Litigation (Detail) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended												0 Months Ended
	Sep. 25, 2003 USD ($)	Sep. 27, 2002 USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2001 USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 EUR (€)	Mar. 25, 2010 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses Current [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 25, 2003 Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 25, 2003 Maximum [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2012 Weichert [Member]	Jun. 27, 2008 Dismissed Cases [Member] Juan Jose Abrego Et Al V Dole Food Company Et Al [Member] Plaintiffs	Jun. 01, 2012 DBCP Litigation [Member] claims subsidiaries Plaintiffs	Jan. 16, 2013 DBCP Litigation [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] Plaintiffs	Jan. 16, 2013 DBCP Litigation [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] Ansered Claims [Member] Plaintiffs	Jul. 13, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Multiple complaints filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [Member]	Jul. 13, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Panamanian Residents [Member] Plaintiffs	Jul. 13, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Costa Rican Residents [Member] Plaintiffs	Jul. 13, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Equadorian Residents [Member] Plaintiffs	Feb. 06, 2012 DBCP Litigation [Member] Philippines Residents [Member] Plaintiffs	Aug. 31, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Philippines Residents [Member] Plaintiffs	Feb. 28, 2011 DBCP Litigation [Member] Philippines Residents [Member]	Dec. 28, 2012 DBCP Litigation [Member] Godoy Rodriguez et al. v. AMVAC Chemical Corp et al. and Martinez Puerto et al. v AMVAC Chemical Corp et al. [Member]	Nov. 15, 1999 DBCP Litigation [Member] Godoy Rodriguez et al. v. AMVAC Chemical Corp et al. and Martinez Puerto et al. v AMVAC Chemical Corp et al. [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of subsidiaries involved in litigation														1			1						2		1
DBCP Litigation, number of plaintiffs													1,329	3,000	2,800	2,400		121	72	68	500	2,500		315
Actions filed														8
Noncontrolling interest, ownership percentage by parent												80.00%
European Union Antitrust Investigation, imposed fine				$ 19.4	€ 14.7
Breach of Contract Litigation, jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff							10
Breach of Contract Litigation, final court judgment amount						15.7
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, charge for estimated expected future cleanup cost		7.0	15.0
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, estimated remediation costs associated with the cleanup			19.1					15.8	1.0	12.9	25.4
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual for the expected future clean-up costs		26.1
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual expected to be paid in the next 12 months				1.0
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual expected to be paid in the second year				1.0
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual expected to be paid in the third year				1.0
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual expected to be paid in the fourth year				1.0
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, undiscounted estimated remediation costs associated with the cleanup	$ 21.4									$ 14.8	$ 28.7
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, discount rate of accrual for the expected future clean-up costs	5.00%
Time frame of disbursements	P10Y