Two products routinely used in vineyards, one in conventional viticulture and the other in organic viticulture (and conventional too). Glyphosate is used to control weeds. Imagine a pretty vineyard with its soil a lovely shade of orange. Anything apart from the vine decimated and something you will not see in organic vineyards as it is not permitted. Copper sulphate however is used in the vineyard to protect vines from downy mildew and is considered acceptable in organic viticulture because it comes from a ‘natural’ source. Organic products are not necessarily less hazardous then their conventional counterparts and conscientious growers make every effort to use as little as possible. Organic growers are permitted to use a maximum of 6kg per hectare per year (this is reduced to 3kg per hectare per year in bio-dynamic production) and thereafter currently use an essential oil derived from sweet oranges as a treatment for downy mildew.
