 Like many crops, yields (per hectare) in organic cotton farms are typically significantly lower compared to conventional methods; this yield gap means that the water used to produce the same amount of cotton fibre can in fact be higher in organic, compared to conventional cotton cultivation.If certified by the USDA, organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides.However, organic growers are able to use a suite of organically approved pesticides, including pyrethrins from plant material, copper sulfate as a molluscicide and fungicide, and a range of insecticidal soaps, among others.