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 2014. 

Access the Data 

Access vegetable chemical use data 

through the Quick Stats 2.0 database 

(http://quickstats.nass.usda.gov).

• In Program, select “Survey” 

• In Sector, select “Environmental”

• In Group, select “Vegetables” 

• In Commodity, select the 

vegetable(s) you want data for

• 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 http://bit.ly/AgChem 

and click “Data Tables” under the 

2014 Vegetables heading. For survey 

methodology information, click 

“Methodology.”

2014 AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL USE SURVEY

Vegetable Crops

NASS Highlights

The 2014 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey collected data about fertilizer and 

pesticide use as well as pest management practices on acres planted to 29 

different vegetable crops. NASS conducted the survey among producers in 

19 states, focusing on the states that were major producers for the surveyed 

crops. (Fig. 1) In most cases, the combination of states surveyed represented

a significant percentage of the acres of that crop planted in 2014 (see matrix 

on p. 4). 

Data are for the 2014 crop year, the one-year period beginning after the 2013 

harvest and ending after the 2014 harvest. Data are available online for all 

29 vegetables (see sidebar for how to access). This document highlights five 

selected vegetables: 

fresh-market (FM) 

sweet corn, FM 

cucumbers, onions, 

snap beans grown 

for processing, and 

watermelons.

Fertilizer Use

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

nutrients. NASS collected data on three widely applied nutrients: nitrogen (N), 

phosphate (P2O5), and potash (K2O).

For the 2014 crop year, nitrogen was the most widely applied nutrient for all 

five featured crops, measured as percent of planted acres. For watermelons, 

potash was equally widely applied (94 percent). Nitrogen was followed by 

phosphate in the case of fresh-market sweet corn and onions, and by potash 

in the case of cucumbers. (Table 1) 

AGRICULTURAL 

CHEMICAL USE

AGRICULTURAL 

CHEMICAL USE

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service www.nass.usda.gov

November 2015 • No. 2015-4

Fig. 1. States in the 2014 Vegetable Chemical Use Survey

(number of crops surveyed in state)

6

6

1

3

3

3

7

4

8

8

8

8

9

5

5

24

10

2

2
Table 1. Fertilizers Applied to Selected Vegetables, by percent of 

planted acres, 2014 Crop Year 

% of

Planted 

Acres

Avg. Rate for 

Year

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(mil lbs)

Corn, sweet (FM)

Nitrogen 98 190 34.1

Phosphate 87 83 13.2

Potash 85 175 26.9

Cucumbers (FM)

Nitrogen 97 130 4.7

Phosphate 94 44 1.6

Potash 96 125 4.5

Onions

Nitrogen 98 211 24.2

Phosphate 91 122 12.8

Potash 68 134 10.0

Snap beans (PR)

Nitrogen 88 94 10.5

Phosphate 84 91 9.6

Potash 84 50 5.2

Watermelons

Nitrogen 94 133 10.8

Phosphate 85 80 5.9

Potash 94 146 12.0

FM = fresh market. PR = processing.

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). 

Sweet corn growers applied insecticides to more acres 

(75 percent of planted acres) than herbicides or 

fungicides (65 and 18 percent of planted acres 

respectively). Snap bean (PR) growers applied herbicides 

to 92 percent of planted acres and other pesticides to 

fewer acres. Watermelon growers, on the other hand, 

applied fungicides to 90 percent of planted acres 

but insecticides and herbicides to fewer acres. Onion 

growers applied the various kinds of pesticides more 

equally. (Fig. 2) 

Fig. 2. Pesticides Applied to Selected Vegetables, 2014 Crop Year 

(% of planted acres)

92

73

57

Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Other Chemicals

65

75

18

1

46

79

88

11

Cucumbers (FM)

49

74

90

13

Watermelons

87

86

82

28

Onions

Corn, sweet (FM)

Snap beans (PR)

Tables 2 through 4 show the top two herbicides, 

insecticides, and fungicides applied to each featured 

vegetable.

Table 2. Top Herbicides, by percent of planted acres, Selected 

Vegetables, 2014 Crop Year 

% of

Planted 

Acres

Avg. Rate for 

Year

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(lbs)

Corn, sweet (FM)

Atrazine 46 1.254 106,400

S-Metolachlor 30 1.556 87,600

Cucumbers (FM)

Clomazone 27 0.192 1,900

Ethalfluralin 26 0.579 5,800

Onions

Oxyfluorfen 68 0.36 27,500

Pendimethalin 61 1.645 111,400

Snap beans (PR)

S-Metolachlor 44 0.955 52,600

 EPTC 40 3.271 163,600

Watermelons

Trifluralin 11 0.773 7,400

Glyphosate 11 1.041 10,100

FM = fresh market. PR = processing.

2 2014 Vegetable Crops 
Chemical Use Survey 3 www.nass.usda.gov

Table 3. Top Insecticides, by percent of planted acres, Selected 

Vegetables, 2014 Crop Year

% of

Planted 

Acres

Avg. Rate for 

Year

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(lbs)

Corn, sweet (FM)

Lambda-cyhalothrin 45 0.132 11,100

Methomyl 32 2.073 122,000

Cucumbers (FM)

Methomyl 29 0.354 3,900

Zeta-cypermethrin 23 0.117 1,000

Onions

Methomyl 44 1.828 91,100

Spirotetramat 40 0.132 5,900

Snap beans (PR)

Bifenthrin 62 0.124 9,600

Lambda-cyhalothrin 13 0.045 700

Watermelons

Flubendiamide 18 0.075 1,200

Chlorantraniliprole 18 0.070 1,100

FM = fresh market. PR = processing.

Table 4. Top Fungicides, by percent of planted acres, Selected 

Vegetables, 2014 Crop Year 

% of

Planted 

Acres

Avg. Rate for 

Year

(lbs/acre)

Total

Applied

(lbs)

Corn, sweet (FM)

Propiconazole 9 0.219 3,700

Mancozeb 7 3.547 48,400

Cucumbers (FM)

Chlorothalonil 60 2.773 63,700

Fluopicolide 50 0.124 2,300

Onions

Mancozeb 57 3.402 217,200

Chlorothalonil 46 3.403 174,500

Snap beans (PR)

Thiophanate-methyl 39 1.398 68,800

Copper hydroxide 25 0.598 18,600

Watermelons

Chlorothalonil 60 5.378 285,100

Mancozeb 56 5.307 261,600

FM = fresh market. PR = processing.

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 through systematic sampling, counting, or 

other forms of scouting. 

• Suppression practices involve controlling or reducing 

existing pest populations to mitigate crop damage. 

Scouting for insects and mites was the most widely 

reported monitoring practice, used on 99 percent 

of vegetable planted acres. The most widely used 

avoidance practice was crop rotation, used on 81 

percent of planted acres. 

The prevention practice of chopping, spraying, mowing, 

plowing, or burning field edges, ditches, and fence 

lines was used on 80 percent of planted acres, and the 

suppression practice of applying various pesticides to 

keep pests from becoming resistant was used on 70 

percent of acres. (Table 5) 

Table 5. Top Practice in Pest Management Category, 2014 Crop Year 

(% of planted acres, 29 vegetables)

Prevention: Chopped, sprayed, mowed, plowed, or burned field edges, 

ditches or fence lines 80

Avoidance: Rotated crops during last three years 81

Monitoring: Scouted for insects and mites (deliberately, or by general 

observations while performing other tasks) 99

Suppression: Used pesticides with different mechanisms of action to 

keep pests from becoming resistant to pesticides 70
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

www.nass.usda.gov

States and Crops in the 2014 Vegetable Chemical Use Survey Arizona California Colorado Florida Georgia Illinois

MichiganMinnesotaNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOregonPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasWashingtonWisconsin

Surveyed States No. % of U.S. acres of crop

Asparagus X X X 3 100

Beans, snap (FM) X X X X X X 6 89

Beans, snap (PR) X X X X X X 6 65

Broccoli X 1 95

Cabbage (FM) X X X X X X X 7 80

Cantaloupes X X X 3 86

Carrots (FM) X X X 3 89

Carrots (PR) X X 2 32

Cauliflower X 1 89

Celery X 1 94

Corn, sweet (FM) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 14 80

Corn, sweet (PR) X X X 3 79

Cucumbers (FM) X X X X X X X 7 88

Cucumbers (PR) X X X X X X X 7 74

Garlic X 1 97

Honeydews X X 2 95

Lettuce, Head X X 2 100

Lettuce, Other X X 2 100

Onions X X X X X X X 7 71

Peas, green (PR) X X X X 4 85

Peppers, bell X X X X X 5 91

Pumpkins X X X X X 5 89

Spinach (FM) X X X 3 95

Squash X X X X X X X 7 83

Strawberries X X X X 4 91

Tomatoes (FM) X X X X X X 6 83

Tomatoes (PR) X 1 94

Watermelons X X X X X X X 7 76

No. of Crops 6 24 1 10 8 3 8 3 5 7 9 4 5 3 2 2 8 6 8

FM = fresh market. PR = processing.