Abstract
BackgroundAccurate pesticide use data are essential when studying the environmental and public health impacts of pesticide use. Since the mid-1990s, significant changes have occurred in when and how glyphosate herbicides are applied, and there has been a dramatic increase in the total volume applied.MethodsData on glyphosate applications were collected from multiple sources and integrated into a dataset spanning agricultural, non-agricultural, and total glyphosate use from 1974–2014 in the United States, and from 1994–2014 globally.ResultsSince 1974 in the U.S., over 1.6 billion kilograms of glyphosate active ingredient have been applied, or 19 % of estimated global use of glyphosate (8.6 billion kilograms). Globally, glyphosate use has risen almost 15-fold since so-called “Roundup Ready,” genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant crops were introduced in 1996. Two-thirds of the total volume of glyphosate applied in the U.S. from 1974 to 2014 has been sprayed in just the last 10 years. The corresponding share globally is 72 %. In 2014, farmers sprayed enough glyphosate to apply ~1.0 kg/ha (0.8 pound/acre) on every hectare of U.S.-cultivated cropland and nearly 0.53 kg/ha (0.47 pounds/acre) on all cropland worldwide.ConclusionsGenetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops now account for about 56 % of global glyphosate use. In the U.S., no pesticide has come remotely close to such intensive and widespread use. This is likely the case globally, but published global pesticide use data are sparse. Glyphosate will likely remain the most widely applied pesticide worldwide for years to come, and interest will grow in quantifying ecological and human health impacts. Accurate, accessible time-series data on glyphosate use will accelerate research progress.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12302-016-0070-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Accurate pesticide use data are essential when studying the environmental and public health impacts of pesticide use
This paper presents trends in glyphosate use in order to help researchers better understand and quantify the risks and benefits stemming from uses of glyphosate-based herbicides
The top-six pesticides applied by U.S farmers and ranchers in 1995 included two herbicides mostly used on corn (#1 atrazine, and #2 metolachlor), three soil fumigants primarily applied on fruit and vegetable crops (#3-5, metam-sodium, methylbromide, dichloropropene), and one broad-leaf herbicide relied on in multiple cropping systems (#6, 2,4-D)
Summary
Accurate pesticide use data are essential when studying the environmental and public health impacts of pesticide use. Because no pharmaceutical applications were identified, the molecule was sold to a series of other companies and samples were tested for a number of possible end uses. A Monsanto chemist, Dr John Franz, identified the herbicidal activity of glyphosate in 1970, and a formulated end-use product called Roundup was first sold commercially by Monsanto in 1974 [2]. The number and diversity of agricultural and non-farm uses grew steadily, but the volume sold was limited because glyphosate could only be sprayed where land managers wanted to kill all vegetation (e.g., between the rows in orchards and viticulture; industrial yards; and, train, pipeline, and powerline rights of way). Still are made after a crop is harvested, to control late-season weeds that escaped other control measures. Desiccant applications are made late in the growing season to speed up harvest operations, especially in small grain crops
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