Bioherbicides: The Biggest Product Gap

While biological segments, like biofungicides and biopesticides, have flooded the market in recent years, the bioherbicide segment continues to lag behind in development.

Steve Pearce, Co-founder and Chairman of Accumont, and Pam Marrone, Ph.D., Co-founder and Executive Chair of the Invasive Species Corp., discuss bioherbicide market evolution, challenges for broader adoption, and the future of breakout products.

The Unmet Need

Globally, there is a large demand for new herbicide modes of action to control resistant weeds, Marrone says.

“This is frequently mentioned as the biggest unmet need in the market at present,” Marrone says. “So, the market is wide open for bioherbicides. At the Invasive Species Corp., our approach focuses on microbes that produce complex, novel mixtures of natural product compounds that we optimize in fermentation.”

In addition to weed resistance, Pearce says that the bioherbicides market has continued to grow — with some analysts predicting a compound annual growth rate in the mid-teens through 2030 — thanks to tighter scrutiny of conventional chemistries.

Broader Adoption Challenges

Despite the segment’s modest growth, according to a recent herbicide report by Accumont, hundreds of bioherbicidal actives have been identified, but many have not yet made it to market.

“Many are too crop- or timing-specific, with only a narrow spectrum or high sensitivity to environmental conditions,” Pearce says. “Unlike synthetic herbicides, bioherbicides often struggle to deliver consistent efficacy across diverse climates, soils, and broad-spectrum and high weed pressures, which limits their commercial scalability.”

Broader adoption remains further constrained by cost and ROI versus inexpensive synthetics, as well as limited product shelf life. There is also the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled precision weeding technologies in broad-acre systems, says Pearce.

However, he says precision/targeted application technologies can be an enabler for the adoption of bioherbicides.

“Nonselective bioherbicides like pelargonic acid can be used selectively in crops using precision technologies, saving product and related costs,” Pearce says. “Species-specific bioherbicides could also become economically viable via this approach.”

All in all, Pearce says that bioherbicides should not be viewed as direct, one-for-one replacements for synthetic herbicides, but rather as strategic components within integrated weed management systems.

In that same vein of integrated crop management, Marrone adds that bioherbicides should be formulated to be used in mixtures with chemicals to break resistance and improve performance.

A Look Ahead

Looking ahead, Pearce and Marrone say that advances in microbial screening, precision fermentation, machine learning, bioinformatics, genomics, and formulation technologies, alongside more supportive regulatory pathways, will gradually improve the prospects for viable, field-ready products.

“There is a higher probability than ever to discover, develop, and deploy bioherbicides, particularly ones based on natural product chemistry,” Marrone says.

In the future, Pearce says that the bioherbicides most likely to succeed commercially are those that exhibit broad-spectrum or clearly differentiated control, consistent field performance, and seamless integration into existing spray programs, precision agriculture, and digital decision tools.

“Highly targeted solutions addressing widespread resistance issues in major weeds, particularly those leveraging scalable microbial or fermentation-derived technologies, could gain traction where they solve clearly defined resistance gaps,” Pearce says. “Broader-spectrum products, similar to the older pelargonic acid or bialaphos, are on the horizon. Commercial success will hinge on systems fit and measurable agronomic value creation, not just biological innovation.”

Read more articles like this one in AgriBusiness Global’s 2026 Biologicals Deep Dive.