26 Million Pounds of Insecticides and Herbicides Used in 2010 to Grow Wine Grapes

The news that California's use of pesticides increased, including insecticides and herbicides, on wine grape acreage today was - obviously - not good.

The state Dept. of Pesticide Regulation published the statewide statistics on pesticide use for 2010 today.

The statistics are somewhat complex and will take me awhile to dive into. (And I may have to wait until after the holidays to get to it.)

In the meantime, read the state's report on 2010 usage - click here. Go to page 69 for the wine grape section.

In a nutshell, Roundup (glysophate) was down 9% - a good thing - but other substances were up, some rather dramatically, including copper and sulfur (used against powdery mildew), which are both allowed under organic regulations.

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