The 2022 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey of vegetable producers collected 

data about fertilizer and pesticide use as well as pest management practices 

on acres planted to 22 different vegetable crops. NASS conducted the 

survey among producers in 17 states, focusing on the states that were major 

producers for the surveyed crops. (Fig. 1) 

Data are for the 2022 crop year, the one-year period beginning after the 2021 

harvest and ending with the 2022 harvest. Detailed data are available online 

for all 22 vegetable 

crops (see sidebar for 

how to access). This 

document highlights 

three vegetables: snap 

beans, squash, and 

sweet corn.

Fertilizer Use

Fertilizer refers to a soil-enriching input that contains one or more plant 

nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N), phosphate (P2O5), and potash (K2O). For 

the 2022 crop year, nitrogen was the most widely applied nutrient for all 

three featured 

vegetable crops, 

measured as 

percent of 

planted acres 

(Table 1). Potash 

was the second 

most commonly 

applied nutrient.

About the Survey

The Agricultural Chemical 

Use Program of USDA’s 

National Agricultural Statistics 

Service (NASS) is the federal 

government’s official source 

of statistics about on-farm 

and post-harvest commercial 

fertilizer and pesticide use and 

pest management practices. 

NASS conducts agricultural 

chemical use surveys as part 

of the Agricultural Resource 

Management Survey. NASS 

conducted the Vegetable 

Chemical Use Survey in fall 2022.

Access the Data 

Access 2022 and earlier 

vegetable chemical use data 

through the Quick Stats 

database (quickstats.nass.usda.

gov).

• In Program, select “Survey”

• In Sector, select “Environmental”

• In Group, select “Vegetables”

• In Commodity, select the 

vegetable(s) for which you

want data

• Select your category, data item, 

geographic level, and year

For pre-defined Quick Stats 

queries that take you to data 

for a particular vegetable, go 

to bit.ly/AgChem and click 

“Data Tables” under the 2022 

Vegetables heading. For survey 

methodology information, click 

“Methodology.”

2022 AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL USE

Vegetable Crops

NASS Highlights July 2023 • No. 2023-4

Fig. 1. States in the 2022 Vegetable Chemical Use Survey

(number of crops surveyed in state)

4

2

6

8

5

5

4

6

2 1 2

2

5

5

2

21

8

AGRICULTURAL 

CHEMICAL USE

AGRICULTURAL 

CHEMICAL USE

www.nass.usda.gov

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Table 1. Nitrogen Applied to Planted Acres, Selected Vegetables, 

2022 Crop Year

% of Acres

w Nitrogen

Applied

Average

Rate

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(mil lbs)

Snap Beans 71 71 7.4

Squash 78 54 1.6

Sweet Corn 92 101 32.5
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 

www.nass.usda.gov

Pesticide Use

The pesticide active ingredients used on vegetables are 

classified as herbicides (targeting weeds), insecticides 

(targeting insects), fungicides (targeting fungal disease), and 

other chemicals (targeting all other pests and other materials, 

including extraneous crop foliage). 

Snap bean growers applied herbicides to more acres (78% 

of planted acres) than insecticides or fungicides (52% and 

41% of planted acres, respectively). Squash growers applied 

fungicides and insecticides to 69% and 63% of planted acres, 

respectively. Sweet corn growers applied herbicides to 82%

of planted acres but insecticides and fungicides to fewer 

acres. (Fig. 2) Further detail on the top pesticides can be

found in Table 2.

Fig. 2. Pesticides Applied to Selected Vegetables, 2022 Crop Year

(percent of planted acres)

2

40

72

82

0

41

52

78

Snap Beans

Squash

6

69

63

39

Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Other Chemicals

Sweet Corn

Pest Management Practices

The survey asked growers to report on the practices they 

used to manage pests, including weeds, insects, and diseases. 

Vegetable growers reported practices in four categories of 

pest management strategy, widely referred to as PAMS – 

prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression.

• Prevention practices involve actions to keep a pest 

population from infesting a crop or field.

• Avoidance practices use cultural measures to mitigate or 

eliminate the detrimental effects of pests.

• Monitoring practices involve observing or detecting

pests by systematic sampling, counting, or other

forms of scouting.

• Suppression practices involve controlling or reducing 

existing pest populations to mitigate crop damage.

The most widely used prevention practice for selected 

vegetables was cleaning equipment and implements after 

field work, used on 77% of planted acres. The top avoidance 

practice was rotating crops (82%). Scouting for diseases was 

the most widely reported monitoring practice, used on 98% 

of vegetable planted acres. The suppression practice of using 

pesticides with different mechanisms of action to keep pests 

from becoming resistant to pesticides was used on 57% of the 

acres. (Table 3) 

Table 3. Top Practice in Pest Management Category, 2022 Crop Year

(percent of planted acres, 22 vegetables)

Prevention: Equipment and implements cleaned after field work 77

Avoidance: Rotated crops during past three years 82

Monitoring: Scouted for diseases (deliberately, or by general 

observations while performing other tasks) 98

Suppression: Used pesticides with different mechanisms of 

action to keep pests from becoming resistant to pesticides 57

Table 2. Top Pesticides Applied to Selected Vegetables,

2022 Crop Year (percent of planted acres, 22 vegetables)

Active

Ingredient

% of

Acres with 

Ingredient

Applied

Average

Rate

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(lbs)

Herbicides

Snap Beans

 Bentazon 47 0.647 49,600

 S- Metolachlor 35 1.378 76,600

Squash

 Clomazone 20 0.205 1,600

 Ethalflualin 20 0.776 6,100

 Fomesafen sodium 6 0.195 500

Sweet Corn

 Atrazine 60 0.527 110,500

 Tembotrione 30 0.085 8,800

Insecticides

Snap Beans

 Lambda-cyhalothrin 26 0.039 1,600

 Bifenthrin 19 0.320 9,400

Squash

 Chlorantraniliprole 23 0.184 1,600

 Imidacloprid 12 0.247 1,100

Sweet Corn

 Bifenthrin 31 0.112 13,400

 Lambda-cyhalothrin 30 0.062 6,500

Fungicides

Snap Beans

 Thiophanate-methyl 20 2.698 83,600

 Azoxystrobin 11 0.356 6,200

Squash

 Chlorothalonil 53 4.778 98,900

 Copper hydroxide 36 2.426 33,600

Sweet Corn

 Propiconazole 23 0.099 8,000

 Pyraclostrobin 19 0.179 12,100