Agricultural Uses

Agricultural crop pest control scenarios represent major use patterns for insecticides containing chlorpyrifos. Foliar sprays maybe applied by ground or aerial equipment depending on crop type to primarily control a wide variety of surface feeding insects. Aerial application of chlorpyrifos products is a common method of application for cotton, sorghum, corn, alfalfa and wheat. Soil-incorporated applications are used for control of root-damaging insect larvae attacking such crops as corn, tobacco, cole crops, sweet potato, peanuts, sugar beets and onions. Orchard uses may involve either foliar or trunk applications of chlorpyrifos products.

Numerous replicated laboratory and field trials in the United States have shown the efficacy of chlorpyrifos for controlling insect pests infesting ornamental plants and sod. These pests include cutworms, ants, mole crickets, gypsy moths, fall webworms, leaf feeding beetles, and borers.

Most Common Usage of Chlorpyrifos in Agricultural Pest Control

Scenario Pest Examples Application Methods Typical Applications (active ingredients)
Corn Grasshoppers, European corn borer, armyworms, corn earworms Ground or aerial broadcast foliar spray, aerial broadcast banded 0.56-1.12 kg/ha
Corn rootworms, cutworms, wireworms Soil-incorporated, chemigation, broadcast spray 1.12 – 2.24 kg/ha
Cotton Aphids, mites, plantbugs, bollworm, budworm, armyworm, pink bollworm Aerial foliar spray 0.56-1.12 kg/ha
Sugarbeets Sugarbeet root maggots, beet armyworms, cutworms Soil-incorporated band, ground or aerial broadcast foliar spray 1.12-2.24 kg/ha
Sorghum Greenbug, sorghum midge Aerial foliar spray 0.28-0.56 kg/ha
Tobacco Cutworms, flea beetles, wireworms foliar spray 0.3 – 0.35 kg/ha
Wheat Russian wheat aphid Ground or aerial foliar spray 0.28-0.56 kg/ha
Peanuts Aphid, root grubs Soil surface band 0.3 – 1.0 kg/ha
Sweet potatoes Wireworms, grubs, beetles Soil surface band, soil-incorporated 0.75 2.7 kg/ha
Cole crops Aphids, cutworms, cabbage worms, striped flea beetle, root maggots Ground foliar spray 1.68 kg/ha
Root maggots Soil-incorporated 60-130 mg/m row
Onions Onion maggots, root maggots Soil-incorporated 50 mg/m row
In-furrow soil drench 50 mg/m row
Apples Aphids, maggots, cutworms, codling moth, leafroller Ground foliar spray 0.3 - 1.75 kg/ha
Cherries Lesser peach tree borer American plum borer, San Jose scale, peach twig borer Trunk or dormant branch spray 0.30-3.59 g/L
Green fruitworm, leafrollers, scale, stink bug, black aphid, cherry fruit fly, plum curculio Ground foliar spray 1.12-1.68 kg/ha
Citrus Aphids, mites, mealybugs, scale insects, lepidopterous larvae Ground or aerial foliar spray 0.3 – 2.8 kg/ha
Nectarines, peaches Peach tree borers Trunk spray 0.3 - 1.75 kg/ha
Tree fruits (pears, apples, peaches, nectarines) Aphids, scale insects, cutworms, twig borers, leafrollers Dormant branch spray 0.3 - 1.75 kg/ha
Sod Production Chich bugs, sod webworms, Hyperodes weevil Foliar spray 1.12 - 2.24 kg/ha
Nursery Production Aphids, sawflies, tent caterpillars, armyworms, cutworms, leaf beetles, scale insects, gypsy moths Foliar spray 0.3 - 1.19 g/L
Boring beetles, moth larvae (clearwing moths, metallic wood-boring beetles) Trunk spray 1.19 - 3.59 g/L
Scale insects Dormant branch spray 0.3 - 0.6 g/L