological products of today will likely pale in comparison to those of tomorrow, as vast improvements will be made. Such advancements have already been realized with familiar products that are constantly being updated, but the rate of change will only increase in the future.

To find out what else Pam Marrone has to say on the subject, read the entire article featured as part of our special Global Insight Series report on Biological Crop Protection.