The present invention relates to a method for increasing the dry biomass of a plant via increasing the carbon assimilation by treating a plant, a part of the plant, the locus where the plant is growing or is intended to grow and/or the plant propagules with at least one insecticide. The invention also relates to a method for increasing the biomass of the fruit of a plant via increasing the carbon assimilation, the fruit containing 5 to 25% by weight of residual moisture, based on the total weight of the fruit, by treating a plant, a part of the plant, the locus where the plant is growing or is intended to grow and/or the plant propagules with at least one insecticide. The invention further relates to a method for increasing the carbon dioxide sequestration from the atmosphere by treating a plant, a part of the plant, the locus where the plant is growing or is intended to grow and/or the plant propagules with at least one insecticide as described below.