Insects, weeds, and fungi reduce crops yields!

Insects, weeds, and fungi reduce the production and quality of food, feed, and fibre crops. Two-thirds of the production would be lost if no plant protection products were used.

In eight major crops - rice, wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, soybeans, cotton, and coffee - the loss caused by insects would be 23 per cent, while weeds would cause a loss of 30 per cent and fungi a loss of 17 per cent. The losses vary widely by crop and climate zone and do fluctuate from year to year based on pest outbreaks.

Insects further influence the public health through carrying diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, and viruses.

The use of plant protection products substantially reduces the losses in quantity and quality of crop production. Studies have shown that the use of plant protection products is cutting in half the losses thereby effectively doubling the production of food, feed, and fibre.

Cheminova is marketing products controlling insects, weeds, and fungi in numerous crops and is participating in protecting public health through marketing of products controlling disease-carrying insects.