Published June 1981
The present day technology, agricultural use patterns, and economics of manufacturing synthetic pyrethroid insecticides are evaluated and their position in the marketplace is reviewed.
Four synthetic pyrethroids are analyzed, namely permethrin, cypermethrin, decamethrin, and fenvalerate, all of which are more active and stable as insecticides than the active ingredients in natural pyrethrum which have been known and used for many years.
Intense interest has developed in these four compounds because they are more active against pests and much less toxic to mammals than the other well-established insecticides such as organophosphates, carbamates, and the organochlorine class. Since their commercial introduction in about 1975-1976, the pyrethroids have been making enormous inroads into the highly competitive pest control market on the agrochemical scene.
The technology of this new class of organic compounds is based upon a series of very complex multi-step syntheses to produce acid moieties and alcohol moieties which are then coupled to produce esters representing a variety of analogs.
Detailed technical and economic analyses are presented, based on information collected from patents, technical papers, trade journals, and private communications with authors, producers, and marketers in this field.
