[Pollinator] Modern Insecticides' Devastating Effects

[Peter Loring Borst]

Modern insecticides may have harmful effects but so do so-called organic or older generation ones


Choosing Organic Pesticides over Synthetic Pesticides May Not Effectively Mitigate Environmental Risk in Soybeans
Christine A. Bahlai1, Yingen Xue1, Cara M. McCreary1, Arthur W. Schaafsma2, Rebecca H. Hallett1*
1 School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 2 Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Background: Selection of pesticides with small ecological footprints is a key factor in developing sustainable agricultural
systems. Policy guiding the selection of pesticides often emphasizes natural products and organic-certified pesticides to
increase sustainability, because of the prevailing public opinion that natural products are uniformly safer, and thus more
environmentally friendly, than synthetic chemicals.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We report the results of a study examining the environmental impact of several new
synthetic and certified organic insecticides under consideration as reduced-risk insecticides for soybean aphid (Aphis
glycines) control, using established and novel methodologies to directly quantify pesticide impact in terms of biocontrol
services. We found that in addition to reduced efficacy against aphids compared to novel synthetic insecticides, organic
approved insecticides had a similar or even greater negative impact on several natural enemy species in lab studies, were
more detrimental to biological control organisms in field experiments, and had higher Environmental Impact Quotients at
field use rates.

Conclusions/Significance: These data bring into caution the widely held assumption that organic pesticides are more
environmentally benign than synthetic ones. All pesticides must be evaluated using an empirically-based risk assessment,
because generalizations based on chemical origin do not hold true in all cases.

PLoS ONE 5(6): e11250. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011250


Peter L Borst
Cohen Lab
VRT3-001
Cornell University