The Importance of Herbicides for Grain Crops in Canada

Canada ranks sixth in the world in wheat production with 27 million tonnes per year. (Canadian farmers also produce 22 million tonnes of other grain crops such as barley, corn, oats and rye.) Canada is the world’s second largest exporter of wheat with 70% of its production exported annually. The herbicide era began in the 1940s with the introduction of 2,4-D, a phenoxy herbicide that was adopted very rapidly to control many annual broadleaved weeds. In 1949 and 1962 in Canada, 2,4-D was used on 3.2 and >10 million hectares respectively [1]. 2,4-D is credited with raising grain yields on treated acres in Canada by 10% by controlling broadleaf weeds [2].