Pesticide use in U.S. corn production: Does conservation tillage make a difference?

J. C. Day; C. B. Hallahan; C. L. Sandretto; W. A. Lindamood

ABSTRACT:

This study analyzed herbicide and insecticide application rate data collected in surveys of farmers in the Corn Belt to determine if significant differences existed between five tillage practices: conventional with moldboard plow, conventional without moldboard plow, mulch-till, no-till, and ridge-till. Survey data from 1990, 1993, and 1995 were analyzed, and results compared to similar studies reported in the literature for the years 1980, 1990, 1991, and 1992. Only with no-till and ridge-till was there a clear statistically significant difference in herbicide application rates between conventional and conservation tillage systems. With respect to insecticides, application rates with conservation tillage were found to be no higher than with conventional tillage, and often lower. The key variable that determined pesticide loadings in the study area was the number of acres treated in each tillage class, not differences in per hectare application rates between classes.

Footnotes

John C. Day and Carmen L. Sandretto are agricultural economists with the Resource Economics Division, and Charles B. Hallahan and William A. Lindamood are mathematician and statistician, respectively, with the Information Services Division, for the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily correspond to the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Copyright 1999 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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