5.14 Integrated Pest Management

IPM stands for

Integrated pest management

IPMs are a..

variety of pest control methods that minimize environmental disruption and pesticide use

The goal of IPMs

to minimize pesticide use and lower pesticide populations to a manageable lvl, not to eliminate completely

Basics of IPMs

1. Researching and monitoring pests to specific pest life cycles

2. Biocontrol

3. Crop rotation

4. Intercropping

Research of pests means to understand..

the pest, such as its

• life cycle

• where it fits in the food web

• its niche

• its importance in the ecosystem

Monitoring of pests means that farmers need to monitor..

or check for signs of the pest, such as

• how often are pests in their fields

• do they see eggs or notice early plant damage (both are crucial)

Biocontrol is..

introducing a natural predator, parasite, or competitor, to control the pest pop.

Biocontrol can include purchasing and spending control organisms..

in fields, or building homes for them/planting habitat needed to attack naturally

Examples of biocontrol

ladybugs for aphids

spiders for many insect pests

parasitic wasps for catepillars

Crop rotation is used when…

pests prefer one specific crop or crop family, so they lay their eggs in the soil so that when they hatch into larvae they have a food source

Crop rotating prevents pests from becoming established by..

planting a diff crop each season

Crop rotating disrupts weed growth since…

diff crops can be planted at diff times, preventing bare soil from being taken over by weeds

Intercropping is a using a push pull method which is

shifting a pest away from a good crop (push) towards something more desirable (pull)

Push plants

emit volatile chemicals that naturally repel pests away from crop

Pull plants

emit chemicals that attract pests to lay eggs in them instead of crop

Benefits of IPMs

1. Reduced death and mutation of nontarget species - intersex frogs (atrazine), eagle death (DDT), and bee die offs (glyphosates)

2. Reduces effects on human consumers on produce - many pesticides are carcinogens (cause cancer)

3. Reduces contamination of surface and ground water by agricultural runoff with pesticides

Drawbacks to IPMs

1. More time consuming and costly than just crop dusting pesticides - researching specific pests and planting numerous species of crops