eChipmunks

in commercial growing, is there such a thing as alternative or non-chemical pest control?

I would like to know if in all commercial growing (fruit & vegetables, plant nurseries, garden centre stock, ornamental trees, etc) the crops are routinely sprayed with pesticides/insecticides/and other chemicals or poisons to kill pests. I hear sometimes of "organic" control, but I assume that means the toxins used are not harmful to OTHER animals, rather than non-lethal at all. I know in gardens and such, predators are encouraged, but I can't imagine this would be practical or foolproof in large scale commercial enterprises, and I expect that in all these places, horticulturists regularly lay down chemicals or spray lethal substances on crops? I would like to hear if there are alternative practises. what i am interested in are methods that do not kill anything, even the intended target: ie they repel them or "clean" the surface. included in this would be ways of farming and growing which made insect/pest accessibility scarcer such as growing under nets or in greenhouses, though I do not know the effectiveness of this. i am also intrigued by the fact that i, and others i know, grow vegetables to eat, yet use no pesticides. why do commercial growers need to do so? are the pesticides introduced on as "as and when" basis, or routinely?

Public Comments

1. One example i can think of would be growing Chrysanthanum side by side amongst cabbage plants. The plant contains pyrethrum which is reportedly a good insecticide that repel and is capable of killing various beetles which are a threat to the cabbage plant. In doing so the chrysanthanum wards off the threat while not affecting the cabbage with its toxin. I have heard of this being effective on a small scale but i can't say whether it is commercially viable.
2. Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) is a bacillus that kills caterpillars, but is harmless to plants and mammals. Nicotine is an insecticide. (That's what tobacco plants use it for.) Either one can be sprayed just as effectively as poisonous pesticide sprays. Caffeine is also an insecticide, but I haven't heard of it being used commercially yet.