Executive summary

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Pesticides are used in agriculture to protect against insects, diseases and weeds that either attack the crop or compete for available resources. Although pesticide use is regulated in Canada, little data are collected on how they are actually used. The Crop Protection Survey was a voluntary survey designed to collect baseline data for the first time on quantities and types of pesticide and pest management practices used in 2005. This was a pilot project to determine the feasibility of collecting such information. This paper describes the methods used to collect the data and the process used to produce pesticide-use estimates for all Canadian apple production. Here are some of the major findings:

The majority of growers kept written records of pesticides applied to their orchards.

Growers rely heavily on chemical products to manage and control pests. They reported using pesticides for over 91.8% of total apple producing area.

A total of 924.7 tonnes of active ingredients for all types of pesticide were applied during the 2005 growing season. It is noteworthy that of the 528 tonnes of insecticide active ingredients applied in 2005, 464.7 tonnes (88%) was mineral oil, a low risk product used to prevent build up of pest populations.

Over half (57.1%) of the quantity applied was done to control insects, 40.8% to control diseases and 2.1% to control weeds. The average rate of application for the crop year for all active ingredients was relatively small for herbicides (1.28 kilogram per hectare) compared to 2.41 kilograms per hectare for fungicides and 5.97 kilograms per hectare for insecticides.

Over 90% of the total producing area was treated with insecticides, 86.6% with fungicides and 37.1% with herbicides.

Most of the treated area was either within or below the labelled rate of pesticide application.

Apple producers are diversifying the timing of their insecticide applications and in particular targeting insects at early stages of development when they are often easier to control with limited reliance on broad spectrum, relatively higher-risk insecticides. British Columbia and the Maritime Provinces showed the highest uptake of preventionbased integrated pest management (IPM) systems; Quebec and Ontario, where growers typically face more intense insect pest pressure had the lowest uptake.

The vast majority of the producing area with higher disease pressure was operated by growers planning to use prevention based management practices to control diseases. Practices needed to optimize the benefits of each fungicide application, while minimizing overall use, were adopted on more than two-thirds of the apple producing area. On the other hand, less than one-third of the area was simply sprayed by the calendar, a practice that often needlessly raises grower costs and environmental risks and contributes to the risk of triggering resistance to fungicides among disease pathogens. To manage the most prevalent diseases reported in 2005, growers were more likely to adopt advanced IPM practices than basic practices.

In order to help manage resistance of weeds, insects and disease to pesticides, the practices of reducing pest populations through non-chemical means were used on 35.6% of the producing area.

Canadian apple producers face a significant challenge in managing resistance, given that resistant weeds, insects and plant diseases are already present on about one-third of the producing area.