Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
soybeans combined, using 1997/1998 data), resulting in a significant reduction
in potential exposure to pesticides (Fernandez-Cornejo and McBride, 2002).
Overall pesticide use on corn, soybeans, and cotton declined by about 2.5
million pounds, despite the slight increase in the amount of herbicides applied
to soybeans. In addition, glyphosate used on HT crops is less than one-third as
toxic to humans, and not as likely to persist in the environment as the
herbicides it replaces (Fernandez-Cornejo and McBride, 2002).
More recently, using 2001 data, ERS found that insecticide use was 8
percent lower per planted acre for adopters of Bt corn than for nonadopters
(Fernandez-Cornejo and Li, 2005).
9
The ERS results generally agree with field-test and other farm surveys that
have examined the effects of using GE crops (table 3). The majority of those
results show that pesticide use for adopters of GE crops is lower than for users
of conventional varieties.
Source: NSS surveys.
Figure 8. Pesticide use in major field crops
Adoption of HT soybeans appears to be associated with conservation
tillage
.
The environmental impact of conservation tillage is well docu-
mented.
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The use of conservation tillage reduces soil erosion by wind and
water, increases water retention, and reduces soil degradation and water and
chemical runoff.
