NASS Highlights 2016 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey - Potatoes

NASS Highlights

•

May 2017

No. 2017-3

2016 AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL USE SURVEY

AGRICULTURAL
Fall Potatoes
CHEMICAL
USE
Eight states . . .

The 2016 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey of potato producers collected
data about fertilizer and pesticide use as well as pest management practices
in growing fall potatoes. NASS conducted the survey in eight states that
together accounted for 90 percent of the 920,800 acres planted to fall potatoes
in the United States in 2016: Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota,
North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin (Fig. 1).

AGRICULTURAL
CHEMICAL USE

. . . accounted for 90 percent
of U.S. acres planted to fall
potatoes in 2016.

About the Survey
The Agricultural Chemical Use
Program of USDA’s National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
is the federal government’s official
source of statistics about on-farm and
post-harvest commercial fertilizer and
pesticide use and pest management
practices. NASS conducts field crop
agricultural chemical use surveys
as part of the Agricultural Resource
Management Survey. NASS conducted
the fall potato chemical use survey in
fall 2016.

Access the Data
Access fall potato chemical use data
through the Quick Stats 2.0 database
(quickstats.nass.usda.gov).
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In Program, select “Survey”
In Sector, select “Environmental”
In Group, select “Vegetables”
In Commodity, select “Potatoes”
Select your category, data item,
geographic level, and year

Data are for the 2016
crop year, the oneyear period beginning
after the 2015 harvest
and ending after the
2016 harvest.

Fig. 1. States in the 2016 Fall Potato Chemical Use Survey

Fertilizer Use
Fertilizer refers to a soil-enriching input that contains one or more plant
nutrients. Farmers applied nitrogen to 98 percent of planted acres, at an
average rate of 233 pounds per acre, for a total of 182 million pounds in the
2016 crop year. They applied phosphate to 92 percent of fall potato planted
acres, potash to
90 percent, and
Table 1. Fertilizer Applied to Fall Potato Planted Acres, 2016 Crop Year
sulfur to
% of
Avg. Rate
Total
76 percent.
Planted
for Year
Applied
(Table 1)
Acres
(lbs/acre)
(mil lbs)

For pre-defined Quick Stats queries,
go to bit.ly/AgChem and click “Data
Tables” under the 2016 Corn and
Potatoes heading. For methodology
information, click “Methodology.”

United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service

Nitrogen (N)

98

233

182.1

Phosphate (P2O5)

92

155

118.1

Potash (K2O)

90

172

128.5

Sulfur (S)

76

78

49.4

www.nass.usda.gov

Pesticide Use

• Avoidance practices use cultural measures to
mitigate or eliminate detrimental effects of pests.
• Monitoring practices observe or detect pests by
sampling, counting, or other forms of scouting.
• Suppression practices involve controlling or reducing
existing pest populations to mitigate crop damage.

The pesticide active ingredients used on fall potatoes
are classified as herbicides (targeting weeds),
insecticides (targeting insects), fungicides (targeting
fungal disease), or other chemicals (targeting all
other pests and other materials, including extraneous
crop foliage). Fungicides were used most extensively,
applied to 97 percent of planted acres. Herbicides
and insecticides were applied to 94 and 82 percent of
planted acres, respectively. (Fig. 2)
Among fungicides, chlorothalonil and mancozeb were
the most widely applied active ingredients (used on
79 and 56 percent of planted acres, respectively). The
most widely used herbicide was metribuzin (68 percent
of planted acres). (Table 2)
Fig. 2. Pesticides Applied to Fall Potato Planted Acres, 2016 Crop Year
(% of planted acres)
Fungicide

97

Herbicide

94

Insecticide

82

Other

43

Table 2. Top Pesticides Applied to Fall Potato Planted Acres,
2016 Crop Year
% of
Planted
Acres

Avg. Rate
for Year
(lbs/acre)

Total
Applied
(mil lbs)

Chlorothalonil (fungicide)

79

3.598

2.4

Metribuzin (herbicide)

68

0.447

0.3

Mancozeb (fungicide)

56

4.232

2.0

Active
Ingredient

The most widely reported monitoring practice was
scouting for diseases, used on 98 percent of fall potato
planted acres. Among avoidance practices, crop rotation
was practiced on 97 percent of planted acres. The
most widely used prevention practice was cleaning
equipment and implements after field work to reduce
the spread of pests (86 percent). Using pesticides with
different mechanisms of action to keep pests from
becoming resistant to pesticides was the most reported
suppression practice (70 percent). (Table 3)
These practices were also the top practice in each
category in 2014, when NASS last conducted the fall
potato chemical use survey.
Table 3. Top Practice in Pest Management Category, 2016 Crop Year
(% of planted acres, fall potatoes)
Monitoring: Scouted for diseases (deliberately, or by general
observations while performing other tasks)

98

Avoidance: Rotated crops during last three years

97

Prevention: Cleaned equipment and implements after field work

86

Suppression: Used pesticides with different mechanisms of action

70

Surveyed States: Acres Planted to Fall Potatoes, 2016
U.S. Total

Pest Management Practices
The survey asked growers to report on the practices
they used to manage pests, which the survey
identifies as weeds, insects, and diseases. Fall potato
growers reported practices in four categories:
• Prevention practices involve actions to keep a pest
population from infesting a crop or field.

Idaho
Washington
North Dakota
Wisconsin
Colorado
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Total, Surveyed States

thousands of acres
920.8

% of U.S.
100

325.0
170.0
80.0
65.0
57.1
47.0
47.0
40.0
831.1

35.3
18.5
8.7
7.1
6.2
5.1
5.1
4.3
90.3

Numbers may not add due to rounding.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
www.nass.usda.gov