Agricultural Chemical Use - Corn, Upland Cotton and Fall Potatoes - 2010

Corn, Upland Cotton and
Fall Potatoes 2010 (May 25, 2011)

Overview

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
Agricultural Chemical Use Program is the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s official source of
statistics about on-farm and post-harvest fertilizer
and pesticide use and pest management practices.
In the fall of 2010, NASS collected data about
chemical use and pest management on acres of
conventional and organic corn as well as upland
cotton and fall potatoes that were planted for the
2010 crop year. These data were collected as part of
the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, and

results were based on 4,893 individual responses
from producers in 25 program states: Arkansas,
Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and
Wisconsin. These states accounted for 93 percent of
corn acres, 84 percent of the upland cotton acres,
and 87 percent of the fall potato acres planted
nationwide in the 2010 crop year.

Agricultural ChemicalAgricultural
Use onChemical
Corn, Upland
Cotton,
Fall Potatoes:
Program
States by Crop, 2010
Use on Field
Crops: Program
States by Type
of Crop, 2010

Corn
Corn and Upland Cotton
Corn and Fall Potatoes
Upland Cotton
Fall Potatoes

Legend
st99_aea02d

Program states by crop type

Corn
Corn and Fall Potatoes

Data Summary Published to Quick Stats 2.0 on May 25, 2011*
Corn and Upland Cotton
Fall Potatoes

Upland Cotton

The 2010 agricultural chemical use data for corn, organic corn, upland cotton and fall potatoes are available through the
Quick Stats 2.0 database on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov. To access the database, go to ‘quickstats.nass.usda.gov’
and select the following options:
Commodity

Search

Corn and Organic Corn

Program: Survey

Sector: Environmental

Group: Field Crops

Commodity: Corn

Upland Cotton

Program: Survey

Sector: Environmental

Group: Field Crops

Commodity: Cotton

Fall Potatoes

Program: Survey

Sector: Environmental

Group: Vegetables

Commodity: Potatoes

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

*Corrections were made to the release highlights and to the Quick Stats 2.0 database on June 9, 2011.

(800) 727-9540
www.nass.usda.gov

Corn Highlights*
Fertilizers: Applications to Corn Planted Acres,
2010 Program States
Fertilizer

Fertilizers

Of the three primary macronutrients, nitrogen
(N) was the most widely used on corn. Farmers
applied nitrogen to 97 percent of planted acres
at an average rate of 140 pounds per acre for the
2010 crop year. Macronutrients phosphate (P)
and potash (K) were also applied to the majority
of acres, but less extensively used. The secondary
macronutrient, sulfur (S), was applied to 15
percent of acres planted to corn.

Acres
Treated (%)

Rate per Crop
Year (Lbs/Acre)
Nitrogen

97

140

Herbicide active ingredients were applied to
98 percent of acres planted to corn, and almost
two-thirds of all active ingredients used on corn
were herbicides. Glyphosate isopropylamine
salt was the most widely used pesticide overall,
and the active ingredient used in the greatest
total amount. Fungicide and insecticide active
ingredients were applied to 8 percent and 12
percent of acres planted to corn, respectively.

Pest Management Practices

Scouting for weeds was the top pest management
practice on corn acreage.

11,030,900,000

Phosphate
78

60

3,800,400,000

Potash
61

79

3,943,500,000

Sulfur
15

Pesticides

13

166,500,000

Pesticides: Percent of Corn Planted Acres Treated,
2010 Program States
%

Herbicide
Fungicide
Insecticide
Other (z)

20%
40%
(z) = Less than half a percent

Top Pest Management Practices, by Percent of
Corn Planted Acres, 2010 Program States
Top Practice

%

Prevention

No-till or minimum till used

62

Avoidance

Rotated crops during past 3
years

71

Monitoring

Scouted for weeds

88

Ground covers, mulches, or
Suppression other physical barriers
maintained

34

Total Applied
(Lbs)

60%

80%

Top Pesticides Used, by Percent of Corn Planted
Acres Treated, 2010 Program States
Active Ingredient

Pesticide

Acres
Rate per Crop Total Applied
Treated (%) Year (Lbs/Acre)
(Lbs)
Herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicide

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt
66

1.065

57,536,000

Atrazine
61

1.034

51,129,000

Acetochlor
25

1.398

27,921,000

*Information on organic corn chemical usage and pest management practices is included in the organic corn summary available in the Quick
Stats 2.0 database.

Upland Cotton Highlights
Fertilizers: Applications to Upland Cotton Planted
Acres, 2010 Program States

Fertilizers

Of the three primary macronutrients, nitrogen (N)
was the most widely used on upland cotton acres.
Farmers applied nitrogen to 90 percent of planted
acres at an average rate of 77 pounds per acre
for the crop year. Macronutrients phosphate (P)
and potash (K) were also applied to the majority
of acres, but less extensively used. The secondary
macronutrient, sulfur (S), was applied to 42
percent of acres planted to upland cotton.

Fertilizer
Acres
Treated (%)

Rate per Crop
Year (Lbs/Acre)
Nitrogen

90

77

62

41

Scouting for weeds was the top pest management
practice on upland cotton acreage.

52

66

%

Equipment and implements
cleaned

68

Field edges, ditches, or fence
lines maintained

68

Avoidance

Crop variety chosen for
specific pest resistance

64

Monitoring

Scouted for weeds

92

Suppression

Ground covers, mulches, or other
physical barriers maintained

40

Prevention

311,100,000

Sulfur
13

47,300,000

Pesticides: Percent of Upland Cotton Planted
Acres Treated, 2010 Program States
Herbicide
Fungicide
Insecticide
Other

20%

Top Pest Management Practices, by Percent of
Upland Cotton Planted Acres, 2010 Program
States
Top Practice

233,100,000

Potash

42

Pest Management Practices

629,700,000

Phosphate

Pesticides

Herbicide active ingredients were applied to
99 percent of acres planted to upland cotton.
Glyphosate isopropylamine salt was the most
widely used pesticide overall. Fungicides and
insecticides were applied to 1 percent and 55
percent of planted acres, respectively. Other
chemicals including defoliants and growth
regulators were applied to 87 percent of planted
acres. The growth regulator ethephon was the
second most widely used active ingredient.

Total Applied
(Lbs)

40%

60%

80%

Top Pesticides Used, by Percent of Upland Cotton
Planted Acres Treated, 2010 Program States
Active Ingredient

Pesticide

Acres
Rate per Crop Total Applied
Treated (%) Year (Lbs/Acre)
(Lbs)
Herbicide
Other
Herbicide

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt
68

1.706

10,606,000

Ethephon
65

1.357

8,057,000

Trifluralin
39

0.859

3,055,000

Fall Potato Highlights
Fertilizers

Of the three primary macronutrients, nitrogen (N)
was the most widely used on acres planted to fall
potatoes. Farmers applied nitrogen to 99 percent
of acres at an average rate of 228 pounds per acre
for the crop year. Macronutrients phosphate (P)
and potash (K) were also widely used, with just 10
percent or less of planted acreage left untreated.
The secondary macronutrient, sulfur (S), a nutrient
also used in soil pH management, was applied to
73 percent of acres planted to fall potatoes.

Fertilizer
Acres
Treated (%)

Rate per Crop
Year (Lbs/Acre)

Total Applied
(Lbs)

Nitrogen
99

228

175,800,000

Phosphate
96

158

118,000,000

Potash
90

201

141,100,000

Sulfur

Pesticides

73

Herbicide active ingredients were applied to
94 percent of acres planted to fall potatoes.
Metribuzin was the most widely used pesticide
overall. Applied to 96 percent of planted acres,
fungicides comprised the most widely used
pesticide class. Chlorothalonil and mancozeb were
the second and third most widely used pesticides.
Insecticides were applied to 83 percent of acres,
and other chemicals including dessicants were
applied to 69 percent of planted acreage.

Pest Management Practices

Scouting for diseases, insects and mites were the
top pest management practices on fall potato
acreage.

Top Pest Management Practices, by Percent of
Fall Potato Planted Acres, 2010 Program States
Top Practice

%

Prevention

Seed treated for insect or disease
control after purchase

83

Avoidance

Rotated crops during past 3 years

92

Scouted for diseases

98

Scouted for insects and mites

98

Monitoring

Fertilizers: Applications to Fall Potato Planted
Acres, 2010 Program States

Pesticides with different
mechanisms of action used to
Suppression
keep pest from becoming
resistant to pesticides

71

94

53,300,000

Pesticides: Percent of Fall Potato Planted Acres
Treated, 2010 Program States
Herbicide
Fungicide
Insecticide
Other

20%

40%

60%

80%

Top Pesticides Used, by Percent of Fall Potato
Planted Acres Treated, 2010 Program States
Active Ingredient

Pesticide

Acres
Rate per Crop Total Applied
Treated (%) Year (Lbs/Acre)
(Lbs)
Herbicide
Fungicide
Fungicide

Metribuzin
77

0.450

268,000

Chlorothalonil
63

4.416

2,174,000

Mancozeb
60

3.258

1,511,000