A combination of regulations and increasing consumer awareness have brought out the importance of environmental sustainability. Moreover, the adoption of environmentally friendly, and preferably organic-based snail and slug baits have been growing in the Asia-Pacific region, notwithstanding the current Covid-19 pandemic related issues which inhibits the flow of crop supply chains and people movements.
According to a MarketsAndMarkets.com report published in May 2021, China and India were identified as the two major Asia-Pacific markets when it comes to the manufacturing and supply of non-organic molluscicides such as metaldehyde to the North American and European markets.
The report also highlighted that on a segmental basis, most of the projected growth for the next five years starting from 2020 onwards till 2025 are expected to be driven by cereals and grains, followed by fruits and vegetables, oil seeds and pulses (beans), and other unspecified crop types.
The report further broke down to the different types of seeds which are used for germination. The application of the types of molluscicides on different seed types is seen as critical during the early growth phases of plants as snails and slugs tend to be more attracted to leafy vegetables. In the report, it was highlighted that not only will China be driving most of the global growth in the manufacturing and supply of molluscicides, it showed that conventional seeds will be the key growth driver used by farmers.
As for genetically modified seeds, the expected growth rate for the next five years is growing, but the pace still lags the growth seen in the conventional seeds markets.
While the MarketsAndMarkets report did not indicate the expected growth trajectory of organic-based snail and slug baits, we at ZAGRO, believe that we are making a major head start with the introduction of our DUSK™ range of iron-chelate snail and slug baits.
The application and use of iron-based chelates are seen as environmentally friendly and is less harmful to the soil quality and ground water conditions. While iron chelates, in general, tends to degrade, whereas metaldehyde do not, ZAGRO is currently working on further improvements to the DUSK™ product to ensure that the degrading properties of the bait are minimised, able to withstand large bouts of liquids and will be effective for an extended period of rainy season, especially when climate change has brought about unpredictable weather patterns.
The table shown below illustrates the various differences and similarities in the snail and slug baits’ properties and effectiveness:
Product Type | DUSK™ | Metaldehyde | Methiocarb | Sodium Ferric EDTA1 |
Active Ingredients | Mineral Chelate Complex |
Molluscicide | Carbamate Ester |
Metal Chelate Complex (6 per cent) |
Toxicity Levels (LD50 Rats) |
5,000 | 227 – 690 | 60 – 100 |
Little or |
Bait Type | Core-based granules |
Pellets | Pellets | Pellets |
Manufactured Method |
Coating Technology |
Extruder Process |
Extruder Process |
Extruder Process |
Kill Rate (%) | 80 – 100% | 50 – 80% | 60 – 80% | 80 – 100% |
Effectiveness | Excellent | Good | Very Good | Excellent |
Environmentally Friendly (Yes/No) |
Yes | No | No | Yes |
1United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Is your farm business interested in taking the next bold steps of enhancing the various corporate initiatives in supporting the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movements that many of the multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly adopting, pick up the phone, email or simply chat with one of ZAGRO’s product specialists and we will be standing by to address any questions raised on the DUSK™ product range.
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