The availability and increasing use of a sizeable arsenal of fungicides, growth 
regulators, herbicides, and nematocides have made possible tremendous savings to 
farmers in improving the efficiency of producing high-quality food, feed, fiber, timber, and 
ornamental crops. 
Herbicides--A recent survey by the Federal Extension Service, in cooperation with 
the Agricultural Research Service and 48 of our States, shows that about 50 million 
acres of agricultural land were treated for weed control in 1959 (table 2). The acreage 
treated with herbicides in 1959 was more than double that in 1949 (table 3). The expan- 
sions in the use of chemicals for controlling weeds are further illustrated by data from 
Minnesota on the acreage of grain crops treated yearly since 1950 (figure 2) and the 
number of power sprayers used for weed control during the same period (figure 3). 
More than 16 million acres of corn were treated in 1959 (table 4) at a cost of about 
$36 million. Chemical control of weeds in a crop such as corn eliminates two cultiva- 
tions. Considering that each cultivation costs about $1.50 per acre, the benefits from 
reduced cultivations alone on these 16 million acres are estimated at $12 million. Ad- 
ditional benefits are reduced weed seed populations, improved picker efficiency, and higher 
yields due to reduced weed competition for light, moisture, and nutrients. 
Equally striking benefits are being obtained from use of herbicides in controlling 
weeds in fh) pastures and rangelands, (2) drainage and irrigation systems, (3) certain 
horticultural crops, (4) other agronomic crops, and (5) on numerous noncrop land sites. 
By applying the net savings per acre realized from the use of herbicides on corn to the 
50 million acres of farmlands presently treated withherbicides, it may be conservatively 
estimated that the net savings to American farmers exceeds $40 million annually. If 
herbicides were used for weed control on all acreage of cropland and grassland, the an- 
nual savings could exceed $1.5 billion annually and could release millions of man-hours 
for other enterprises. 
The opportunities for additional contributions through developments to control weeds 
on cropland as well as on noncrop land are indeed challenging. Herbicides are used for 
weed control on utilities, railroad, and highway rights-of-way, and on drainage and ir- 
rigation ditches. They afford means of combatting ragweed, poison ivy, and other weeds 
which cause hayfever and other debilitating allergies. 
Growth Regulators--Growth regulators are currently used for a multiplicity of pur- 
poses in modifying the growth and development of crop plants. Most commercial plant 
propagators now use as standard procedure one or more of the root-inducing chemicals. 
Regulators are also utilized for controlling the harvest drop of fruits, chemical thinning 
of fruits, increasing rate of fruit development and size, hastening maturation, improving 
storage quality of vegetables, increasing plant size and rate of growth, reducing plant 
size, and prolonging plant life. Use of growth regulators for treating orchard and certain 
other crops has increased gradually from about 10,000 acres treated in 1940 to an esti- 
mated 800,000 acres today. 
Growth regulators of the defoliant and desiccant type are broadly used to improve 
grade and quality of machine-harvested cotton and reduce the incidence of boll-rotting 
diseases. The acreage of cotton treated has increased from about 250,000 acres in 1946 
to an estimated 6,250,000 acres for the 1960 growing season (table 5). 
Nematocides--Nematocide applications are highly profitable in certain areas to 
control plant parasitic nematodes in soils to be used for many crops of high value per 
acre. Many of our best producing areas are so infested with nematodes that high-quality, 
high-yielding crops such as sugar beets, carrots, pineapples, and tobacco can no longer 
be grown profitably without the use of nematocides or resorting to rotational or fallowing 
practices with the consequent loss in profits per acre. 
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