Volumes of herbicides used at agricultural and horticultural farms

The need for herbicides varies depending on the crop and year. Calculated by hectares, the most active substances are used with special crops, such as potato, sugar beet, vegetables, strawberry and apple.

Herbicides for weed control (79 per cent) were the most used group of herbicides compared with the total herbicide volume. Herbicides for plant disease control accounted for 17 per cent, growth regulators made up 3 per cent and pesticides accounted for 1 per cent of the total volume.

Glyphosate was the most used herbicide. The total volume of glyphosate-containing products used was higher than the combined volume of other herbicides used for weed control.

This indicator represents the use of herbicides at farms. This indicator only measures any chemical pressure directed at surface water and groundwater, without taking into account any farm-specific differences or diligence in the use of herbicides. This indicator does not represent direct environmental impact on farms or their surrounding water courses.

The indicator data is obtained from Luke's statistics of the use of herbicides in agricultural and horticultural production. The statistical data is from 2013, and next time the data will be collected in 2024 and the results will be published in 2025.

This is one of the national impact indicators of the 2014–2020 Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland.