The global agricultural pheromones market is estimated to be valued at USD 2.9 billion in 2021. It is projected to reach USD 6.1 billion by 2026, recording a CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period.
Pheromones control the insect population by detecting and monitoring the insect’s presence, disrupting the mating between insects, and trapping the insect population. The market for agricultural pheromones is witnessing steady growth and gaining momentum across regions. This is mainly due to factors, such as the effective implementation and awareness initiatives of integrated pest management practices for sustainable agriculture.
Detection and monitoring is projected to be the fastest-growing segment, by function during the forecast period.
Insect sex pheromones are used for the detection and monitoring of the insect population. In most cases, males get attracted to the sex pheromones produced by female insects. For this purpose, trap baits are designed to closely reproduce the ratio of chemical components and emission rates similar to female insects. Pheromone traps are used to detect the invasion of adult pest species from one region to another. These traps are used to track the influxes of various insect pests, such as black cutworm, gypsy moth, and pink bollworm. For the purpose of monitoring, the traps help in predicting the inception of a lifecycle stage in the insect population. Pheromone traps help growers identify the exact location and diffusion of infestations, detect the entry of exotic species, and adjust the timing and rate of pesticide application for maximum effect and minimum environmental damages.
By mode of application, the dispensers segment dominated the market in 2020, due to the ease of handling and low cost
Dispensers are utilized for the application of insect pheromones in specified amounts to different types of crops. The dispensers should be placed at a particular height to be an effective source. Dispensers are most commonly utilized to monitor insect populations in arable crops, stored products, and forest ecosystems. An ideal dispenser should be renewable and should be made of cheap organic materials alongside being economically inexpensive and toxicologically inert. Pheromone-based devices are able to ensure the successful control of pests, such as codling moths, tomato pinworm, pink bollworm, and oriental fruit moth. Pheromone dispensers are of different types, such as passive pheromone dispensers, retrievable polymeric pheromone dispensers, hollow fibers, and high emission dispensers.
The field crops segment, by crop type is projected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period.
Field crops, for the purpose of the study, include rice, corn, soybean, and others. Soybean is one of the majorly grown cash crops in the world and is most commonly attacked by the stink bunk and soybean aphids. Soybean
aphids have threatened soybean production across North America. Most companies focus on introducing pheromone solutions in fruits & nuts and vegetable crops, which are the largest segments in the market. The solutions introduced for field crops are centered on monitoring & detection techniques by synthesizing pheromone analogs similar to those emanated by insect species and belong to Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.
The North America region dominated the agricultural pheromones market and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 16.9% from 2021 to 2026.
The market for pheromones is growing in North America owing to the widening scope of applications in not only agriculture but also in forestry and for industrial purposes, such as in the food and pharmaceutical industries. ISCA produces a formulation to control noctuid moths on row crops that acts as a mating-disruption for the gypsy moth that is used by the US Forest Service. Some of the majorly grown agricultural crops in the region include cotton, tomatoes, grapes, corn, pome fruits, and stone fruits. These are some of the crops that are prone to attacks from various insect species, such as the pink bollworm, leaf miner, codling moth, and berry moths. In North America, pheromones are used for mating disruption purposes.
The key players in this market include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd (Japan), Koppert Biological Systems (Netherlands), Isagro Group (Italy), Biobest Group NV (Belgium), Suterra LLC (US), Russell IPM (UK), ISCA Technologies (US), Trécé Incorporated (US), Bedoukian Research, Inc. (US), Pherobank B.V. (Netherlands), BASF (Germany), Certis Europe BV (Netherlands), Bioline AgroSciences Ltd. (US), Bio Controle (Brazil), and ATGC Biotech Pvt Ltd. (India).
