I. Green Precursor
1.Guardian in farmland
The Bioassay R&D Department of Shenyang Sinochem Agrochemicals R&D Co., Ltd., formerly known as Pesticide Bioassay Center of Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry, founded in 1959, is the earliest professional organization engaged in pesticide bioassay and pesticide application research in China. Subsidized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Development Programme and supported by domestic funds, a new bioassay center was established and put into operation in 1990. Through construction and development over several decades, it has owned over 3,000m2 experimental building and supporting laboratory, 500m2 test operation hall, 1,500m2 modern greenhouse, 3 sunlight greenhouses and 13,333.33m2 test field; assorted multiple instruments, such as full automatic crop sprayer (Britain), multidimensional crop sprayer (self-made), rainfall simulator (Japan), temperature gradient PCR instrument, microscope, with complete facilities and advanced instruments, in a domestic leading position.
The Bioassay R&D Department sets up 4 departments, bactericide research lab, insecticide research lab, herbicide research lab and new technical research lab. Most of employees are educated from plant protection and agronomy majors of domestic famous agricultural universities, including 2 doctors and 15 masters. There are 45 employees at present, including 4 professor level senior engineers, 11 senior engineers, 13 engineers and below, 17 assorted workers, thus it is an excellent team with balanced scientific research power. Through sedimentation over the years, in the field of fundamental research and application development on bactericide, insecticide, herbicide and other disciplines, rich and precious experience has been accumulated.
The Bioassay R&D Department has the capacity of screening 5,000 new compounds every year, established a bactericide high-throughput screening platform, filled in the gap in the industry, devoted a lot of energy into the non-agricultural pesticide and pesticide mixture tests, and closely followed the development steps of the industry.
The Bioassay R&D Department has undertaken multiple National Science & Technology Pillar Programs of China. In the programs during the “12th Five-Year Plan”, it has undertaken 3 research jobs, including “research on industrialization and application technology of bactericide pyraoxystrobin”, “research on industrialization and application technology of bactericide pyrametostrobin” and “research on biological activity screening technology of bactericide”, obtained CNY 8.40 million financial support from China, and received favorable comment in the latest acceptance. In recent five years, it has undertaken 5 subjects from Sinochem Group, obtained over CNY 0.50 million financial support, actively participated in the support projects and obtained nearly CNY one million financial support. Many years of hard work has brought about excellent performance. Through scientists’ continuous efforts, multiple compounds with brand new structures, such as flumorph, enestroburin, tetrachlorantraniliprole, 9625, have been discovered successfully, which filled in the gap of application technology of multiple products, completed industrial development of nearly 10 products, invented multiple series of mixture products, such as corn herbicide “Dijie”, and created revenues of over CNY 10 million.
3.Exchange strength for trust
The Bioassay R&D Department is always enhancing and improving its own scientific research ability and the position in the industry. For discipline, industry SOP standards have been established for determination of pesticide bioassay, published in books at present, and popularized in the industry. It perfects the bioassay test system, explores the target material cultivation method, and can stably breed test materials in a large batch for long term, with high consistency and standard flow. The scientific research management level takes domestic leading position.
The Bioassay R&D Department has indoor test and field effect test qualifications affirmed by the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, MOA, and has carried out dozens of effect registration tests for the enterprises of the Group in the pesticide part, so as to keep the product capable of passing through registration smoothly. The Bioassay R&D Department regularly carries out academic exchange and operation discussion with domestic peers, and, as the State Key Laboratory of the Discovery and Development of Novel Pesticide, standing director unit of China Association of Pesticide Development & Application and standing director units of Liaoning Provincial Entomological Society and Plant Protection Society, the academic status is being steadily promoted.
Facing strategic transformation of the company, the Bioassay R&D Department will always be based on the fundamental, never forget why you started. Based on continuously strengthening own academic ability and promoting the R&D level, try to enlarge the view, strengthen bridge function, actively cope with challenge from market, strive to adjust the direction, transform advantages into performances, bring great value for customers and high returns for enterprise.
II.Backbone of Bioassay
An excellent team cannot only enable the employees to work more dutifully, but also make the employees to grow continuously; one good working atmosphere can make the employees realize self-worth, and enjoy happiness. “Happy work, happy life” is the mantra of the bioassay person. Liu Junli, the Director of Bioassay R&D Department, an excellent scientist, and also an outstanding manager, has made much good performance over a dozen years, and brought own team atmosphere for bioassay person.
The bioassay training system has been implemented for years, and experts are invited to give lessons to improve the technical level; English ice-breaking training is carried out inside, and the summary system is trained on Friday, so as to practice hard skills. In small English programs, Director Liu encouraged everyone to speak, and everyone’s foreign language ability can thus be promoted in different degrees; in training, everyone must summarize, report and share by PPT, so that shy scientists dare to present their own opinions, exchange needed goods, without missing any chance of improving themselves, so as to exchange academic collision and enlightenment for numerous small innovations and small gains.
The regular meeting system is also one of characteristic working ways of the Bioassay R&D Department. Director Liu often gathers senior managers together to discuss irregularly, in order to solve the problems of the Bioassay R&D Department, and the youth backbone exchange meeting, novel pesticide compound theme held simultaneously will also give a pivotal role. One of our characteristics is to exchange and learn through various platforms. We have our own “big happy family” WeChat platform. In different occasions, everyone’s exchange, working experience, happy vacation, interesting things on the way to work, heroic posture on the court at noon, and even jokes are full of Bioassay characteristics. The joy for cooperation is extended from the working time to the life, so that exchange becomes simple and efficient.
In recent two years, Feng Cong, Sun Geng, Sun Qin, Wang Bin and other colleagues, on behalf of the company, have taken part in the Group’s Speech Contest of China’s Youth Day, the Group’s Micro Party Class Contest, “Two Studies, One Action” series activities of Shenyang Research Institute, Sinochem International GROWTH Cultural Speech Contest, etc. and obtained remarkable performances, which are the results of hardworking. Under the demonstrative guide of the leaders at all levels, the scientific research, HSE and trade union work of the Bioassay R&D Department are very outstanding, and the bioassay team has obtained various commends again and again, including advanced collective, advanced branch. In 2015, the bioassay party branch won the honorable title of Advanced Grass-roots Party Organization issued by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Liaoning Provincial Government. For each activity, we are always working hard, not boring or bigoted, just because bioassay person does it best if they start.
III.Footsteps of “Doctors”
The bioassay discipline, a pair of eyes throughout the whole process of the whole pesticide R&D, is the bridge connecting product R&D and market application. With this discovery, the bioassay person is devoted to the laboratory, mountain, field, market for making diagnosis and give treatment for the plant and sharing worries for peasants. In the bioassay building, there is a group of “attending doctors” walking between the R&D and market.
Si Naiguo, Professor Level Senior Engineer, Director of Chemical Control Professional Committee of Chinese Society for Plant Pathology, is mainly engaged in research on action characteristics, action mechanism and application technology of novel pesticide of bactericide. In 2013, Professor Si Naiguo, Wang Bin and other experts came to Sinochem Agrochemical for job rotation; while they carried out market survey, they visited a lot of peasant dealers; they found problems, solved problems, and actively carried out demonstration tests, so as to enlarge the product influence of the company. Besides this, Professor Si gathered sales personnel together to the Bioassay R&D Department for training and learning, so that they can solve problems in work, make customers satisfactory and peasants accept.
Lin Changfu is a Professor Level Senior Engineer, Member of Weed Science Society of China, China Society of Plant Protection, and Technical Director for herbicide field registration test and indoor bioassay test of the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, MOA. In 2012, there is a serious problem on weed control in Russian farms. Professor Lin Changfu cooperated with marketing personnel to go to Russia, visit dealers and go deep into the field. He found that, the local barnyard grass ran wild, and after consulting, he realized that this may be herbicide resistance problem after use of similar herbicide for years. Professor Lin suited the remedy to the case by site diagnosis, and suggested not to use single reagent in the future, but use the mixture to prevent weeds. Quickly, barnyard grass hazards were controlled, and customers showed their smiling faces.
Song Yuquan, Professor Level Senior Engineer, Member of the Entomological Society of China; Vice Chairman of Liaoning Provincial Entomological Society; Deputy Secretary General of Liaoning Society of Plant Protection; Technical Director of insecticide projects “pesticide registration field effect test”, “pesticide registration indoor activity verification test” by the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, MOA, is engaged in research on discovery of pesticide, action characteristics, action mechanism and application technology of novel pesticide for over 20 years. He has led and participated in over 20 National Science & Technology Pillar Programs of China and projects funded the Group, and screened over 10 novel pesticide varieties with independent innovation and independent intellectual property, two of which have realized industrialization (tetrachlorantraniliprole, SYP-9625), and obtained pesticide registration, so to make prominent contribution to R&D of novel pesticide in China.
Chen Liang, Senior Manager, Doctor of China Agricultural University, has been engaged in research on bactericide bioassay and application technology, and has led or participated in multiple sub-projects of National Science & Technology Pillar Program of China during the “10th Five-Year Plan”, “11th Five-Year Plan” and the “12th Five-Year Plan”. In May-July 2008, he went to Chemtura Corporation for exchange and learning. Through cooperation with China Agricultural University, he established an agricultural bacterial inhibitor high-throughput screening system by means of molecular biology to provide a capacity of screening 40,000 compounds every year. He was the principle of four projects, such as National Science & Technology Pillar Program of China during the “12th Five-Year Plan” “construction of agricultural bacterial inhibitor high-throughput screening system”. The project “discovery and industrialization of efficient bactericide enestroburin” won the second prize of Scientific and Technological Award of Liaoning Province in 2007 (ranking the third), and the project “patent technology and application of bactericide fenaminstrobin mixture” won the Technological Invention Award of China Sinochem Group in 2010 (ranking the eighth).
