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The agrochemical industry is searching continuously for new pesticides to develop products that have optimal efficacy, lower application rates in the field, increased selectivity, favourable toxicological and environmental safety, enhanced user friendliness and better economic viability. One strategy by which to achieve these ambitious goals makes use of the unique properties of molecules containing asymmetric centres. In the past, many natural products and their congeners have been a source of inspiration in the design of new active ingredients, and the molecular structures of the resulting compounds have become increasingly complex; some 30% contain fragments with asymmetric centres. However, despite enormous progress in catalytic asymmetric processes over the past decade, few agrochemicals are produced in an enantiomerically pure or enriched form on an industrial scale. Since 2007, ∼ 43% of the …