NASS Highlights 2021 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey - Fruit

NASS Highlights

July 2022

•

No. 2022-5

2021 AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL USE

AGRICULTURAL
Fruit Crops
CHEMICAL
USE

The 2021 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey of fruit producers collected data
about pesticide use as well as pest management practices on acres planted
to 20 different fruit crops. NASS conducted the survey among producers in
12 states, focusing on the states that were major producers of the surveyed
crops. (Fig. 1)

AGRICULTURAL
CHEMICAL USE
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 chemical
use surveys as part of the Agricultural
Resource Management Survey. NASS
conducted the fruit chemical use
survey in fall 2021.

Data are for the 2021 crop year, the one-year period beginning after the 2020
harvest and ending with the 2021 harvest. Data are available online for all 20
fruit crops (see sidebar
Fig. 1. States Included in the 2021 Fruit Chemical Use Survey
for how to access).
(number of crops surveyed in state)
This document
highlights three fruits
6
– apples, blueberries,
4
and peaches, each
2
produced in at least
4
2
six geographically
2
diverse states.
19
1
2

1

1

Access the Data

4

Access 2021 and earlier fruit chemical
use data through the Quick Stats
database (http://quickstats.nass.usda.
gov).
• In Program, select “Survey”
• In Sector, select “Environmental”
• In Group, select “Fruit”
• In Commodity, select the fruit(s) you
want data for
• Select your category, data item,
geographic level, and year
For pre-defined Quick Stats queries
that take you to data for a particular
fruit, go to http://bit.ly/AgChem and
click “Data Tables” under the 2021 Fruit
heading. For survey methodology
information, click “Methodology.”

Pesticide Use
The pesticide active ingredients used on fruit are classified as herbicides
(targeting weeds), insecticides (targeting insects), fungicides (targeting fungal
disease), and other chemicals (targeting all other pests and other materials,
including extraneous crop foliage).
Apple growers applied both fungicides and other chemicals equally to 89%
of the acres. Peach and blueberry growers applied fungicides to 86% and
85% of acres, respectively. Growers applied insecticides to 85% of apple acres,
84% of blueberry acres, and 82% of peach acres. Herbicides were used less
extensively. (Fig. 2). Further detail on the top pesticides can be found in
Table 1.

United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.nass.usda.gov

Table 1. Top Pesticides, by Percent of Planted Acres, Selected
Fruits, 2021 Crop Year

Fig. 2. Pesticides Applied to Selected Fruits, 2021 Crop Year
(percent of planted acres)
85

Apples
42

Blueberries

Active Ingredient
Apples
Copper hydroxide
Calcium polysulfide
Blueberries
Captan
Fludioxonil
Peaches
Sulfur
Propiconazole

61

Peaches
52

Insecticide

89

85
84

41

Fungicide

89

82

62

Other Chemicals

86

Herbicides

Percent of acres treated.

Pest Management Practices
The survey asked growers to report on the practices
they used to manage pests, including weeds, insects,
and diseases. Fruit growers reported practices in three
categories. Table 2 shows the top practices in each
category.
•  Prevention practices involve actions to keep a pest
population from infesting a crop or field.
•  Monitoring practices involve observing or detecting
pests through systematic sampling, counting, or
other forms of scouting.
•  Suppression practices involve controlling or reducing
existing pest populations to mitigate crop damage.

Table 2. Top Practices in Pest Management Category, 2021 Crop Year
(percent of planted acres, 20 fruits)
Prevention: Crop acres irrigated

94

Prevention: Cleaned equipment and implements after field work

81

Monitoring: Scouted for insects and mites

97

Monitoring: Scouted for diseases

97

Suppression: Maintained ground covers, mulches, or other
physical barriers
Suppression: Used pesticides with different mechanisms of action to
keep pest from becoming resistant to pesticides

68
59

Apples
Chlorantraniliprole
Carbaryl
Blueberries
Zeta-cypermethrin
Bifenthrin
Peaches
Esfenvalerate
Beta-cyfluthrin

% of Acres
with
Ingredient
Applieda
Fungicides

Avg. Rate
for Year
(lbs/acre)

Total
Applied
(lbs)

49
46

2.572
36.310

353,500
4,669,600

50
38

5.245
0.306

226,200
9,900

46
39
Insecticides

39.783
0.180

1,283,100
5,000

50
43

0.122
1.403

17,000
168,700

44
32

0.056
0.183

2,200
5,100

36
27
Herbicides

0.093
0.043

2,300
800

1.099
1.499b
0.006
0.065

58,800
77,600b
300
3,300

1.724b
0.177

38,600b
3,000

1.478b
0.936b

29,700b
13,100b

38.275
0.299

6,596,100
26,400

13.240
2.074

124,300
17,900

25.837
0.033
0.159
0.011

882,600
300
1,600
100

Apples
Paraquat
19
Glyphosate isopropylamine salt
18
Pyraflufen-ethyl
18
Rimsulfuron
18
Blueberries
Glufosinate-ammonium
26
Mesotrione
20
Peaches
Glyphosate isopropylamine salt
29
2,4-D, dimethylamine salt
20
Other Chemicals
Apples
Mineral oil
61
Prohexadione calcium
31
Blueberries
Mineral oil
11
Hydrogen peroxide
10
Peaches
Mineral oil
48
E-8-Dodecenyl acetate
14
Z-8-Dodecen acetate
14
Z-8-Dodecanol
14

Acres with multiple ingredients are counted in each category.
Expressed in acid equivalent.

a

b

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