3.11 IPM Steps
3.12 Evolving IPM Challenges
3.13 IPM in Production Agriculture
3.2 Control Mechanisms
3.3 Cultural Control
3.4 Physical Controls
3.5 Mechanical Control
3.6 Chemical Control
3.7 Biological Control
3.8 Integrated Pest Management
3_Plant-Pest-Management-Practices
Plant Pest Management Practices
Overview
Title image: Floating row covers that keep insects out by the University of Wisconsin-Madison is copyrighted and used with permission.
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Introduction
Pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer pollution are prevalent globally. We are destroying our soil and descreasing biodiversity. This creates a vicious cycle that presents itself in poor soil quality, erosion, weather phenomenon like the dust bowl, and more. As educators, we are responsible for presenting the facts of our current state and guiding students towards sustainable practices that benefit the environment, land managers, and produce consumers.
Lesson Objectives
- Compare plant and disease management practices to limit plant injury.
- Understand selective vs. non-selective insect control.
- List different parasitoids, predators and/or pathogens that can be used to manage insect and mite pest populations in crops.
- Develop an understanding of Integrated Pest Management and how it is employed.
- Devise an IPM management plan for multiple crops within different systems.
Key Terms
action threshold - the cost of the control action versus the cost of the yield loss that pest populations would inflict on the crop without control
biological controls - the intentional manipulation of natural enemies by humans for the purpose of controlling pests, reducing the population using prey targeting the invasive species
chemical controls - the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides
cultural controls - includes manipulation of habits to increase mortality of invasive plants or reduce its rate of damage (selection of pest-resistant crops, winter cover crops, changing planting dates)
genetic selection – a process through which plant breeders harness natural physical and chemical adaptations that allow them to repel, tolerate, or even kill pests
government regulation – the official establishment of tolerances for pesticide residues in food by the power vested in a government agency; see the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
IPM integrated pest management - a sustainable, science-based, decision-making process that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to identify, manage and reduce risk from pests and pest management tools and strategies in a way that minimizes overall economic, health, and environmental risks
mechanical controls - mowing, hoeing, tilling, girdling, chopping, and constructing barriers using tools or machines
multiple methods - using a combination of different methods (biological, cultural, physical, or chemical) to control agricultural pests
overwinter - the persistence of pests through cold, adverse weather
Introduction
With valuable crops at stake, pest management is important to retain as much of the crop as possible for use. There are many plant pest management practices that value different methods globally. Pest management strategies involve a complex set of considerations, circumstances, and decision-making. Existing research suggests that farmers are reflexive and reflective in their management choices; yet, they continue to employ curative rather than preventative strategies, opting for chemical over biological solutions. Insect pest management can be more sustainable by moving away from an overreliance on chemical treatments and toward more preventative forms of pest management.
Control Mechanisms
Early detection and rapid response of invasive species is much more effective than trying to control a widespread infestation. Therefore, the most economical and safest way to manage invasive species is by prevention. Thinking back to Unit 2, Lesson 5: Plant Hormones, plants are not totally helpless against pests. The antiherbivory hormone systemin is produced systemically in response to plants being eaten.
If eradication or self-defense is not possible, the invasive species may be subject to control and management efforts. There are various methods used for the control/eradication/management of invasive species:
- Biological control is the intentional manipulation of natural enemies by humans for the purpose of controlling pests reducing the population using prey that targets the invasive species. This includes the use of animals, fungi, or diseases typically from the targeted species home range to control invasive populations.
- Chemical control includes the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides and is a federally regulated activity (Figure 8.3.1.).
- Cultural control includes manipulation of habits to increase mortality of invasives or reduce its rate of damage (selection of pest-resistant crops, winter cover crops, changing planting dates). This also includes measures aimed at changing human behavior to address the issue of spreading invasives, such as educating people about practices in order to increase awareness and prevent the spread of invasive plants (signage, public awareness campaigns).
- Mechanical control techniques include mowing, hoeing, tilling, girdling, chopping, and constructing barriers using tools or machines.
- Physical (or manual) control includes activities such as hand-pulling, digging, flooding, mulching, manual destruction or removal of nests, egg masses, or other life stages; this generally includes the destruction of invasive species by hand.
- Prescribed burning includes the use of fire as a control technique.
Cultural Control
By definition, weeds are always a problem, at least a problem for someone. Although weeds can be an ‘issue’ in native habitats, the vast majority of weed problems involve humans (gardeners, farmers) trying to raise specific plants—or trying to ‘culture’ plants that are deemed more desirable. The cultural practices that are followed can influence the magnitude of the weed problem. The choice of crops, the timing of planting, the seeding density, the distance between rows, the number of sequential seasons that a crop is planted are all cultural practices that may influence the severity of weed problems. Because most crops are annuals, they need to be planted each year and planting involves disturbance, which encourages weed growth.
It appears that farmers are “between a rock and a hard place” on this: they need disturbance but disturbance promotes weed problems. Indeed, some early 19th century farmers considered early versions of the plough to be ‘poisoning the soil’ and promoting weed growth. However, cultural practices have been developed that can lessen this problem, such as the timing of the ploughing and how intensive the ploughing is. A modern technique called ‘no-till’ farming utilizes minimal tilling (Figure 8.3.2), thereby giving weeds less area to utilize and leaving the seeded area space to out-compete the weeds. Perennial non-woody crops—such as alfalfa, asparagus, strawberries, and raspberries—require different cultural practices that might include mulching, mowing, tilling, or the intentional planting of understory plants that might suppress weedy growth. This is also true for woody perennial crops like grapes and apples. Cultural practices vary widely depending on the crop and its characteristics. For instance, flooding is an effective means of weed control but can only be utilized if crops tolerate the flooding, such as rice. And fire can be used for annual crops and for woody (tree) crops if it is a low intensity surface fire.
There are several types of cultural controls; these methods involve modification of standard farming or gardening practices to avoid pests or to make the environment less favorable for them. These practices are commonly refered to as regenerative farming as they are regrowing the microbiome and soil organic matter. The following are a few examples of commonly used methods.
Crop rotation replaces a crop that is susceptible to a serious pest with another crop that is not susceptible, on a rotating basis. For example, corn rootworm larvae can be starved out by following corn with one to two years of a non-host crop, such as soybeans, alfalfa, oats, or other crops (Figure 8.3.3). Crop rotation works best in larger areas where the insects cannot readily move from the old crop location to the new; therefore, this technique has limited applicability to garden insect pests.
Sanitation refers to keeping the area clean of plants or materials that may harbor pests. Examples include removal of weeds in greenhouses that may harbor mites, aphids, or whiteflies; destruction of crop residues such as corn stubble, squash vines, or fallen apples that may be overwintering sites for pests; cleaning of equipment that can spread pests from one area to another.
Trap cropping is the provision of a pest insect’s preferred food near the crop to be protected; the insects are attracted to the trap crop which is then destroyed. For example, pickleworms will concentrate in squash planted near cucumbers, and the squash plants can be destroyed.
A carefully considered time of planting will help avoid some pest problems such as seed corn maggot, since waiting at least two weeks after tillage and manure application is typically enough time for the maggots to complete development and move onto a different host.
Physical Controls
Physical controls are methods that physically keep insect pests from reaching their hosts. Barriers include window screens for keeping health and nuisance pests out of buildings and plant pests out of greenhouses, floating row covers for many horticultural crops, and plant collars to keep cutworms from attacking plants such as tomatoes. Various types of traps can be used for monitoring and/or control, such as glueboard traps in homes or red sphere traps for apple maggots. Codling moth larvae can be trapped under cardboard bands wrapped around apple trees; the bands are removed and destroyed. Some pests, such as earwigs and slugs, can be lured to their death in sunken traps filled with beer. In some cases, chemical lures (containing pheromones or other chemical attractants) are available to increase trap effectiveness. Trapping must be evaluated for each pest situation because, in some cases, traps can lead to increased damage, such as pheromone-baited traps for Japanese beetles.
Mechanical Control
Mechanical control methods directly remove or kill pests. They can be rapid and effective, and many are well suited for small acute pest problems; this is why they are popular with gardeners and homeowners. Importantly, mechanical controls have relatively little impact on the beneficial natural enemies of pests and other non-target organisms; therefore, they are well suited for use with biological control in an integrated pest management approach (see below).
Hand-picking can be used for large or brightly colored foliage feeders, such as Colorado potato beetle, Mexican bean beetle, and tomato hornworm. Some insects will defensively drop from plants if disturbed, and can be knocked into a container of soapy water. Shaking plants will dislodge many pests. For example, plum curculio beetles can be removed from fruit trees by diligently banging tree limbs with a padded stick and collecting the adult weevils on a white sheet as they fall out of the trees. A strong spray of water will dislodge aphids and mites from greenhouse, garden, and house plants. Fly swatters and mouse traps are forms of mechanical control. Cultivation or tillage exposes many soil insects to desiccation or predation by birds. These are ways to make a big impact on the pest problem with little impact on the environment.
Chemical Control
Chemical control involves the use of chemicals to kill pests or to inhibit their feeding, mating, or other essential behaviors. The chemicals used in chemical control can be natural products, synthesized mimics of natural products, or completely synthetic materials. Insecticides and miticides include many types of commercially available toxins that are used for killing insects and mites; some of these are naturally-derived and others are synthesized. Chemical controls, particularly synthetic organic insecticides, have been developed for nearly every insect pest. They are widely used in industrialized nations for several reasons: they are highly effective – one product often controls several different pests; there is relatively low cost for product or labor; and generally, their effects are predictable and reliable. Chemical insecticides have allowed management of larger acreages by fewer individuals because of the reduced labor needed for physical and mechanical controls. Besides their use in agriculture, chemical insecticides have been very important in the battle against disease-carrying insects, such as mosquitoes that carry malaria.
Repellants, confusants, and irritants are not usually toxic to insects, but interfere with their normal behavior, thereby keeping the insects from causing damage. Mothballs and mosquito repellants are familiar examples. Widescale use of synthetic sex pheromones may confuse insects sufficiently that they are unable to mate and produce offspring; using insect pheromones in this manner is called mating disruption. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has used synthetic sex hormones to slow the spread of gypsy moth in Wisconsin, dropping pheromone flakes from airplanes in order to treat large acreages. A few such products are commercially available for other insects, such as for codling moth control in apples. This practice works best in large commercial plantings where it is less likely that mated females will move into the planting from outside of the treated area. Many of these types of behavioral chemicals break down or wash away quickly, and must be reapplied frequently, used in an enclosed area, or formulated to release slowly over a long period.
While they can certainly be useful, chemical controls have many disadvantages. Most direct biological activity against many forms of life and, therefore, can affect non-target organisms. For instance, they present various levels of hazard to humans, especially to pesticide applicators and other farm workers. Most are highly toxic to beneficial insects, such as pollinators and predatory and parasitic natural enemies, but both target and non-target insects can develop resistance to insecticides, sometimes very rapidly. Most concerningly, over-reliance on chemicals and diminished use of other control methods have helped push agriculture away from a more natural, balanced state.
In an effort to protect the general public and environment, government regulations have been created to limit the amount of exposure that happens with pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency establishes tolerances for pesticide residues in food by the power vested in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Chemical control is a recent innovation, only becoming a significant control agent in the last eighty years. The basic idea is simple: find some chemical that kills weeds. The difficulty is that most chemicals that kill weeds are non-selective, i.e. they don’t just kill weeds, they kill all or most plants, including those whose growth you are trying to promote. A wide variety of herbicides have been developed but the three below are widely used and show a degree of selectivity, which means they can be used in some situations without damaging the plants/crops one is trying to grow.
- 2,4 D (2,4, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) is the oldest widely used herbicide. Its discovery as a useful product, a weed killer, was the result of ‘basic’ research—research that was not focused on utility (developing a weed killer) but rather research that simply involved developing an understand of the natural world. In this case, workers were studying the effects of auxin—the first chemically identified plant hormone—originally studied by Darwin one hundred years earlier. The only naturally occurring auxin is indoleacetic acid, but early in the 1940s workers discovered a number of chemicals, with structures similar to indoleacetic acid, that could produce similar effects on plant growth and development. One of these artificial auxins was 2,4 D. It was up to Dr. Franklin D. Jones to do some ‘applied’ science—apply basic research to a practical problem. Dr. Jones was looking for something to kill the poison ivy that was plaguing his children. He tried 2,4 D and found it was very effective in killing poison ivy. Significantly, 2,4 D is selective—it kills most broadleaf plants (dicots) but spares ‘narrow-leaved’ plants, grasses and similar species. Because this selectivity matches with the desire for eliminating lawn weeds and weeds of cereal grains (e.g. corn, wheat), 2-4 D has proved to be highly useful.
- Roundup (glyphosate) was developed in the 1970s and is the most widely used herbicide both in agricultural situations and in home/garden situations. It is not at all selective, basically killing whatever plants to which it is applied. It is also a systemic herbicide, meaning that if it is applied to the leaves it can be transported to the roots and rhizomes and can kill them too. Selectivity was developed to Roundup, using resistant genes from bacteria, that were genetically engineered (i.e. gene transfer) into several crop species, first soybeans (‘Roundup Ready Soybeans), and later to corn and cotton. Fields with these specific crops created with genetic selection can be treated with Roundup to kill all other plants.
- Atrazine is the second most used herbicide in the U.S., but it is mostly used in agricultural situations and less in residential situations. It is selective, killing most broadleaf species and many weedy grasses, but tolerated by several crop species, including corn, sorghum, and sugar cane (all are grasses). Additionally, an atrazine resistant (GMO) canola variety has been developed as well.
Concerns about herbicides abound and include human health concerns, ecological concerns, and concerns about the development of herbicide resistant “superweeds.” Both Roundup and Atrazine have been used extensively enough that there are new varieties of weeds that are unaffected by these chemicals, comparable to the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is important to recognize that chemical controls have many disadvantages: most have biological activity against many forms of life and therefore can affect non-target organisms. For this reason, they present various levels of hazard to humans, especially pesticide applicators and other farm workers; most are highly toxic to beneficial insects, such as pollinators and predatory and parasitic natural enemies; but both target and non-target insects can develop resistance to insecticides, sometimes very rapidly. Over-reliance on chemicals and diminished use of other control methods have helped push agriculture away from a more natural, balanced state. Most weed management strategies utilize ‘Integrated Pest Management’, an approach that incorporates chemical, biological, and cultural approaches to manage not only weeds but also insect pests and pathogens.
Biological Control
Biological control is the use of beneficial organisms to control pests. Agents of biological control (natural enemies) of insects include predators, parasitic insects, and insect pathogens. Predators may be insects or other insectivorous animals, each of which consumes many insect prey during its lifetime. Predators are often large, active, and/or conspicuous in their behavior, and are, therefore, more readily recognized than are parasites and pathogens. There are three broad approaches to biological control. Importation of natural enemies is conducted by federal and state agencies to find better beneficial natural enemies and permanently establish them into new areas. Conservation of natural enemies improves the effectiveness of natural enemies through farming and gardening practices that provide necessary resources for their survival and protect them from toxins and other adverse conditions. Augmentation of natural enemies temporarily increases the numbers of natural enemies through periodic releases, thereby increasing the overall numbers of natural enemies and improving biological control.
Many centuries ago, Chinese farmers observed that ants were helping to control insect pests in their citrus orchards by feeding on caterpillars, beetles, and leaf-feeding bugs. The farmers discovered that by collecting the papery nests of a specific type of ant from trees in the countryside and moving them into their orchards, they got better control of some pests. They also provided aerial bamboo runways among the citrus trees to help the ants move easily from tree to tree. These efforts to increase the numbers of ants in the orchard and to heighten their efficiency as predators is the first recorded occurrence of biological control of insects, which is the intentional manipulation of populations of living beneficial organisms, called natural enemies, in order to reduce the numbers of pests or amount of damage.
In the mid-1880s, southern California’s developing citrus industry experienced devastating losses from an introduced pest: the cottony cushion scale. Growers tried every available chemical control known at the time, even fumigation with hydrogen cyanide, but nothing provided sufficient control, and many growers removed their citrus groves because the damage was so serious. After determining that the scale insect was native to Australia and New Zealand, the U.S.D.A. sent an entomologist to that area to look for effective natural enemies. The entomologist found a small lady beetle—the vedalia beetle—which he sent to California. It rapidly reproduced in infested citrus groves and brought the cottony cushion scale under complete and lasting control. This was the first highly successful case of controlling an alien pest by introducing its natural enemies from a foreign land, a technique now known as classical biological control.
Parasites—also called parasitoids—of insects are other insects which lay their eggs in or on the host insect (Figure 8.3.7). When the parasite egg hatches, the young parasite larva feeds on the host (the pest) and kills it. Usually that one host is sufficient to feed the immature parasite until it becomes an adult. Many parasites are very specific to the type of host insect they can attack, and they are not harmful to humans. Although insect parasites are very common, they are not well known because of their small size. One of the smallest, Trichogramma, is only about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
Microbial control is a form of biological control that uses insect pathogens to control pests. Insects, like other animals, are subject to attack by disease organisms. Insect pathogens include viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and other microorganisms that cause insect diseases. Many insect pathogens attack only one species or a limited group of insects and therefore are unlikely to harm non-target species such as beneficial insects, humans, livestock, wildlife, or plants. Disease epidemics among insects are not commonly encountered in nature except when insect populations are very large or when environmental conditions favor the growth of the disease organism. Nevertheless, insect pathogens are very important in the constant suppression of pest populations. And certain insect pathogens have been very successfully manipulated to achieve biological control of specific pests. For example, different strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, commonly known as “Bt”, are marketed to control many insects including various caterpillars, such as cabbage loopers, as well as gypsy moth larvae, mosquitoes, and Colorado potato beetles (Figure 8.3.8).
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a sustainable, science-based, decision-making process that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to identify, manage, and reduce risk from pests; it employs pest management tools and strategies in a way that minimizes overall economic, health, and environmental risks. Pests are defined as any organism (microbes, plants or animals) that poses economic, health, aesthetic, or environmental risk. Pests are context-specific, so an organism that is a pest in one environment may be benign or beneficial in others. It is important and necessary to identify pests so that effective actions can be taken.
IPM uses knowledge of pest and host biology, as well as biological and environmental monitoring, to respond to pest problems with management tactics and technologies designed to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage; minimize the risk to people, property, infrastructure, natural resources and the environment; and reduce the evolution of pest resistance to pesticides and other pest management practices.
IPM provides effective, all-encompassing strategies for managing pests in all arenas, including all forms of agricultural production, military landscapes, public health settings, schools, public buildings, wildlife management, residential facilities and communities, as well as public lands including natural, wilderness and aquatic areas. The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings. Organic food production applies many of the same concepts as IPM but limits the use of pesticides to those that are produced from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals.
Traditional pest control involves the routine application of pesticides. IPM, in contrast, focuses on pest prevention and uses pesticides only as needed. IPM programs take advantage of all appropriate pest management strategies, including the judicious use of pesticides. Preventive pesticide application is limited because the risk of pesticide exposure may outweigh the benefits of control, especially when non-chemical methods provide the same results. This provides a more effective, environmentally sensitive approach. IPM is not a single pest control method but rather involves integrating multiple methods of control based on site information obtained through inspection, monitoring, and reports.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. IPM is a program to manage pests that combines a number of strategies to reduce pest risks while protecting the environment, wildlife and people. The goal of IPM in agriculture is to produce safe, abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber. The target pests generally are weeds, insects, and disease-causing organisms such as fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes.
IPM is a series of pest management evaluations, decisions, and controls. In practicing IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach. The four steps include:
- Set Action Thresholds
Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets an action threshold, a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that a pest control action must be taken. Sighting a single pest does not always mean control is needed. The level at which pests will become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions. An action threshold is the pest population level at which the pest's presence is a nuisance, health hazard, or economic threat. Figure 8.3.8. shows invasive kudzu that has grown far past a reasonable action threshold. A defined threshold will focus the size, scope, and intensity of an IPM plan.
- Monitor and Identify Pests
Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms are innocuous, and some are even 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. This monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used. Correct pest identification is required to determine the best preventive measures and reduce the unnecessary use of pesticides. Additionally, correct identification will prevent the elimination of beneficial organisms. When monitoring for pests maintain records for each building detailing monitoring techniques, location, and inspection schedule. Monitoring results should be recorded with inspection findings, including recommendations. Many monitoring techniques are available and often vary according to the pest. Successful IPM programs routinely monitor pest populations, areas vulnerable to pests, and, the efficacy of prevention and control methods. IPM plans should be updated in response to monitoring results. - 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. These control methods can be very effective and cost-efficient and present little to no risk to people or the environment. IPM focuses on prevention by removing conditions that attract pests, such as food, water, and shelter. Preventive actions include reducing clutter, sealing areas where pests enter the building (weatherization), removing trash and overgrown vegetation, maintaining clean dining and food storage areas, installing pest barriers, removing standing water, and educating building occupants on IPM. - Control
Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective or available, IPM programs then evaluate the proper control method both for effectiveness and risk. Effective, less risky pest controls are chosen first, such as highly targeted chemicals—pheromones to disrupt pest mating—or mechanical control—trapping or weeding. If further monitoring indicates that less risky controls are not working then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as targeted spraying of pesticides. Broadcast spraying of non-specific pesticides is a last resort.
With these steps, IPM is best described as a continuum. Many, if not most, agricultural growers identify their pests before spraying. A smaller subset of growers use less risky pesticides, such as pheromones. All of these growers are on the IPM continuum. The goal is to move growers further along the continuum to using all appropriate IPM techniques.
IPM-labeled foods are available in limited areas. In most cases, food grown using IPM practices is not identified in the marketplace like organic food. There is no national certification for growers using IPM, like the United States Department of Agriculture has developed for organic foods. Since IPM is a complex pest control process, not merely a series of practices, it is impossible to use one IPM definition for all foods and all areas of the country. Many individual commodity growers, for such crops as potatoes and strawberries, are working to define what IPM means for their crop and region. With definitions, growers could begin to market more of their products as IPM-Grown, giving consumers another choice in their food purchases.
IPM Strategies
IPM incorporates several pest management strategies to maintain crop profitability, minimize pest populations, and minimize environmental and health impacts. Approaches are aimed at preventing the pest from occurring in an area, using avoidance techniques to minimize the chance of pest development, monitoring for pests in the field, identifying pests properly, assessing pest populations and determining economic threshold levels, and using pest management strategies to mitigate economic crop loss. The following strategies may be used in various combinations to accomplish strategic IPM goals: cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, and chemical strategies (Figure 8.3.9).
IPM Benefits
- Reduced crop loss and improved crop quality
- Judicious use of pesticides in combination with non-chemical strategies, which results in improved protection of environment and health
- Reduced pest resistance
- Increased partnerships among growers, commodity groups, universities, consultants, industry and agencies to improve pest management
- Implementation of improved strategies and products through research
IPM Steps
IPM programs are successful when a number of steps are followed throughout the year. These practices help in planning, preparation, implementation and evaluation of the IPM approach.
Planning and Preparation: Pest problems may be reduced by field selection (rotation), soil testing, crop and variety selection, use of good-quality seed and choice of planting date.
Field Scouting: Crop scouts regularly monitor fields in several locations to determine pest identification, incidence and severity.
Pest trapping: Use of insect traps to determine presence and occurrence of certain pests, such as pheromone traps for bertha armyworm in canola (Figure 8.3.10).
Determining thresholds: Scouting is used to assess pest population densities and the need for action to prevent yield losses.
Pest forecasting models: May assist in determining the potential risk of a particular pest and when action may be needed.
Implementation: Determining the best IPM strategies includes using the right ones for the current pest problems. Planning ahead is important because some pests must be managed prior to the growing season or at planting. If chemical treatments are needed as a last resort, they must be applied in a timely fashion and according to label recommendations.
Record-keeping and Evaluation: Records of practices used should be kept and evaluations of practices should be made prior to the next growing season.
Evolving IPM Challenges
The evolution of weed, microbe, and arthropod pest resistance is a complex problem with consequential costs to food security and public health that requires innovative solutions. Environmental concerns, consumer demands, and public opinion can significantly influence pest management practices. New and invasive disease-causing pathogens and weeds, as well as vertebrate and arthropod pests, are introduced more frequently as global trade and travel increase. Changing environmental conditions pose new challenges for maintaining effective pest management systems. Pest species expand their geographic and temporal ranges in response to changes in climate; this can occur in expanded areas and both earlier and/or later in seasons. Pest management systems are subject to constant change and must respond and adapt to a variety of pressures since pests may become resistant to pesticides, whether they are conventional or biologically-based, or adapt to crop rotation, trapping, or other control methods. Coordination between federal agencies, universities, communities, and other stakeholders is needed to address the ecological, genetic, economic, and socio-political factors that affect development, communication, and effective implementation of IPM strategies and technologies to manage pests effectively, slow the rate of resistance evolution, preserve existing control measures, and create effective new approaches.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regularly reviews registered pesticides and may restrict or cancel labeled uses when risks outweigh benefits. An emphasis of the EPA’s National IPM Road Map is to prioritize responses that mitigate the adverse impacts of invasive species: non-native organisms whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal or plant health (Executive Order 13751). The arrival of invasive species often disrupts established IPM programs in the short-term, as emergency responses are undertaken to limit potential damage caused by the species of concern until scientists and practitioners become well-informed of the invasive pest’s biology and ecology and management practices are developed and delivered. Invasive species are currently estimated to cause $140 billion in economic losses annually. Some species act as vectors of parasites, viruses and bacteria, potentially leading to the spread of human illnesses, such as Zika. Stagnant water from irrigation to plants can be a breeding ground for mosquitos that carry the Zika virus (Figure 8.3.11).
Pest species interactions within and among trophic levels, and across landscapes, must also be considered when IPM strategies are being developed. IPM practitioners must strive to implement best management practices, using tools and strategies that work in concert with each other, to achieve desired outcomes while minimizing risks. Current and evolving conditions necessitate increased development and adoption of IPM practices and technologies. IPM was originally developed to manage agricultural pests but expanded into new arenas as its success in agriculture became clear. Federal, state and local governments now use IPM in residential, recreational and institutional facilities, biosecurity and natural wildland areas. A successful IPM in Schools program was created through state and federal cooperation, and many states and local governments have adopted IPM policies.
The impact of invasive species in natural and human-created environments received national attention and federal support when Executive Order 13112 on Invasive Species was signed by President Clinton in 1999 and updated in December 2016 by Executive Order 13751, Safeguarding the Nation from the Impacts of Invasive Species. This Executive Order established the National Invasive Species Council to ensure that federal programs and activities to prevent and control invasive species are coordinated, effective and cost-efficient (www.invasivespecies.gov). Federal and state agencies are coordinating efforts and developing programs and policies in this effort. IPM programs are continually under development at all levels to minimize the impact of invasive pest organisms, which can disrupt established and effective IPM practices.
IPM in Production Agriculture
Fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops make up a major portion of the human diet and require high labor input for production. The priority in this focus area is the development and delivery of diverse and effective pest management strategies and technologies that fortify our nation’s food security and are economical to deploy, while also protecting public health, agricultural workers and the environment. Agricultural IPM programs help maintain high-quality agricultural food and fiber products, and coupled with pesticide safety and stewardship practices, help protect agricultural workers, consumers, and the environment by keeping pesticide exposures within acceptable safety standards.
IPM experts, educators, practitioners, and stakeholders expect pest management innovations will continue to evolve for food, fiber, and ornamental crop production systems that improve their efficiency and effectiveness. IPM practices that prevent, avoid, or mitigate pest damage have reduced negative impacts of agricultural production and associated environments by minimizing impairments to wildlife, water, air quality, and other natural resources. Agricultural IPM programs also extend to and consider pest management in areas beyond production field borders, to places that can harbor or serve as a source of agricultural pests such as adjacent roadsides, rights-of- way, ditches, irrigation canals, storage and processing areas, compost and mulch piles, and gravel pits.
Dig Deeper
Attributions
A National Road Map for Integrated Pest Management by the United States Department of Agriculture is in the Public Domain.
"Control Mechanisms" by the United States Department of Agriculture National Invasive Species Information Center is in the Public Domain.
General Approaches to Insect Control by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Horticulture, Division of Extension, is copywritten and used with permission.
Inanimate Life by George M. Briggs is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0, except where otherwise noted.
Integrated Pest Management Principles by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is in the Public Domain.
IPM Basic by Janet J. Knodel, et.al., North Dakota State University is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
Principles of IPM by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is in the Public Domain.
The Promise of a Multi-Disciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach to Inform Insect Pest Management: Evidence From Wyoming Alfalfa by Randa Jabbour and Shiri Noy is licensed CC BY 4.0.