Released: November 2001

Overview:  The pest management practices in this report are based on data compiled from a survey conducted in February 2001. Results refer to responses from sampled producers concerning specific practices. The producers were asked how many acres of a specific commodity they grew in 2000 and what pesticide management practices they used. Pests were defined as weeds, insects, and diseases. If the respondent used a specific practice on a crop, it was assumed the practice was used on all of the acres of that crop. The data are published in two tables: percent of acres receiving the specific pest management practice and percent of farms utilizing the specific pest management practice. The complete report, including results at the U.S. level, can be found at www.usda.gov/nass.

Highlights: Rotating crops to control pests was the leading pest management practice on many commodities. For example, this practice was used on 70 and 72 percent of the corn and soybean acres, respectively. Tillage was used on 70 percent of the wheat acreage to manage pests. Scouting used to make decisions was used on 88 percent of the fruit acreage while weather monitoring was used on 77 percent of the fruit acreage. Crops were rotated on 83 percent of the vegetable acres and alternate pesticides were used on 74 percent of the acreage.