I am learning some of the true role of pesticides in crop production. The thing that I learned is what? I learned that pesticides use is not just about keeping pests off the leaves of your plants. Some farmers, like me, believed that. Just as important, perhaps more important, is the role pesticides play in killing invertebrates in the soil. The myth is that these bugs like earthworms are needed for crop production. It is a half-truth.
Continued pesticide use will get pesticides into the soil. Killing white grubs, which are the larval stage of beetles, will impact crop production. We knew this in 1948, see this patent on pesticide use in the soil: US2596929A – Plant growth improvement – Google Patents
In the Ethylene Bromide patent, details show how the pesticide reduces white grubs and other plant damaging insects, with the result being much stronger plants.
Is there alternatives to keep soil productive, without pesticides? Can you have strong plants, without pesticides (poisons) like Ethylene Bromide? I have experience farming, and my answer is yes. I also understand that it may take a good amount of effort to monitor your soil for pests and keep it productive for your plants. My experience is with grapes, and it takes a good amount of work to make sure the soil is the condition the grapes need. I am sure there are ways to limit pests like the white grub using natural soil conditioners. The easier solution for some farmers would be applying the pesticides.
If you buy organic produce this may not concern you. It is incredible difficult task to only eat organic produce, so I assume that 99% of the population does eat some produce made with pesticides. It’s important to know what effect pesticides have on crop output. It is not trivial, the amount of time and money saved by the farmer in using pesticides. Meaning the amount of crop yield is significant, it could be much lower without pesticides. This does not mean that I as a farmer agree with pesticide use in all of our crops. I don’t believe in chemical use in every farm. There is significant risk of other natural ecosystems that exist in the farm and nearby the farm. I am just putting out a fact regarding output of a crop.
In researching this, I found that one concern with USA pesticides use is the single qualification factor. There is only one factor, or hurdle, that pesticide approval needs, which is, at present, only the European honeybee. The EPA assesses risk to all soil organisms using the European honey bee as a surrogate species. This is ridiculous simple way of identifying the lethality of a pesticide to the environment. This is something the USA needs to improve.
Copyright 2026 Rod Deluhery
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