Pesticides & Peaches

Penelope Pleasant picked a peck of perfect peaches...but did she pause to ponder pesticide-use? In hot and humid climates like Georgia, a commercial peach grower sprays their crops with pesticides several times over the span of a season. While highly regulated to be safe for consumers like Penelope, this pesticide use has an impact on the environment. In this segment, of UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences discusses the pros and cons of using pesticides in peach production. The peach and the pit of it all: reducing pesticide use is great for the environment, especially if we, as consumers, can tolerate a blemish or two on our beloved state fruit.