CropLife America commissioned the University of Arkansas to conduct a three-year assessment that evaluates the environmental benefits and impacts of pesticide application on corn, cotton, and soybeans.
The study examined crop productivity with and without pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) for the three crops. The assessment’s key results include the fact that without pesticides, yields of corn, cotton, and soybeans would drop up to 70 percent, underscoring the indispensable role of pesticides in agriculture. Cultivating corn, cotton, and soybeans without pesticides resulted in upwards of three times more land, water, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Pesticides enhance productivity and significantly reduce pressure on our water, land, and energy resources per bushel of corn and soybeans, and per pound of cotton.
“The researchers’ findings support the role pesticides play in helping feed, fuel, and clothe the world’s growing population in a sustainable manner,†says Alexandra Dunn, CropLife America President and CEO.
