Abstract
We showed the results of the first long-term analysis (1987–2019) of pesticide (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) impact in the Rolling Pampa, one of the main agricultural areas of Argentina. Using a clear and meaningful tool, based not only on acute toxicity but also on scaling up the results to total sown area, we identified time trends for both pesticide impact and the ecoefficiency of modal pesticide profiles. By the end of the time series, soybean showed a pesticide impact four times greater than maize crop in the studied area. However, the time trend in the subperiod (2012–2019) showed a sustainable pattern of pesticide use in soybean crop, with an improvement in its ecoefficiency. Oppositely, maize showed a relatively constant ecoefficiency value during most of the time series, suggesting a possible path towards an unsustainable cropping system. Findings from this study suggest that some efforts have to be made to improve the pest management decisions towards a more efficient pesticide profiles in maize crop and to keep improving the ecotoxicity pesticide profile in soybean crops because of its large sown area in the studied area.
Highlights
Modern agriculture includes the use of pesticides that have positively impacted cropping systems with a significant increase in yields [1]
The high ecotoxicological hazard per hectare (i.e P index) that the soybean crop exhibited during most of the time series was enhanced by the large sown area occupied by this crop in the studied area (Fig 2)
The increase in the sown area with soybean crop was significant in the period 1987–2019, something that did not occur with corn, which exhibited increases and decreases without a defined pattern (Fig 2)
Summary
Modern agriculture includes the use of pesticides that have positively impacted cropping systems with a significant increase in yields [1]. Rising pesticide use (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) has been related to both human health and environmental degradation processes [3,4]. An understanding and a practical assessment of the impact of agrochemical inputs are essential goals for designing sustainable cropping systems [6]. In this sense, a sustainability assessment can be made by using an indicator’s fixed absolute values, or its temporal trajectory, as a proxy for forecasting the future state of a system [7]. The use of long-term approaches has furthered the understanding of the evolution of farming systems [8] and helped to infer future transitions toward sustainable or unsustainable system states [9]. Data from long-term analyses of pesticide use in the recent literature are scarce [10,11,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
