Peanut Production in Systems Restricting Use of Pesticides Based on Carcinogenicity or Leachability1

This research was conducted to determine the short-term impact of potential broad sweeping changes in pesticide registrations on peanut production and to compare and improve pest management systems for peanuts. In this research, detailed records on production inputs and returns were kept to access the short-term economic impact of each of six production systems differing in pesticide use. The preventative management strategy required additional pesticide inputs and averaged $180 per hectare less return when compared to the non-restrictive IPM program. When non-restrictive IPM programs were compared to IPM systems that eliminated carcinogens, return to management per hectare declined $1010 and $516 for the cultivars Florunner and Southern Runner respectively. The exclusion of the fungicide chlorothalonil was the primary reason for this loss in revenue. Elimination of compounds most likely to leach, based on their relative leaching potential, had minimal impact on peanut production. All test locations had low nematode pressures. The organic production strategy had the highest pre-harvest variable costs, due to the high input of hand labor required for weeding. To produce returns similar to an unrestricted IPM system, a raw agricultural commodity price 1.95 times that of the IPM system would have to be offered to organic growers.