Environmental issues in agriculture, and especially horticulture, are many:
- Pests become resistant to chemicals because of heavy use. As a result, pesticide formulations must be changed continually, often at great expense. For example, in the 1950s, corn growers began using cyclodienes to control corn rootworms. Within a decade, corn rootworms developed resistance to cyclodienes (Ball and Weekmann, 1962).
- Groundwater in many areas has become contaminated by fertilizers and pesticides. By 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had detected 46 pesticides, including some carcinogens, in groundwater (GAO, 1991). The Kansas State Board of Agriculture created a Pesticide Management Area for Atrazine after tests showed high levels of herbicide in certain drinking-water supplies (Studer, 1992).
- A survey by the U.S. Geological Survey found that 90% of the samples of surface water from 10 midwestern states contained agricultural chemicals (Hess, 1991). Cleaning up contamination of groundwater or surface water can be costly; however, if contamination is not cleaned up, costs will continue to rise.
- Farmers increasingly are concerned about applicator safety for themselves and their employees.
- Consumers increasingly are concerned with food safety and the chemicals in their food supply and environment. Since the early 1970s, the public at large has been increasingly interested in costs to the environment, applicator health, and food safety. Pesticide companies have responded by attempting to replace extremely toxic chemical pesticides and herbicides with a less-toxic alternative.
