Recent Developments in Fluorine-Containing Agrochemicals

The past 15 years has been a very exciting time for research into agrochemicals, with many significant advances being achieved. Highly active and effective new series of compounds have been discovered in each of the agrochemical disciplines (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators), and compounds have been introduced to the market which are often an order of magnitude more active than earlier products. This has all been achieved against a background of change in the agrochemicals industry. Finney has presented figures to show that while there has been a progressive decline in the profitability of the industry, expenditure on research and development has increased very substantially.1 This reflects the substantial increase in development costs required to satisfy increasing regulatory demands. Graham-Bryce has argued that these demands need to be considered in their proper perspective.2 Fluorine as a substituent has played a significant and increasingly important part in the development of new agrochemicals and is likely to continue to do so in the future.