Herbicides were the main type of plant protection product sold in Ireland in 2020 as farmers focused on the production of their crops, this is according to data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The finding, part of a wider body of research, focused on tonnes of active substances contained in plant-protection products placed on the market from 2012 to 2020. Data found that the amount of product sales was at its lowest between the period of 2012-2020, with the figure at 2,651 tonnes.
Other main findings included in the research conducted were the following:
- Active substances in herbicides comprised 78% of total active substances in plant-protection product sales
- Fungicides and plant-growth regulators were the next most common types of plant-protection product sold in Ireland in 2020
- Active substances in fungicides were 15% of total active substances in plant-protection product sales, while active substances in plant-growth regulators were 5% of the total
- The total amount of active substance in plant-protection products decreased by 2% in 2020
Plant protection products are pesticides that protect crops or other plants. They are primarily used in the agricultural sector to aid in the production of arable crops, fodder crops, grassland, vegetables and fruit, but are also used in forestry, amenity areas and private gardens.
The statistician in the environment and climate division of the CSO, Clare O’Hara says “this new CSO release contains data on tonnes of active substances contained in plant-protection products placed on the market in Ireland from 2012 to 2020.” She added that fungicides and plant-growth regulators were the next most prevalent types of plant-protection product sold in each year from 2012 to 2020.