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Pesticide databaseExplainerChecked 2026-10-01

Do the pesticides used change by crop? Number of active ingredients for 25 crops

Pesticides are registered crop by crop, and the types and number of uses allowed differ

In short

Yes, they change. In Japan a pesticide is registered with a decision on “which crop, and how to use it,” and it cannot be used on a crop it is not registered for. The amount, the dilution ratio, how many days before harvest it may be used, and how many times it may be used are also set crop by crop.

The number of usable active ingredients also differs greatly by crop. Among the 25 major crops it ranges from tomato (171 ingredients) to mikan (mandarin orange) (69 ingredients).

Pesticides are registered “crop by crop”

The standards that pesticide users must follow (a ministerial ordinance of MAFF and the Ministry of the Environment) set the following for use on crops that are eaten.

  1. Do not use it on anything other than the registered crops (the crops it is applied to)
  2. Do not exceed the set upper limit of the amount
  3. Do not dilute it more concentrated than the set ratio
  4. Do not use it outside the set time (such as “up to ○ days before harvest”)
  5. Do not exceed the set number of uses from sowing (for perennial crops, from the previous harvest) to harvest. The number is counted per active ingredient

The same pesticide is used differently on different crops because pests and diseases, shape, the part that is eaten, surface area relative to weight, and how the crop is harvested all differ, so the same use can leave a different concentration. For example, shishito peppers are light and have a large surface area relative to their weight, so residue concentrations are said to rise more easily (MAFF).

Number of active ingredients usable on 25 crops

From FAMIC’s (Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center) registration data (September 2026), we counted, for each crop, the active ingredients registered under that crop’s name.

Number of pesticide active ingredients usable on each of 25 major crops, by use Horizontal bar chart. For each crop, the number of active ingredients registered as pesticides under that crop's name, split into insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and other. In descending order: Tomato 171, Cucumber 166, Apple 166, Rice (paddy) 164, Japanese pear 161, Strawberry 158, Cabbage 154, Eggplant 154, Grape 151, Peach 138, Tea 138, Lettuce 135, Potato 130, Napa cabbage 128, Welsh onion 127, Green pepper 124, Onion 121, Soybean 113, Persimmon 113, Broccoli 104, Daikon radish 102, Carrot 86, Spinach 84, Wheat 75, Mikan mandarin 69. Registrations for crop groups such as vegetables are not included. Insecticides Fungicides Herbicides Other 0 50 100 150 Tomato Tomato: insecticides 74 Tomato: fungicides 77 Tomato: herbicides 12 Tomato: other 8 171 Cucumber Cucumber: insecticides 80 Cucumber: fungicides 77 Cucumber: herbicides 9 166 Apple Apple: insecticides 79 Apple: fungicides 63 Apple: herbicides 12 Apple: other 12 166 Rice (paddy) Rice (paddy): insecticides 35 Rice (paddy): fungicides 55 Rice (paddy): herbicides 69 Rice (paddy): other 5 164 Japanese pear Japanese pear: insecticides 74 Japanese pear: fungicides 65 Japanese pear: herbicides 10 Japanese pear: other 12 161 Strawberry Strawberry: insecticides 84 Strawberry: fungicides 58 Strawberry: herbicides 11 Strawberry: other 5 158 Cabbage Cabbage: insecticides 71 Cabbage: fungicides 57 Cabbage: herbicides 22 Cabbage: other 4 154 Eggplant Eggplant: insecticides 83 Eggplant: fungicides 60 Eggplant: herbicides 9 Eggplant: other 2 154 Grape Grape: insecticides 62 Grape: fungicides 69 Grape: herbicides 10 Grape: other 10 151 Peach Peach: insecticides 64 Peach: fungicides 59 Peach: herbicides 8 Peach: other 7 138 Tea Tea: insecticides 87 Tea: fungicides 37 Tea: herbicides 10 Tea: other 4 138 Lettuce Lettuce: insecticides 63 Lettuce: fungicides 57 Lettuce: herbicides 14 Lettuce: other 1 135 Potato Potato: insecticides 46 Potato: fungicides 54 Potato: herbicides 26 Potato: other 4 130 Napa cabbage Napa cabbage: insecticides 63 Napa cabbage: fungicides 52 Napa cabbage: herbicides 12 Napa cabbage: other 1 128 Welsh onion Welsh onion: insecticides 58 Welsh onion: fungicides 52 Welsh onion: herbicides 16 Welsh onion: other 1 127 Green pepper Green pepper: insecticides 65 Green pepper: fungicides 51 Green pepper: herbicides 8 124 Onion Onion: insecticides 36 Onion: fungicides 57 Onion: herbicides 26 Onion: other 2 121 Soybean Soybean: insecticides 46 Soybean: fungicides 38 Soybean: herbicides 28 Soybean: other 1 113 Persimmon Persimmon: insecticides 56 Persimmon: fungicides 45 Persimmon: herbicides 5 Persimmon: other 7 113 Broccoli Broccoli: insecticides 55 Broccoli: fungicides 36 Broccoli: herbicides 12 Broccoli: other 1 104 Daikon radish Daikon radish: insecticides 62 Daikon radish: fungicides 26 Daikon radish: herbicides 13 Daikon radish: other 1 102 Carrot Carrot: insecticides 35 Carrot: fungicides 31 Carrot: herbicides 20 86 Spinach Spinach: insecticides 44 Spinach: fungicides 28 Spinach: herbicides 12 84 Wheat Wheat: insecticides 14 Wheat: fungicides 35 Wheat: herbicides 22 Wheat: other 4 75 Mikan mandarin Mikan mandarin: insecticides 27 Mikan mandarin: fungicides 27 Mikan mandarin: herbicides 3 Mikan mandarin: other 12 69
Figure: Number of pesticide active ingredients usable on 25 major crops (those with a direct registration under that crop’s name)
CropIngredientsInsecticidesFungicidesHerbicidesIncluding crop-group registrations
Tomato171747712208
Cucumber16680779212
Apple166796312180
Rice (paddy)164355569164
Japanese pear161746510176
Strawberry158845811200
Cabbage154715722203
Eggplant15483609198
Grape151626910169
Peach13864598167
Tea138873710138
Lettuce135635714187
Potato130465426179
Napa cabbage128635212181
Welsh onion127585216183
Bell pepper12465518181
Onion121365726181
Soybean113463828178
Persimmon11356455133
Broccoli104553612170
Daikon radish102622613159
Carrot86353120146
Spinach84442812142
Wheat7514352295
Mikan (mandarin orange)6927273175

“Including crop-group registrations” adds the ingredients registered for groups such as “vegetables,” “fruit trees” and “citrus.” Mikan is mainly registered as “citrus,” so this number is closer to the real picture. Strawberry was counted as part of “vegetables” by inference from the notation in the registration data (“vegetables (excluding strawberry …)”). A larger number does not mean the ingredients are used more (for how often they are actually used, see the conventional levels).

Points that differ by crop

  • Rice has many herbicides: a little over 40% of the ingredients usable on rice are herbicides. Many herbicides for weed control in paddy fields are registered.
  • Vegetables and fruit are mainly insecticides and fungicides: for tomato, cucumber, apple and the like, insecticides and fungicides are registered in about equal numbers, and herbicides are under 10%. For tea, insecticides are over 60% (87 of 138 ingredients).
  • Fruit trees also have plant growth regulators: for apple, Japanese pear and mikan, 10 plant growth regulators each are registered, which adjust how fruit sets and ripens.
  • Small crops can be registered by “crop group”: for crops with small production, the residue trials needed for registration are hard to complete, so fewer pesticides tend to be available. To address this, there is a system in which pesticides are registered for a “crop group” of similar crops (for example “stone fruits”) and can also be used on the crops in the group (such as apricot).

Examples of ingredients registered for many crops (directly registered for 20 or more of the 25 major crops):

The same goes for home gardens

For pesticides used in a home garden as well, use a registered pesticide whose label shows “MAFF Registration No. ○,” and check that it is registered for the crop you are growing. Even with the same ingredient, the crops registered can differ between a dust and a liquid formulation (Shizuoka Prefecture, “For people using pesticides in home gardens and the like”).

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-01. Systems and figures change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.

This page lists facts from laws, public agencies' documents and peer-reviewed papers. It does not judge whether any particular pesticide or farming method is good or bad.

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