R&D for Spray Applications with De Sangosse

Why It Matters

The loss of the UK's sole dedicated spray‑application testing centre threatens timely delivery of safer, more efficient crop‑protection solutions, forcing firms like Dangos to depend on slower overseas labs and risking regulatory delays.

Key Takeaways

• UK spray research facility closure threatens rapid product innovation.
• Independent testing at SILSO validates nozzle performance and drift mitigation.
• Emerging biologicals and drone spraying need new verification capabilities.
• Dangos relies on French R&D but faces slower UK market rollout.
• Government support essential for maintaining independent, credible spray‑application research.

Summary

The interview with Phil Carpenter, managing director of Dangos Limited, centers on the recent closure of the UK’s SILSO spray‑applications unit and its implications for agricultural R&D. Carpenter explains Dangos’ product portfolio—slug pellets, seed treatments, adjuvants, and water conditioners—and how the UK arm historically fed innovation back to the French headquarters. He stresses that independent testing at SILSO, especially its unique wind‑tunnel and drift‑measurement facilities, has been critical for validating nozzle performance, droplet deposition, and operator exposure. Without this capability, Dangos and other firms must rely on overseas labs, slowing the introduction of new adjuvants, especially as the sector pivots toward biologicals and drone‑based spraying. Carpenter cites concrete examples: the LER app rating for nozzles, French farmer trials hosted at SILSO, and the personal ties many industry veterans have to the centre. He warns that the loss of local verification erodes confidence among growers, regulators, and the public, and could impede compliance with emerging drift‑mitigation standards. The broader implication is a lengthened innovation timeline, higher costs, and reduced competitiveness for UK‑based crop‑protection firms. Carpenter calls for renewed government investment or a collective industry solution to preserve an independent, world‑class testing hub that safeguards product efficacy, environmental safety, and market speed.

Original Description

We're talking with Managing Director of De Sangosse Phil Carpenter this week on the R&D capabilities and needs for spray applications in the UK. With the closure of the Silsoe facilities, what's next for UK research in this area and why is it so important?

De Sangosse is a European leader in complementary chemistry and molluscicides providing growers with innovative new approaches to protecting crops against disease, pests and the effects of adverse weather from seed to harvest.

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