Inability to Control Pest Damage Limits U.S. Organic Hop Acreage

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Hops damaged by mites, aphids and mildew are of poor quality and are unacceptable for brewing beer. Only 2% of U.S. hop acres are organic because without the use of synthetic chemical insecticides and fungicides, organic hop growers are extremely vulnerable to having their crop rejected by brewers due to poor quality. This situation is described in the following recent article…

“Demand for organically grown hops from consumers via the brewing industry is on the rise; however, due to high [nitrogen] requirements and severe disease, weed, and arthropod pressures, hops are an extremely difficult crop to grow organically.”

“Disease, fungal infection, and arthropod pests that can damage hop cone quality are controlled by frequent and persistent application of pesticides in conventional hopyards, an option unavailable to organic hop growers. … Due to the direct correlation between quality and price of hops, a crop can be drastically affected by pests and diseases that alter not just the brewing quality but also the aesthetics of the crop as well. Any loss of quality can cause a crop to lose value or be damaged to the point at which it is completely unsalable.”

“The organically certified chemical controls against arthropod pests in organic crop production are limited and generally less stable and effective than their synthetic counterparts due to uncertain efficacy, potential harm to beneficial arthropods, and cost.”

Authors: Samuel F. Turner, et al.
Affiliation: Washington State University Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Title: Challenges and opportunities for organic hop production in the United States.
Publication: Agronomy Journal. 2011. 3(6):1645-54.

Organic Wheat Growing a Threat to Food Security in India

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There are a small number of organic wheat growers in India. These growers do not use herbicides to control weed populations and, as a result, organic wheat yields are 37% lower than growers who use herbicides. A recent in-country study looked at the implications for food security in India…

“The study has clearly brought out that though the organic wheat cultivation has been found much more profitable for the growers in the study area, the significant reduction in its productivity level poses a serious challenge in term[s] of food security of the nation.”

Authors: Inder Pal Singh and D.K. Grover
Affiliation: Agro Economic Research Centre, Punjab Agricultural University
Title: Economic viability of organic farming: An empirical experience of wheat cultivation in Punjab.
Publication: Agricultural Economics Research Review. 2011. 24:275-281.

Without Insecticide Sprays, California Olives are Rejected by Food Companies

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The olive fruit fly is the most significant pest of olives worldwide. The female lays her eggs within the olive and her offspring tunnel through the inside, eating as they go, to reach the surface. This ancient pest was first discovered in California in 1998; insecticide sprays have been necessary to prevent serious damage ever since. In 2011 some California olive growers cut back on their insecticide applications. Bill Krueger, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser, and Cody McCoy, Northern California field manager for Bell-Carter Foods, offered their thoughts on the implications of this decision…

“In 2011 the olive fruit fly numbers were higher than they had been since 2004, Krueger said. … ‘You certainly have to think that the lack of spraying had something to do with it, too. I know one particular case where they just didn’t start spraying early enough, and what we saw there was old damage at harvest,’ he said.”

“McCoy agreed, saying he also saw high OLFF [olive fruit fly] damage in 2011. At one point, nearly three-fourths of the olives delivered to the Bell-Carter production facility showed OLFF damage, he said. The majority of the OLFF damage was concentrated in a few olive samples, McCoy said. But because of the extent of the damage, the fruit was rejected.”

Author: Kathy Coatney
Title: Table olive growers are hoping 2012 will be a better year.
Publication: Ag Alert. February 8, 2012. pp.8-9.

U.S. Crop Losses Significantly Reduced with Pesticides

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Prior to the widespread adoption of synthetic chemical pesticides in U.S. crop production in the 1950s, many pests were destroying a significant portion of the food supply. Following the widespread adoption of pesticide use, the losses due to pests were reduced significantly. This point was made in an economic analysis by University of Maryland researchers…..

“… models indicate crop damage on the order of 15% during the early 1950s and crop damage falling steadily as pesticide use spread, reaching 11% in the mid 1960s, 6% in the mid 1970s, and stabilizing at about 3% from 1979 through the ensuing decade.”

Authors: Robert G. Chambers and Erik Lichtenberg
Affiliation: University of Maryland Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics
Title: Simple econometrics of pesticide productivity.
Publication: American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 1994. 76:407-417.

Organic Foods Cost More Due to Lack of Herbicides

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Organic growers do not use synthetic chemicals for controlling weeds. Many organic growers rely on workers to remove weeds by hand. However, hand-weeding labor is much more expensive than the use of herbicides – as high as $1000/acre in comparison to $50/acre. The increased cost of weeding is one of the reasons that organic food costs more, a point recently made by the well-known food writer, Michael Pollan…

“There are several reasons organic food costs more than conventional food. … Farming without chemicals is inherently more labor-intensive, especially when it comes to weeding.”

Author: Michael Pollan
Title: “Michael Pollan Answers Reader’s Questions”
Publication: The New York Times Magazine. October 6, 2011. pp.34-36.

Fertilizer Benefits Depend on Pesticide Use

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Much of the credit for increased crop yields in the past 50 years has been assigned to the use of fertilizers. However, the full value of fertilizers can only be realized if crop pests are controlled. For example, without herbicides to control weeds, much of the fertilizer would simply be used up by weeds and the crops would not receive the full benefit. A UK researcher made this point in an article on 21st century crop improvements…

“Advances in agronomy have stemmed from the continued use of fertilizers, … the true value of which could only be realized in the presence of suitable varieties and in the absence of competition from weeds, pest and diseases. The latter protection of crops has depended on the developments of the agrochemical industry which has developed sophisticated chemical syntheses and screening technologies. … These improvements have brought large social gains, for example, in greater food security, lowering of malnutrition, lower prices freeing up income for other discretionary activities, vastly greater food choices, and safer foods…”

Author: Ben Miflin
Affiliation: IACR Rothamsted
Title: Crop improvement in the 21st century
Publication: Journal of Experimental Botany. 2000. 51(342):1-8.

Herbicides Essential for German Sugar Beets

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Germany is a major sugar producer because of a significant number of sugar beet hectares. Historically, weeds were removed from these fields by handweeding. Today, however, herbicides are indispensable because such labor would be prohibitively costly, a point made recently by German researchers…..

“The application of herbicides in sugar beet is essential to prevent yield loss due to weed competition. … Consequently, herbicides are extensively used in sugar beet in almost 100% of the conventionally cultivated fields in Germany.”

Authors: Andreas Marwitz, Erwin Ladewig and Bernward Märländer
Affiliation: Institute of Sugar Beet Research, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
Title: Impact of herbicide application intensity in relation to environment and tillage on earthworm population in sugar beet in Germany.
Publication: European Journal of Agronomy. 2012. 39:25-34