Covid-19 Recovery: Optimising routes for scaled-up production of high value pear midge pheromones

2019冠状病毒病全球大流行影响了英国使用可持续绿色化学路线（根据绿色化学12项原则生产）制造特种化学品的研发，包括用于管理影响英国食品生产系统的害虫的信息素。大流行将PheroSyn提出的开发蚊信息素商业规模生产路线的研发活动推迟了几个月，该公司已准备开始开发可持续和绿色的化学途径来生产蚊信息素。现在，公司必须推动这一新的创新，为害虫管理提供高价值的、目前还没有的蠓信息素。这不仅将通过减少使用化石燃料为基础的原料的农药生产产生积极的气候影响，而且还将通过基于IPM的战略提供可持续和气候友好型虫害管理。蠓是一种小型（约3毫米长）、易碎的飞虫，影响多种作物，是全球耕地和园艺粮食生产的重要害虫。在全球病虫害管理行业，包括英国、欧盟地区、北美和南美，蚊类问题已经确立，蚊类管理是一个潜在的利润丰厚且不断增长的市场。蠓的管理存在问题；它们的生命周期意味着谷物和水果可能会接触到农药，这些农药随后会进入人类和动物的食物链。此外，全球趋势是在粮食生产中减少对化学农药的依赖，转而采用病虫害综合治理战略。农药效力的丧失、立法管制导致的农药可得性以及与农药使用有关的环境问题也推动了对IPM战略的需求。信息素是IPM策略的关键组成部分，但是，与其他作物害虫相比，目前市场上几乎没有蚊性信息素。PheroSyn目前的产品组合中已经有适合市场的蠓信息素，但有机会通过开发更多新的、目前尚未上市的蠓信息素来扩大这一组合，使其成为有效的商业产品。PheroSyn的目标是将昆虫性信息素商业化，销售到已建立的农业综合企业部门，并利用在监测和控制对作物健康和生产重要的各种作物害虫的新方法方面的专业知识。这个为期6个月的实验开发项目的目标是让PheroSyn优化绿色化学路线，以生产两种高价值的蠓信息素，用于能够检测作物中早期蠓侵害的蠓专用陷阱。优化路线将使PheroSyn能够加速业务增长，为全球范围内的农民和种植者提供有效、敏感、持久、安全、负担得起和独立的工具。PheroSyn公司对蚊子信息素生产的优化将以公司创始人的技术诀窍为基础。PheroSyn团队在害虫信息素研发和信息素化学方面拥有40多年的经验。

The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected UK R&D in the manufacture of speciality chemicals using sustainable green chemistry routes (produced adhering to the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry), including pheromones that are used to manage insect pests affecting UK food production systems. The pandemic has delayed, by several months, PheroSyn's proposed R&D activity on developing routes for commercial scale production of midge pheromones where the company was poised to begin developing sustainable and green chemistry routes for midge pheromone production. It is now imperative for the company to drive forward this new innovation of supplying the high-value, not currently available midge pheromones for pest management. Not only will this provide a positive climate impact through reduced pesticide production that use fossil-fuel based feedstocks, but it will also provide sustainable and climate-friendly management of pests through IPM based strategies.Midges are small (ca. 3mm long), fragile flying insects that affect a variety of crops and are a significant global pest of arable and horticultural food production. Midge management is a potentially lucrative and growing market in the pest management industry globally, including in the UK, the EU region, North America and South America, where midge problems are well established. Management of midges is problematic; their life-cycles mean that grains and fruits can be potentially exposed to pesticides which subsequently enter the human and animal food chain. Furthermore, there is a global trend to move away from reliance on chemical pesticides in food production in favour of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The need for IPM strategies is also driven by loss in efficacy of pesticides, pesticide availability due to legislative regulation, and environmental issues associated with pesticide use. Pheromones form a critical component of IPM strategies, but, compared to other crop pests, there are virtually no midge sex pheromones currently available on the market.PheroSyn already has market-ready midge pheromones in its current portfolio but there is an opportunity to expand this portfolio by developing further new not-currently available midge pheromones into effective commercial products. PheroSyn aims at commercialising insect sex pheromones for sale into the established agribusiness sector, and to capitalise on expertise in novel methods for monitoring and control of a wide range of crop pests important to crop health and production.The objective of this 6-month experimental development project is for PheroSyn to optimise green chemistry routes for the production of two high-value midge pheromones, to be used in midge-specific traps that are capable of detecting early stage infestations of midges in crops. Optimisation of the routes will enable PheroSyn to accelerate business growth, supplying effective, sensitive, long-lasting, safe, affordable and discrete tools to farmers and growers on a global scale.PheroSyn's optimisation of midge pheromone production will be underpinned by the company founders' technical know-how. The PheroSyn team has a combined 40+ years of experience in pest pheromone R&D and pheromone chemistry.