Cultural methods for pest control

1. CULTURAL METHODS FOR PEST
CONTROL
Principle of Intergraded Pest management (1+1)
Ag.Ento 4.2
College Of Agriculture
Anand Agricultural University
Jabugam-391155
Submitted By
Jainil Bhoya
Submitted To
Dr.M.R.Dabhi

2. CULTURAL METHODS OF INSECT CONTROL
Definition: Cultural control is the purposeful manipulation of a cropping
environment to reduce rates of pest increases and damage.
Cultural management of pests involves changes
• to make the crop less suitable for the pest
• to make it suitable for natural enemies
• to enhance the ability of the crop to withstand pest attack.

3. Tillage
Simply tilling a field may disrupt a pest's life
cycle.
e.g. Ploughing the soil up to 40 cm depth
expose
• pupae of bollworms, Gujarat hairy caterpillar
and stem borers
• adults of white grubs and
• eggs of grasshoppers etc. to sun rays and
predatory animals.

4. Field Sanitation
• Clean cultivation is often recommended as a way to eliminate shelter
and/or overwintering sites for pest populations. E.g.
• Removing crop debris from cotton fields through allowing sheep and
goats to graze cotton field after harvest, eliminates overwintering
populations of pink bollworms (Pectinophora gossypiella).
• Destruction of stubbles / crop residues reduces the incidence of stem
borer.
• Collection of all fallen and infested fruits of mango reduces mango
fruit fly,Bactocera dorsalis.

6. Removal / Destruction of alternate host
It reduces buildup of insects in off season. Whiteflies use many broad
leaf weeds as alternate host.
Use of clean seed
By using pest free healthy seeds and planting materials, possible
infestation of pest can be checked. E.g. Scales and mealy bugs in
sugarcane, sweet potato weevil, banana rhizome weevil.

7. Selection of variety
Grow pest resistant variety. E.g. Neelashan (Mango) to hoppers, Bt. Cotton to
Helicoverpa armigera, G 4 (Chilli) to thrips and mites, Pusa Purple Long
(Brinjal) to FSB etc.
Sowing Time
In some crops, it is possible to create discontinuity in the pest’s food supply
simply by altering the time of planting by producing asynchrony between
host plants and the pests. E.g. Avoidance of late sowing of pigeonpea
reduces infestation of pigeonpea pod fly. Similarly, there is less infestation of
aphids in timely sown mustard compared to late sown crops.

9. Seed rate
Adoption of appropriate seed rate ensures proper spacing and crop
canopy that helps in adoption of proper spray. E.g. Use of high seed
rate is recommended forshoot fly in sorghum.
Plant spacing
Spacing modifies the micro-environment of the crop, duration of crop
growth and development that influence the pest population.

10. • Closer spacing increases the population of BPH and white backed
plant hopper in paddy; whitefly in Soybean.
• Closer spacing in cotton results in bushy growth that affects
penetration of light,results in vertical growth of the plant, higher RH,
hinders spraying operation that favours the higher incidence of
sucking pests (leaf hoppers and whitefly).
•
• Closer spacing decreases the population of thrips, hoppers and leaf
miners in groundnut.

11. Fertilizer management
• Application of organic manure or fertilizers in balance
amount makes plant healthy that helps to minimize the
pest incidence. Application of m excess nitrogenous
fertilizers increases susceptibility of crops against insect
pests. However, application of potash reduces the
incidence of insect pests.
• Application of potash reduces virus disease transmitted
by whitefly
• Fields receiving higher dose of N-fertilizers favours
incidence of the pests than crops receiving N at low
level. E.g. BPH, yellow stem borer, whorl maggot, leaf
folder, rice Hispa, green leaf hopper etc. in paddy; Pyrilla
in sugarcane; whitefly in cotton.

12. Irrigation management
• Wireworms are controlled by flooding the
field for several days or by allowing field to
dry out during summer.
•
• Flooding of fields –suppress cutworms,
armyworms and root grubs
• Sugarcane and wheat crops can be
protected from the attack of termites by
frequent light irrigations.

13. Plant sanitation / Prunning / Thinning
Plant sanitation is an essential prerequisite to reduce the
insect population.
• Removal of deadhearts with larvae in cereals &
sugarcane reduces incidence of stem borers.
• Picking and destruction of damaged square & bolls of
cotton reduces incidence of Helicoverpa armigera and
Erias spp. In cotton.
• Picking infested shoots & fruits of brinjal reduces
infestation of brinjal shoot and fruit borer; a damaged
fruit of tomato, chilly reduces infestation of fruit borer.
• Pruning of branches in Dec. –Jan. reduces citrus leaf
miner.

14. Canopy Management
It facilitate -Light exposure, Air exposure, Pesticide exposure there fore it is
beneficial.
Crop rotation
• Rotating the field to a botanically different type of crop can break life cycle by
starving pests that cannot adapt to a different host plant.
• In termite prone area, crops like; wheat, sugarcane, pigeonpea, chilli should
be rotated with tobacco or onion.
• Crop rotation of same group of crops i.e. cucurbits, crucifers, graminaceous,
solanaceous etc. should be discouraged to reduce population of pumpkin
beetles,
• DBM, stem borers, Lucinodes, respectively.

16. Fallowing
Fallow can reduce pest densities by starvation. If alternate
host is present fallow cannot work
Trap cropping
Trap crops are plant stands that are grown to attract
insects or other organisms so that the principal crop
escapes pest attack. Due to trap cropping we can keep
main crop free from insecticides and this enhances
natural control.

17. Main crop Trap crop Pest
Cabbage, Cauliflower Bold seeded mustard DBM
Tomato African tall marigold Fruit borer, Leaf miner
Tobacco Castor Tobacco leaf eating
caterpillar.
Cabbage Tomato DBM
Cotton Okra Spotted borer
Barrier crops
• The barrier can consist of a relatively tall species that is
planted around the perimeter of a primary crop.
• Living barriers include graminaceous species, like
sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Johnson grass (Sorghum
halepense), corn (Zea mays) and elephant grass
(Pennisetum purpureum).

18. Mulching
Reduces the insect’s ability to find the crop.
Mixed cropping /Intercropping
Intercropping lowers the overall attractiveness of the environment, when host and non-
host plants are mixed together in a single planting.
Tomato intercropped with cabbage reduces egg laying by DBM.
Intercopping of cowpea in cotton helps in colonization of coccinellids and also enhanced
the parasitism of spotted bollworm.
Intercropping of groundnut in pearl millet reduces thrips, jassids and leaf miners.
Intercropping of redgram in cotton for cotton grey weevil; sunhemp in cucurbits for
fruit fly; okra in cotton for spotted bollworm; soybean in groundnut for leaf miner.

19. Hedge rows and refuge line
Hedgerows provide benefits to enhance natural
enemies. Noncropped refugia can be used to
harbour beneficial organisms, especially insects and
spiders. Refuge line is also useful in resistance
management.
Strip harvesting
It is similar to trap cropping. Crops can be harvested
in alternate strip so that insect may not move in
main crop.
Modify harvest schedule
By adjusting time of harvesting, a crop can be saved
from attack of the pest.

20. Timely picking of cotton avoids attack of dusky cotton bug.
O Infestation of Sweet potato weevil reduces in timely harvest of sweet potato.
Ratooning
Avoiding rationing of pigeonpea during off
season helps in reducing the carryover of pod
fly and eriophyiid mite, Aceria cajani
Border crops
o As trap crop –Life stages
o As Banker crop –Support NE’s
o As Ecofeastcrop –Sacrifice crop
o Maize around cotton field (decrease sucking pest and H. armigera)
o Castor in Groundnut, cotton (suppress Spodoptera)

21. THANK YOU