India Herbicide - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2024 - 2029)

The primary mode of herbicide application of utmost significance is the soil treatment application

• Weeds pose a significant threat to the agricultural sector in India, resulting in substantial annual crop losses of around 45.0%. Farmers are implementing various strategies, including crop rotation, cultural practices, manual weeding, and spraying chemical herbicides to control weeds.
• However, due to rising production costs associated with alternative methods, more farmers are adopting chemical herbicides to tackle weeds in their crops. Farmers can efficiently control weed growth and minimize the detrimental effects on their agricultural yield by spraying herbicides.
• There are various application modes for weed control. Soil treatment using herbicides holds a prominent share due to its effectiveness in managing weeds during their early growth stages. This application method has gained popularity among farmers cultivating grain and cereal crops due to its advantageous effects in controlling pre-emergence weeds.
• Soil treatment involves applying herbicides directly to the soil, where they can effectively target weed seeds and emerging seedlings, inhibiting their growth and establishment. By employing soil treatment applications, farmers can proactively address weed issues and promote healthier crop growth in the crucial early stages.
• Following the soil treatment mode, other application modes such as foliar and chemigation have witnessed a surge in popularity for weed control in the country. These modes have demonstrated their effectiveness and offered various benefits in enhancing crop productivity. In 2022, foliar and chemigation registered a significant market share of 33.1% and 18.7%, respectively.

India Herbicide Market Trends

Herbicide consumption is anticipated to expand to manage the weed challenges due to growing losses of crops

• Mechanized and chemical-based weed control approaches are rapidly replacing traditional manual weeding methods. Farmers use herbicides as a cost-effective and efficient way to manage weeds in small-scale and large-scale farming operations.
• With the aim of increasing crop productivity, farmers in India have been practicing crop intensification, which involves repeated cropping cycles within a year. This intensification frequently results in increased weed pressure, necessitating the application of herbicides to maintain crop productivity. The average herbicide consumption per hectare accounted for 49.7 g/ha.
• Herbicide consumption per hectare can vary based on numerous aspects such as crop type, weed infestation level, agricultural practices, and weed management strategies. The consumption of herbicides in India per hectare increased by 6.0% from 2017 to 2022. Herbicide usage per capita in India increased to boost the average agricultural output per hectare. Farmers' growing awareness of the advantages of herbicides, along with the availability of a wide range of herbicides on the market, has contributed to their increased usage.
• The utilization of genetically modified (GM) crops that possess herbicide-tolerant characteristics, like herbicide-tolerant cotton (Bt cotton), and the development of hybridized mustard such as DMH-11 using the "barnase/barstar" technique for genetic modification has enabled farmers to employ herbicides more extensively in weed management. These modified crops are designed to endure specific herbicides, empowering farmers to utilize herbicides to a greater extent for effective weed control.

Atrazine, paraquat, and glyphosate are major herbicides used in the country

• India has a wide range of agroclimates and soil types. The highly diverse agriculture and farming systems are beset with different types of weed problems. Weeds cause 10% to 80% crop yield losses, besides impairing product quality and causing health and environmental hazards. Atrazine, paraquat, and glyphosate are major herbicides used in the country.
• Atrazine is an herbicide widely used to control broadleaf and grassy weeds like Echinocloa, Elusine spp, and Amaranthus viridis in maize and rice crops in India. The herbicide was valued at USD 13.5 thousand in 2022. India is the world's largest importer of Atrazine technical and imports majorly from China, Italy, and Israel.
• Paraquat is a broad-spectrum contact herbicide, accounting for USD 4.6 thousand in 2022. A total of 14 commercial names of paraquat dichloride are sold in India. It is used in about 25 crops, including cereals, pulses, oil seeds, vegetables, and cash crops. However, the Central Insecticide Board & Registration Committee (CIBRC) has approved its use in only nine crops.
• Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide used to control weeds like Cynodon dactylon, Imperata cylindrica, and Arundinella bengalensis. As per the notice issued by the Government of India in September 2022, glyphosate can be used only in tea gardens and non-crop areas. It was valued at USD 1.1 thousand in 2022.
• The Government of India has continuously provided budgetary support to revive the rural economy and increase farmers’ income. A number of measures and initiatives were proposed and announced during the FY22 budget for the improvement of the agriculture sector and the rural economy. This is expected to influence the prices of herbicides in the country further.

India Herbicide Industry Overview

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