Strategies for discovering resistance‐breaking, safe and sustainable commercial herbicides with novel modes of action and chemotypes

Farmers need to manage weeds to grow and harvest crops that are essential to our food and energy supply, and herbicides are the most important tool in the farmers' armory to combat weeds. There is now a crisis in agriculture that has been brought about by herbicides being rendered ineffective by resistant weeds or withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns. Efficacious herbicides with novel modes of action (MoAs) and chemotypes are urgently needed to control resistant weeds and satisfy public and regulators' stringent requirements for safe and sustainable products. This article explores the main strategies being deployed by academic and industrial institutions to discover the next generation of commercial herbicides: phenotypic and in vitro target based approaches. There are early signs that much needed innovation and herbicidal products with novel MoAs are on the horizon from start‐ups and established agrochemical companies. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. This article explores the main strategies being deployed by academic and industrial institutions to discover the next generation of commercial herbicides with novel modes of action and chemotypes.