First-in-Class Chemistries Highlight 2025 Crop Protection Launches in Latin America
2 January 2026 During a recent AgbioInvestor webinar titled “2026 Crop Protection Market Outlook,” Derek Oliphant, Founding Partner and Senior Crop Protection Analyst at AgbioInvestor, presented a region-by-region analysis of new crop protection product launches expected in 2025. As a member of the AgriBusiness Global Advisory Board, Oliphant emphasized Central and South America as particularly dynamic markets, driven by high pest pressure, resistance challenges, and a strong appetite for innovation.
Among the most significant developments is Bayer’s launch of the insecticide Plenexos (spidoxamat) in Colombia. This introduction represents the first global commercialization of a spidoxamat-based product, positioning Latin America at the forefront of new insecticide chemistry adoption. Plenexos is targeted at sucking pests such as aphids and whiteflies and is intended for use across a broad range of crops, including fruits, vegetables, soybean, and cotton. Its debut highlights the region’s importance as a proving ground for novel active ingredients.
FMC stands out for the breadth of its upcoming launches. In insect management, the company is introducing Sofero Fall, a pheromone-based insecticide formulated with (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate for control of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). The product reflects a growing trend toward more targeted, behavior-based pest control approaches for one of the most destructive insects affecting maize and other crops across the region.
In weed control, FMC is launching Keenali (tetflupyrolimet) in Peru. This product represents the first global registration of both the active ingredient tetflupyrolimet and its commercial formulation. Designed as a pre- and early post-emergence herbicide for Japonica and Indica rice, Keenali offers growers a new mode of action against problematic grass weeds, addressing rising resistance concerns in rice production systems.
FMC is also strengthening its fungicide portfolio with Fidresa (fluindapyr) in Argentina. Intended for use on cereals, Fidresa targets a range of economically important diseases, including tan spot, leaf scald, leaf spots, and rusts, reinforcing the company’s focus on disease control in staple field crops.
Syngenta is advancing its presence in Brazil with regulatory approval for the cyclobutrifluram-based fungicide and nematicides Victrato and Vaniva. Victrato is positioned as a seed treatment, highlighting the importance of early-season protection against soilborne threats. The company is also launching Seeker (fenpropidin) in Brazil, aimed at controlling Asian soybean rust and Cercospora in soybean, as well as powdery mildew in wheat.
Brazil also features in Bayer’s pipeline with the introduction of Xivana Smart, a fungicide combining fluoxapiprolin and fluopicolide for the control of oomycete diseases in fruit and vegetable crops.
Rounding out the regional activity, Summit Agro is introducing the insecticide Idaten (fluxametamide) in Argentina. The product targets fall armyworm in maize and multiple lepidopteran pests in soybean, including velvetbean caterpillar, South American bollworm, soybean looper, and sunflower looper.
Together, these launches underscore Central and South America’s growing role as a strategic entry point for next-generation crop protection technologies, with manufacturers leveraging the region to introduce new modes of action and innovative formulations.
Information provided with permission from AgbioInvestor.
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