The gala event saw each of the two companies scoop three awards, with Dow receiving awards for best new crop protection product, best novel agricultural biotechnology and best formulations innovations while DuPont was rewarded for most innovative chemistry, best innovation in non-crop and best off-patent pesticide strategy.

Monsanto took honours for the best R&D pipeline, promising big advances for the future.

This year’s lifetime achievement award was presented to Monsanto’s executive vice-president and chief technology officer, Dr Robert Fraley, one of the “founding fathers” of agricultural biotechnology who was the leader of a team of scientists that invented novel methods for transferring genes to plant cells.

“Dr Fraley’s early vision of the potential for biotechnology to transform agriculture brought the first genetically modified crops to the market in the 1990s,” says Sanjiv Rana, editor in chief of Agrow.

“Today, he remains at the forefront of Monsanto’s efforts to introduce the next generation of GM crops and this award is very well-deserved.”

Agrow is a key provider of news, analysis and data to the global crop protection industry, with its network of journalists worldwide.

Best supplier to the crop protection industry was judged to be Saltigo; while best company from an emerging region went to Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group.

The award for best supporting role went to the US industry association, CropLife America, for its Eco Roadmap Project, which brought together scientists and government and legal affairs experts to address a range of environmental issues affecting the industry.

CropLife Canada won best public outreach program and Brazil’s pesticide container disposal organisation, the inpEv, took the award for best stewardship program with its vast network for handling used containers, resulting in an impressive disposal rate of more than 60pc.

Agrow will host the third annual Agrow Awards in November 2010, which coincides with the publication’s silver jubilee year.