Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs

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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. In combination with available pest control methods, this information is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

IPM a series of pest management evaluations, decisions and control rather than a single pest control method. In practicing IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach:

1.Set Action Thresholds
An action threshold is the point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that pest control action must be taken. Sighting a single pest does not always mean control is needed. The level at which pests will either become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.
2.Monitor and Identify Pests
Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms are innocuous; some are beneficial. IPM programs work to monitor for pests and identify them accurately, so that appropriate control decisions can be made in conjunction with action thresholds.
3.Prevention
As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In an agricultural crop, this may mean using cultural methods, such as rotating between different crops, selecting pest-resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock, providing effective and cost-efficient protection with little to no risk to people or the environment.
4.Control
Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective or available, IPM programs evaluate the proper control method to optimize effectiveness and risk. Highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones to disrupt pest mating, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding can provide adequate control with minimum risk. If further monitoring and action thresholds indicate that less risky controls are not working, additional pest control methodsa such as targeted spraying of pesticides can be employed. Broadcast spraying of non-specific pesticides is a last resort.

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What is IPM?

* A system utilizing multiple methods,

* A decision making process,
* A risk reduction system,
* Information intensive,
* Biologically based,
* Cost effective, and
* Site specific.
* Multiple tactics
legal, cultural, physical, genetic, biological, chemical

"A Strategy which combines all practical methods of managing pests including biological, cultural, physical and chemical methods in a manner that attains the producer’s production goals while minimizing economic, health and environmental risks”

Components of IPM

• Legal Control.......state & federal guidlines to prevent spread of insect
• Cultural Control..... using crop rotation, cultivation, sanitation, habitat modification, or removal of

  sources of pest infestation
• Physical Control...... using barriers, traps, trap crops; planting, fertilization, tillage, or harvest times
• Genetic Control.....using plant varieties that are resistant to pest injury
• Biologogical Control............conservation or introduction of predators, parasites, and diseases that suppress or attack pests (BACK TO NATURE)
• Chemical Control.......select and use the least toxic, environmentally suitable pesticides in the lowest effective amounts to control pests