Fungicides: Production route
Single-site or multisite: two ways to stop fungal disease
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.Fungicides split into single-site and multisite products. Single-site classes, triazoles (DMIs), strobilurins (QoIs) and SDHIs, are potent at grams per hectare but lose effect as fungi become resistant. Multisite products, mancozeb, chlorothalonil, copper and sulphur, are used at kilograms per hectare and resistance is rare, so they are mixed with single-site products. The newest classes are heavily fluorinated, linking fungicides to the fluorochemical chain.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dithiocarbamates (mancozeb) | mancozeb is probably the largest fungicide by tonnage (indicative) | about 0.23 t ethylenediamine, 0.57 t carbon disulphide, about 0.2 t Mn and 0.025 t Zn as sulphates per t (stoichiometric, indicative) | 50-100 kt/yr plants in India and Latin America (indicative) | high | sodium sulphate solution; ethylene thiourea (ETU) impurity must be controlled | not published; a low-price, high-volume product (indicative) |
| Copper and sulphur fungicides | large tonnage, small value (indicative) | about 0.57 t Cu per t copper oxychloride; about 0.65 t Cu per t copper hydroxide (stoichiometric) | 5-30 kt/yr (indicative) | high | salt solutions | follows copper price |
| Triazoles and other DMIs (tebuconazole, prothioconazole, difenoconazole, propiconazole) | probably 20-25% of fungicide value (indicative) | about 0.22 t triazole per t tebuconazole (stoichiometric, indicative) | 2-15 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | chlorinated waste | not published |
| Strobilurins (azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin) | probably 20-25% of fungicide value (indicative) | not published | 2-10 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | solvent waste | generic azoxystrobin made widely in China and India (indicative) |
| SDHIs (fluxapyroxad, bixafen, benzovindiflupyr, fluopyram) | probably 15-20% of fungicide value and rising (indicative) | about 0.45-0.5 t DFMP acid per t (stoichiometric, indicative) | 1-5 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | fluorinated and salt waste; some SDHIs meet the OECD PFAS definition (indicative) | not published |
How each route works
Dithiocarbamates (mancozeb)Ethylenediamine reacts with carbon disulphide and caustic soda to give nabam, which is precipitated with manganese sulphate and then zinc sulphate to form mancozeb, a polymeric manganese-zinc complex. It is filtered, dried and milled.
Cheap and no resistance; ETU metabolite is a reproductive toxicant, which drove the EU ban.
stoichiometry; FAO specification (indicative) Copper and sulphur fungicidesCopper oxychloride is precipitated from copper chloride solutions; copper hydroxide from copper salts with caustic soda; elemental sulphur is milled or micronised.
Allowed in organic farming; copper builds up in vineyard soils, so the EU caps it at 28 kg/ha over 7 years.
EU Regulation 2018/1981; stoichiometry Triazoles and other DMIs (tebuconazole, prothioconazole, difenoconazole, propiconazole)Chlorinated aromatic ketones are built up and coupled with 1,2,4-triazole. Prothioconazole uses a triazolinethione.
Broad and systemic; several triazoles are endocrine disruptors under EU review.
indicative Strobilurins (azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin)Synthetic analogues of a natural mushroom compound, built from methoxyacrylate and aromatic or pyrimidine blocks in several steps.
Broad spectrum and plant-health effects; fast resistance in rusts and septoria.
indicative SDHIs (fluxapyroxad, bixafen, benzovindiflupyr, fluopyram)Most use a difluoromethyl pyrazole carboxylic acid (DFMP acid) coupled with substituted anilines; the CHF2 group comes from fluorinated building blocks made with HF.
Very active against septoria and rust; fluorinated and under PFAS scrutiny.
indicative Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.