SACRAMENTO--Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation has released 1997 pesticide use statistics that show a 3.5 percent increase in pounds applied from 1996, and a slight decrease from 1995.

Reported pesticide use in California totaled 204,779,717 pounds in 1997, compared to 197,828,481 pounds in 1996 and 205,133,950 pounds in 1995. Reported use includes production agriculture and postharvest fumigation of crops, structural pest control, landscape maintenance, and other uses. Exempt from reporting requirements and therefore not included in these totals are home and garden use of pesticides, and most industrial and institutional uses.

Summaries of pesticide use in 1997 -- categorized by chemical and crop or site -- are available on DPR's Web site www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/pur97rep/97_pur.htm. (The 1996 pesticide use summaries, released in May, are also available on the Web site.) And DPR has supplemented the use data with a new study published online: Pesticide Use Analysis and Trends from 1991 to 1996. The study examines major crops, pest problems, and high-use chemicals. It also analyzes trends in pesticides where use is highest as measured in pounds, number of applications, and acres treated.

"We need to reduce the use of the high-hazard pesticides, and this kind of analysis will help us understand what factors drive their use," said DPR Director Paul E. Helliker. "We can also examine the use of reduced-risk alternatives, and the crops, regions and situations where they are used most effectively."

The analysis determined that 31 pesticides account for 85 percent of pounds used, 52 percent of all applications, and 50 percent of the acres treated in 1996. The same pesticides also accounted for most of the increased use from 1991 to 1996; only four pesticides accounted for 68 percent of all pounds applied. The study underscores the fact that one year of data does not signify a trend. Pesticide use varies from year to year, depending upon pest problems, weather, crops, and other factors discussed in DPR's analysis.

Helliker noted that pounds applied is only one of several measures of pesticide use. "DPR's goal is to encourage the use of reduced-risk pest management tools -- including chemicals -- which have the least impact on the environment," he said. "Some reduced-risk chemicals are used at higher rates, so pounds applied may not provide an accurate measure of our progress."

DPR compiles yearly pesticide use reports from the most extensive database of its kind in the nation.

"The Department deferred release of the 1996 and 1997 pesticide use reports while developing software programs to provide more accurate data to the public," said Helliker. "We expect to bring the schedule of our annual pesticide use reports up to date with the release of the 1998 data in August."

Some key facts from the 1997 pesticide use reports:

• Production agriculture accounted for 189,796,122 pounds applied (with an additional 1,608,996 pounds used for postharvest commodity treatment) compared to 182,375,369 pounds (plus 1,847,859 postharvest) in 1996 and 187,577,922 pounds (plus 3,770,169 postharvest) in 1995.

• About one-third of the total pounds applied in 1997 involved sulfur. A natural fungicide favored by organic and conventional growers alike, sulfur was also the most-used pesticide from 1991 to 1996.

• The top five crops for pounds of pesticide used were wine grapes (27.1 million pounds); table and raisin grapes (26.9 million pounds); almonds (14.5 million pounds); cotton (13.4 million pounds); and oranges (11.5 million pounds).

Reported pesticide applications make up about 30 percent of the pesticides sold in the state each year. In 1997, there were 653.9 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients sold in California, compared to 699.6 million pounds in 1996. These sales figures include not only chemicals whose use must be reported, but also pesticides not subject to reporting requirements. This includes pesticides used in homes and gardens and in industrial and institutional settings, such as disinfectants and other antimicrobial products. Among the latter is chlorine used for municipal water treatment. Chlorine products typically account for more than a third of the pesticide active ingredients sold in California. Approximately 10,500 branded products that contained about 800 different active ingredients were registered for sale in California in 1997.

Summaries of the 1997 pesticide use data are available free online or for a nominal charge on hard copy or diskette. Two summary versions of the data (one indexed by pesticides, the other by crops) include number of applications, acreage or units treated, and pounds of pesticide used. The 300-page summaries may be ordered in hard copy ($10 each) or on diskette ($2.50). To order, send payment to: Cashier, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, 830 K Street, Sacramento 95814-3510. A complete data set of the 2.5 million-plus individual 1997 pesticide use reports is also available on CD ROM at a nominal cost. For information about the CD-ROM, call the DPR Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch at 916/324-4100.

DPR is one of six boards and departments within the California Environmental Protection Agency. DPR regulates the use of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.

County	Lbs AI		County	Lbs AI
Alameda	273,260		Orange	1,831,976
Alpine	121		Placer	362,619
Amador	134,703		Plumas	2,743
Butte	3,738,988		Riverside	4,339,486
Calaveras	46,626		Sacramento	3,730,460
Colusa	2,397,875		San Benito	609,220
Contra Costa	583,426		San Bernardino	527,074
Del Norte	246,137		San Diego	1,858,600
El Dorado	126,461		San Francisco	24,607
Fresno	35,110,883		San Joaquin	11,882,252
Glenn	2,683,853		San Luis Obispo	2,431,078
Humboldt	60,710		San Mateo	421,002
Imperial	8,484,339		Santa Barbara	3,875,940
Inyo	5,228		Santa Clara	740,533
Kern	25,658,041		Santa Cruz	1,727,669
Kings	6,678,449		Shasta	343,527
Lake	1,278,845		Sierra	17,637
Lassen	39,238		Siskiyou	440,817
Los Angeles	2,746,429		Solano	2,099,728
Madera	8,564,020		Sonoma	3,899,566
Marin	61,685		Stanislaus	5,840,179
Mariposa	29,746		Sutter	3,970,538
Mendocino	2,087,056		Tehama	1,047,197
Merced	9,180,264		Trinity	9,358
Modoc	337,467		Tulare	18,169,446
Mono	802		Tuolumne	54,349
Monterey	9,102,605		Ventura	6,767,975
Napa	2,842,708		Yolo	3,380,169
Nevada	83,289		Yuba	1,790,719
			Total	204,779,717

Note: Included in the table above are agricultural applications and commercial applications of pesticides including structural fumigation, pest control, and turf applications. Not included are uses not subject to reporting including home and garden applications, and most industrial and institutional uses of pesticides.