FUN G I C I DES
a
HERB I C I DESU Other Orga n i c 2,4 - Dc Herb i c i des
DDT
roTA L
I NSECT I C I DE S Other Orga n i c I norga n i c I nsect i c i des I nsecti c i des
(loool-oll$\
1959
123 . 9
28. 4
21 . 6
78 . 4
80 . 7
9.7
342 . 7
1960
147 . 5
35 . 1
16 . 1
82 . 1
93.4
8.3
382 . 5
1961
1 32 . 4
40 . 1
20 . 4
85 . 7
109 . 6
9.2
3 97 . 4
1962
98 . 7
40 . 0
35 . 4
83 . 5
119 . 2
7.3
384 . 1
1963
97.2
45 . 4
41.9
89 . 5
1 19 . 5
5.6
39 9 . 1
1964
98 . 2
54 . 0
59 . 2
61.9
1 28 . 1
8.1
409 . 5
1965
109 . 2
63. 3
68.2
70 . 4
1 74 . 8
5 .6
49 1 . 5
1966
120 . 4
--
--
70 . 7
205 . 3
5.1
1967
1 12 . 3
80 . 4
51.7
19 6 . 2
3.9
568 . 8
124 . 3
1968
1 20 . 9
86 . 7
147 . 8
69 . 7
2 14 . 9
6.2
646 . 2
1969
1 20 . 8
52 . 0
144 . 7
61.6
209 . 4
5.2
593 . 7
1970
115 . 4
201 . 9
29 . 7
177 . 3
3.0
527 . 3
TABLE I .
-
-
PRODUCTION O F PEST I C I DE S I N THE U N I T E D STATES ( in 1000tons ) . Data for i norga n i c pesti ci des 6 data for orga n i c pesti c i de s are from
are from Agri cul tural Stati s t i cs , USDA; U . S . Tari ff Comni s s i on Annual a b c
=
=
5 Report .
i nc l udes : copper s u l fate a n d organ i c compounds , excl udes s u l fur orga n i c compounds only i nc l udes esters a nd sa l ts
an important discovery, not only for the grain farmer but also for the military who used 2, 4-D to destroy millions of acres of farmlands and forests in S outh Vietnam .b Today , 2, 4-D is the herbicide most pro duced in the United States and the one most abundant ly used by American farmers. In many ways, W orld War II fostered an agricultural revolution. Since the introduction of DDT, 2, 4-D and organic phosphates, U. S . production of synthetic organic pesticides has increased from 3 3 thousand tons of DDT and one thousand tons of 2, 4-D in 1 945 to 5 5 2 thousand tons of one hundred or so different pesticides in 1968. 6 Today there are over 100 indus trial firms producing about 1 000 pesticide chemicals variously combined in over 5 0 , 000 registered commercial pesticides. (Table I) Most of the public debate concerning pesticides has centered on problems associated with their uses in agriculture. However, only about 5 0% of the pesticides used in the United States are applied to farms (Table II) ; the remainder is used by government, industry and
urban dwellers. In fact, suburban lawns and gardens probably receive the heaviest applications of pesticides of any land area in the United States. 8 Pesticides, nevertheless, are used extensively on U. S . farmlands, although exact figures are unavailable. Usually records of production, sales, imports and exports give some indication of farm usage, but these
TYPE OF PESTICIDE
FUNGICIDES:
HERB ICIDES:
side notes a 1 968 statement by Samual Huntington, South east Asia advisor to the State Departm ent: "In an absent
c
in which a rural revolutionary movement can . . . come to power."
Page 46
55%
114 43
48%
others
71
59%
INSECT I C I DES
d
Aldrin-Toxaphene
54%
39
68% 54%
101
TQIBI PESIICIQE
TABLE 1I ,
5 7%
165 25
DDT
ill
3ll Selected pesticides
used by U . S . Farme rs , 1966. From U . S . D .A . Economic Research Service.
stumbled upon the answer to 'wars of National Liberation' ... forced draft, urbanization and modernization which
27%
2 ,4-D; 2 , 4 , 5-T
minded way the United States in Vietnam may have
rapidly brings the country in question out of the phase
S USED B Y U.S. FARMERS
g
b
Other
b. In his book Defoliation (Ballantine Books) Thomas White
IUIAL USE IN u.s. 1000 tons•
7
a = Calcul ated by subtracting exports from production • b = Excludes : s u l fur and pentachlorophenol c = Includes: plant hormones . defol iants and desiccants. d = Incl udes : fumi gants, rodenti cides , m i t i c i de s . e = Includes: a l dr i n , chlordane, d i e l dri n , end r i n , heptachlQr and toxaphene .
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