Integrated pest management (IPM) is a strategy that uses various pest control methods in conjunction to manage pests in an ecologically friendly way. It involves monitoring pest populations, using cultural practices, biological controls, and targeted use of pesticides only when necessary. The key components of an IPM program include host plant resistance, monitoring, cultural controls like crop rotation and sanitation, biological controls using beneficial organisms, and selective use of pesticides to control weeds, insects, and diseases. Monitoring is the first and most important step to identify pest thresholds and determine appropriate interventions.

1. A few facts about agriculture
80
million
new mouths to feed
every year
The food that the
world is required to
produce in the next
40 years is equal to
all the food that has
been produced in
the last 10,000 years
Every
second
we lose arable land
the size of
a soccer field

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What is IPM?
“Integrated pest management (IPM) is a strategy that draws on a range of
management tools with the goal of using the least ecologically disruptive
techniques to manage pests within economically acceptable levels.”
KNOWLEDGE PREVENTION MONITORING
INTERVENTION EVALUATION

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What are the components of IPM?
1. Host plant resistance
2. Monitoring
3. Cultural control
4. Biological control
5. Chemical control
a) Weed control
b) Insect control
c) Disease control

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Monitoring
 First step of IPM
 Do it systematically
 Visual monitoring of representative sample
 Keep diligent records
 Quality assessment at harvest
 Thresholds?

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Cultural control
 Certified seed
 Seed treatment
 Mechanical weed control
 Mulches
 Plastic vs. organic
 Avoid spreading of diseases/weeds
 Implement movement
 Removal of plants

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Cultural control (cont.)
 Field sanitation
 Rotate crops to break pest cycle
 Match crops to appropriate sites
 Adjust planting and maturity dates
 Water and nutrients
 Plant resistance
 Measure soil moisture
 Soil analysis

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Biological control
 Main objective to reduce chemical control, never to
replace
 Position correctly in spray programme
 Only effective under low pressure situations
 Do homework
 Mating disruption, Beneficial's, mycorrhizae, viruses
 Evaluate products used, snake oils…
 Conserve natural population

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Chemical control – the beginning…
Agrochemicals cannot change their characteristics to
suit farmers’ methods, it is set. Farmers need to
change their methods to accommodate the
chemical’s characteristics.

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Chemical control – the basics…
 Maintain spray equipment properly
 Calibrate sprayer regularly
 Use appropriate nozzles, check regularly
 Follow proper mixing instructions
 50% water water conditioners granules & powders
SC EC SL adjuvants
 Adjust for pH/saline water
 Make sure products in tank are compatible
 Always read label

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Weed control – the fundamentals…
Herbicides:
 Pre-emergent vs. Post-emergent
 Plant uptake
 Leaves, roots, coleoptile
 Weed spectrum
 Grass vs broadleaf vs non-selective
 Stage of crop and weeds
 Selectivity
 Wetter's…

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Weed control and IPM
 Consider all options BEFORE establishing crop
 Identify problem weeds to be controlled
 Pre-emergent herbicide with residual always 1st
option
 Grass weeds easily controlled post emergent
 Flushes
 Follow on crops
 Resistance

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Weed control and IPM
Pre-emergent herbicides:
 Fine, firm seedbed free of clots and excessive
organic material
 Adhere to clay % rates
 Irrigation after application

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Insect control – the fundamentals…
Plant uptake:
 Contact
 No movement in plant
 Translaminar
 Not systemic, moves through leaf
 Systemic
 Moves through plant
 Acropetal, basipetal, both
Insect uptake:
 Contact
 Stomach
 Body openings

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Insect control and IPM
 Determine primary and secondary pests
 Research epidemiology/life cycle (vs crop stage)
 Build program around main pests
 Identify best insecticides (efficacy; Beneficial's)
 Familiarize yourself with insecticide characteristics
 Identify life stage targeted
 Make sure insecticide controls specific life stage
 Identify best timing for each product
 Block applications

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Disease control – the fundamentals…
Fungicides:
 Contact
 “Knock down”
 Preventative
 Will stop infection from taking place
 Will not stop infection that already started
 Curative
 Will stop infection that already took place
 ‘X’ number of days “kick-back”
 Very few products

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Disease control and IPM
 Identify main diseases before establishing crop
 Consider epidemiology, life cycle and conducive
weather conditions
 Identify best fungicides for main disease(s) and build
program around it
 Contact, preventative, curative
 When to use which product
 Block applications
 Prevention always better than cure

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Disease control case study
Lettuce:
 Downey mildew program consists of only mancozeb
 Poor control

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Resistance
 Identify HRAC, IRAC and FRAC group of every
product used in program
 Resistance against a group
 Product names
 Guideline available, i.e. number of sprays
 Protect best products
 Usually most prone to resistance
 Stick to recommended rate

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Agri-Intel
 http://www.agri-intel.com/
 Free to sign up
 Most up to date source of information
 Many different search functions
 All labels available for download
 Once you have all the options, easier to build
program

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Agri-Intel

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Agri-Intel

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References
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/242050/Vegetable-integrated-pest-management.pdf
http://neipm.cce.cornell.edu/neipm/assets/File/NRCS-Resources/IPM-Plan-Guide-Sheet-Practices-for-
Vegetable-Production.pdf

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