The next step is validation. Alongside identification of resistance genes by the TARGET platform, we meticulously test promising compounds with specific biochemical, bioanalytical, and computational tools to understand their modes of action on broadleaf and grass weeds - including resistant species. Transcriptomics, metabolomics and proteomics are used to further help identify the target proteins and biological pathways involved. With the help of AI, we also leverage our unique databank to select molecules with good environmental and safety profiles at the earliest stage.

After successful lab validation, herbicide candidates then travel to our research facility in North Yorkshire, where they are tested in different concentrations on a variety of weed and crop species, first in glasshouses and then in polytunnels. Data is constantly fed back to our chemistry teams in Oxford to help them refine and improve the design of the compounds.

Field trials are a crucial stage in the process, marking the moment when promising new herbicidal candidates are exposed to "real world" conditions and we learn how they behave in different combinations of climates, soils, crops and weed species, compared with existing commercial herbicides.

Using data from lab tests and field trials, we adjust and refine the potency and formulation of each candidate to deliver a product that is affordable and effective for farmers to use, while safe for humans, wildlife and the environment.

The development stage consists of longer global trials to verify that optimised candidates are safe and ready for use, and planning large scale manufacturing, prior to the product being registered in the markets across the world.