I devour wine books. Interlibrary loan must hate it when they see another request from me. I recently started another tome on wineries, with an emphasis on sustainability and individuals focusing on organic or biodynamic production. It didn’t take long before I lamented about getting real about cover crops and pesticides.
Organic, Biodynamic, Regenerative, and Sustainable Practices
Organic, biodynamic, regenerative, and sustainable practices are laudable in their own ways. Reducing one’s carbon footprint and environmental impact is desirable with an ever-increasing population. But let’s consider the economics of choosing not to use pesticides.
It’s a cost-saving. I suspect many smaller wineries operate with razor-thin overhead, with not much room for profit. Therefore, it makes economic sense to limit your expenses, like pesticides.
Cover Crops and Pesticides
However, there are other unintended consequences of these choices. Let’s consider cover crops. The concept is prudent from several angles. It reduces labor and costs for controlling pests. It pushes vines to reproduce by creating enough competition for valuable resources. Many proponents also tout the soil health benefits. But consider that cost.
Some widely used species, like Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa), have the potential to become invasive. Others, such as various fescues and clovers, also carry this risk. I know first-hand as a federal employee doing habitat restoration. That work is just as back-breaking as keeping a vineyard weed-free.
The problem is that plants don’t stay put. Their seeds travel, whether by wind, dispersers, or pollinators. Cover crops may solve an issue in the vineyard, but they can potentially create dilemmas for someone else downwind or down the road.
Pesticides
Then, we have pesticides. Contrary to popular belief, organic farming does use them, particularly copper. When faced with the prospect of downy mildew wiping out your harvest, you have few options. Many vineyards exist and thrive because of their use.
Ironically, copper persists in the soil, endangering the very microorganisms proponents seek to protect. You must also apply it after precipitation so it can do its thing. That act may involve a tractor, thereby increasing the vineyard’s carbon footprint with multiple passes.
Technology isn’t the demon if it can help someone do something more efficiently, cost-effectively, or safer. The book I was reading vilified Roundup as the devil incarnate. It’s not. According to the Iowa State University Extension Service, some formulations don’t even contain glyphosate anymore.
Synthetic pesticides aren’t the villain, either. Science creates products that target the pests and not other plants. They break down into harmless products in the soil. That’s the beauty of pesticides. We have sprays that will kill wasps but not bees. We have herbicides that kill the weeds we don’t want and not the vines.
Ironically, some weeds are the very cover crops some people embrace to cut down on pesticide use.
Wrapping It Up With Cover Crops and Pesticides
The narrative about cover crops and pesticides needs to drop the emotional triggers and focus on the science. Science—and life—are sometimes messy, without clear-cut answers. Actions have consequences, whether intended or not. Let’s at least get the story straight with all its bumps and sidenotes lest we fall into the trap of cherry-picking. Not all of those berries are sweet.