Agricultural Chemical Use - Wheat 2009

WHEAT 2009

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 2009, NASS collected data about
chemical use and pest management on acres of
conventional and organic durum wheat, other
spring wheat and winter wheat that were planted
for the 2009 crop year. These data were collected

as part of the Agricultural Resource Management
Survey, and results were based on 2,399 individual
responses from producers in 16 program states:
Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota,
Texas and Washington. These states accounted for
89 percent of the wheat acres planted nationwide
in the 2009 crop year, including 88 percent of the
durum acres, 99 percent of the other spring wheat
acres and 86 percent of the winter wheat acres.

Agricultural Chemical Use Wheat Program States
by Type of Wheat, 2009

Winter Wheat
Winter and Other Spring Wheat
Winter, Durum and Other Spring Wheat

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.nass.usda.gov

A
C

Durum
Wheat

Other Spring
Wheat

Winter
Wheat

20%

Durum
Wheat
Other
Spring
Wheat
Winter
Wheat

60%

80%

Fungicides

Propiconazole was the most widely applied
fungicide, used on 22 percent of acres planted to
other spring wheat, 17 percent of durum wheat
and 4 percent of winter wheat. Tebuconazole was
the next most common fungicide, applied to 12
percent of other spring wheat acres, 8 percent of
durum wheat and 1 percent of the winter wheat.

Insecticides

sT
rea
ted
Ac
re

d

Chlorpyrifos, the only insecticide used to a
significant extent on wheat planted acreage, was
applied to 3 percent of the durum and winter
wheat acres and 2 percent of other spring wheat
acres.

Top Herbicides Used, by Percent Acres Treated,
2009 Program States
Active Ingredient

40%

lie

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt, though not
always applied to the largest percentage of
planted acres, was consistently applied in the
greatest total amount. Per wheat type, the total
amount of glyphosate isopropylamine salt used
was over 3 times the amount of the second most
applied active ingredient.

Herbicide

Ap
p

Herbicide active ingredients, which comprised the
most widely used pesticide class, ranked highest
in both percentage of planted acres treated and
total amount applied for all three wheat types.

Fungicide

al

Herbicides

Insecticide

To
t

In the 16 states surveyed, a total of 80 separate
pesticide active ingredients were used on acres
planted to winter wheat, 68 active ingredients
were used on other spring wheat acres, and 47
were used on durum wheat acres. Herbicides
were the most widely used of the three pesticide
classes, applied to all of the durum wheat acres,
nearly all of the other spring wheat acres and
60 percent of the winter wheat acres planted.
Fungicides were applied to 36 percent of the
acres planted to other spring wheat , 23 percent
of the acres planted to durum wheat and
7 percent of acres planted to winter wheat. The
use of insecticides was far less common. They
were applied to 6 percent or less of the planted
acreage for each wheat type.

Pesticides: Percent of Planted Acres Treated,
2009 Program States

Ra
Cr te p
op er
Ye
ar

Pesticides

%

Lbs/Acre

Lbs

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt

69

0.589

909,000

Bromoxynil octanoic acid ester

59

0.188

248,000

Fenoxaprop-p ethyl ester

43

0.059

57,000

Bromoxynil octanoic acid ester

43

0.193

1,098,000

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt

42

0.718

3,976,000

Fenoxaprop-p ethyl ester

32

0.059

251,000

Glyphosate isopropylamine salt

28

1.160

11,838,000

2,4-D, 2-ethylhexyl ester

18

0.551

3,626,000

Metsulfuron-methyl

16

0.003

15,000

Nitrogen, the most widely used fertilizer
ingredient, was used on nearly all acres planted to
durum and other spring wheat, while phosphate
was applied to more than 80 percent of those
acres. Nitrogen was applied to 83 percent of the
winter wheat acres, while phosphate was applied
to 54 percent. Potash and sulfur were used less
extensively.

Fertilizers: Percent of Planted Acres Treated,
2009 Program States

Fertilizers: Rate per Crop Year,
2009 Program States
Nitrogen

Phosphate

Potash

Sulfur

100
90
80
70
Lbs/Acre

Fertilizers

60
50
40
30

Nitrogen

Phosphate

Potash

Sulfur

100%

20
10

90%
80%

Durum
Wheat

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Durum
Wheat

Other Spring
Wheat

Winter
Wheat

Other Spring
Wheat

Winter
Wheat

Pest Management Practices

Wheat growers reported using several management practices to aid in the deterrence of pests through
prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression.

Wi
nt
er

No-till or minimum till used

91%

65%

55%

Avoidance

Rotated crops during past 3 years

73%

68%

36%

Monitoring

Scouted for weeds (deliberately, or by general
observations while performing routine tasks)

97%

97%

84%

Ground covers, mulches, or other physical barriers
maintained

60%

55%

39%

Suppression

ru
m

Wh
ea
t

Ot
Wh her
ea Spr
ing
t

Prevention

Top Practice

Wh
ea
t
Du

Top Pest Management Practices by Percent of Planted Acres,
2009 Program States

For More Information

The 2009 agricultural chemical use data for wheat were published May 19, 2010 and are available through
the Quick Stats database on the NASS Web site: www.nass.usda.gov.
To access the database directly, go to 'quickstats.nass.usda.gov' and under 'Sector,' select 'Environmental.'
For assistance call the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540.
NASS will publish additional data from the Agricultural Chemical Use Program through 2011, including:
Fruits, 2009 Crop Year - July 28, 2010
Nursery and Floriculture, 2009 Crop Year - January 2011
Post-harvest Wheat, 2010 Marketing Year - March 2011
Corn, Organic Corn, Upland Cotton and Fall Potatoes, 2010 Crop Year - May 2011
Vegetables, 2010 Crop Year - July 2011

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.nass.usda.gov