Integrated Pest Management: Difference between revisions

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The control of pests and diseases is a vital element for improving crop yields and the quality of the final output. Integrated pest management (IPM) helps in achieving this. Integrated pest management uses both mechanical, biological, as chemical control measures. The combined use of these 3 measures makes it an effective and environmentally sensitive tool. IPM uses these control measures in a particular order. It primarily focuses on preventing infestation trough careful planning (use of polyculture with crop rotation, strong crops species, intercropping, weeding, ...) and intervenes (preferably without use of chemicals) when this is found necessary after observation.

Introduction

Integrated pest management (IPM) is approach to pest management. It uses a plant positive approach instead of a pest negative one and natural forms of pest control, such as lady bugs. It is important to understand that a healthy garden will have all types of insects present and until they start to affect your crops in a serious way they are not a problem. The idea behind IPM is that pest infestations are not the problem but instead an indication of a problem within the growing environment. When there is a pest problem here are some questions to ask yourself.

Is the quantity of insects acceptable? For instance, if they are seriously affecting only five percent of your crops, then the level of infestation is probably acceptable.
How happy are you plants? Happy plants don’t have pests problems.
Are their basic needs being met, e.g. light, temperature, moisture, and nutrients?
Did they get stressed out when they were little? If a seedling gets stressed out, the stress may last its whole life, e.g. too much or too little water, transplant shock, or stunting them can all have lasting effects.

This article has a particular focus on how farmers can control pests and diseases using organic methods and locally available resources. These methods are particularly useful in the developing world context, where resources can be scarce.

Preventative steps to take against pest problems

Method	Notes	Examples/Links
Removing/Killing diseased animals/Quarantine	Within farmed animals. The first precaution should be to separate ill, or diseased animals from others, so as to reduce the risk of diseases spreading
Vaccination	Vaccinnation can greatly reduces the risk of disease that animals are susceptible to. In developing countries for small holders and farmers it can be probitively expensive.
Pest resistant crops	By selecting or buying certain varities of seed which have been engineered to be more robust to pests, extreme weath, or qulity of soil (either by making hybrids or GM). These seeds can be out of the budget range of a smallholder or rural developing farmer.
Cross mating	Cross mating of plant varieties, can allow a farmer to produce more resistant crops to pests and diseases
Improved storage and management	Pest such as rodents or dampness can ruin crops which are being kept on storage

Make a happy plant through proper planting techniques.

Use seeds that grow well in your area.
Use plant varieties that are naturally pest resistant, hardy and disease resistant. Avoid hybrids. Saving your own seeds are best for this.
Implement companion planting.
Encourage nature’s own insect control. This includes certain predatory organisms such as insects (including spiders, (ichneumonid) wasps, ...), toads, snakes, birds also eat bugs so encourage them to be around by having animal hiding areas, such as bushes, trees, and running water.

Controlling of pests & diseases

Method	Notes	Examples/Links
Biological control/Predators	For crops that are being attacked by a particular pests, using a preditor can reduce the population of the pest	Farmers in Uganda who are taught organic farming are often advised to regularly herd their hens through their vegetable patch. The hens will eats preditors such as small worms and insects, reducing risk to plants
Green leaves which are toxic	Some green leaves can be toxic to smaller insects who prey on crops. By placing these at the edge of the crops, or within, the pests can be destroyed
Traps	Traps can be laid to reduce numbers of pests.
Destroy pest lifecycles	With knowledge of the lifecycle and habits of the pest, a farmer can reduce a pests population by interupting the lifecyle, for example destroying eggs, removing nests.	Cane borers in raspberry plantings are controlled by simply pruning off the top 8 inches or so, or slightly below where the Cane Borer is living, and burning these prunings. Borers are easily spotted, because they make the top of the cane wilt.
Scarecrows	Birds and insects that feed on plants can be scared away by scarecrows. These can be human like figures, shiny objects or bright colours that scare animals away from a vegetable area.
Wood ash	Has been known to be sucessfully used in Uganda around the edge of vegetable areas to reduce pests. It is presumed that this materials is avoided by insects and small rodents
Live fence/Trap crops	Around the edge of vegetable patches or fields, a live fence can be used: To prevent animals and/or insects getting near to a crop by providing a barrier to larger pests Repel pests away from cropping area or field Attract pests away from cropping area or field Typical live fences are made from plants that are: Quick growing Thorny, multipurpose Produce dense foliage Flowers to draw attention of pest or repel them	See Perimeter Crop Protection - Using Trap Crops in New England, US Coppince (aka Coppicing^W) - Quick growing plant that can be used for live fences Sisal^W Hibiscus^W cotton variety - When planted around the edges of cotton fields it can deter pests who would pefer to feed on the hibiscus Sorghum^W - When planted around maize it attracts the birds away from eating the maize
Organic pesticides	Organic pesticides are made by using locally available plants to produce a pesticide that will repel pests	see Organic Pesticides
Burning

Three main areas of IPM

Mechanical control measures.
Biological control measures.
Chemical control measures.

Mechanical control measures

Physical controls include: hand removal of insects, traps, barriers such as tangle foot, deer fencing, and row cover. The most important part of IPM is crop rotation. Crop rotation means allowing a three to five year time period between planting a member of the same plant family in the same plot of land. An exception to this three to five year rule is in conditions involving white rot that affects Alliums and will stay in the soil for up to ten years. Because white rot is so hard to get rid of, it is important to get high quality seeds from a reliable source by either purchasing them or using your own if you are sure your soil is not already contaminated. Rotating your crops will control a lot of pests, disease, and fungus because they are usually plant family specific.

Soil steaming^W can be used as an ecological alternative to chemicals for soil sterilization. Different methods are available to induce steam into the soil in order to kill pests and increase soil health.

Biological control measures

Biological controls are using other creatures to eat the undesirable insects. Following are a few examples of biological controls:

Having a diversity in the garden to attract natural predators of insects.
Insectary crops which attract beneficial insects. Notable for this are native plants, the fabaceae family which are legumes and the Umbelliferae family, which have umbrella-shaped flowers. Insect-supporting crops can be interplanted with garden crops or in an insectiary.
Chickens eat all bugs but also your plants so watch them carefully.
Ducks eat snails and slugs as well as plants.
Introducing beneficial insects but BE careful with this as they can escape from your garden and you could introduce bad species. Find out before ordering beneficial insects that the species is alright for your area. Most nurseries should be able to help you with this or contact your local Agriculture department. Some beneficial insects include: ladybugs (make sure to get ladybugs native to your continent!), Praying mantises, Trichogramma wasps, Tachinid flies and Syrphid flies.

Chemical control measures

Chemical controls are considered a last resort in IPM but sometimes they are needed. Unlike the methods noted above, they require direct action from the farmer. Following are some common green pesticides; many can be made at home with a good recipe.

For chewing, biting insects, use ingredients that are aromatic and distasteful such as garlic, onion, and pepper. Pepper sprays are available for purchase.
For sucking bugs use soap solutions (not detergents) and clear oily solutions that coat their bodies and stop respiration. Safer soap is a common product that is found in every nursery.
Pyrethrum is a bug bomb which was made from a type of Chrysanthemum flower but is now made synthetically. It is used to kill a wide variety of pests.
Neem oil is a fungicide as well as insecticide.

Some problems with chemical controls are that bugs build immunity to them and they can stop working. They are also not species specific so beneficial as well as harmful bugs are killed.

Note that besides green pesticides, artificial chemical pesticides too are used in IPM.^[1] However, as they these can not be made at home, and have a ecological impact and finally are not well combinable with permaculture or other ecological farming techniques, they are not discussed here.

Note

The suggested domesticated animals (chickens, ducks, ...) can be used yet are not native to any region themselves. As such, if they are used, they should be well confined, so that they can not escape into the environment.

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Biological pest control
Organic pesticides
Repellant plants
Pest-regulating plants
Beneficial weeds
Insect traps
http://attra.ncat.org/pest.html - Pest Management Website from National Sustainable Agriculture information Service (ATTRA)
http://www.sare.org/publications/insect.htm - Manage Insects on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological Strategies - PDF book
http://stephenville.tamu.edu/~nroe/ekind/ekindpm1.htm - Integrated Pest Management for gardeners - Slides with images of common problems

↑ Integrated Pest Management

[1] Integrated Pest Management

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 {{References}}
-'''Integrated pest management (IPM)''' is an approach to controlling [[pest]]s and [[diseases]] which uses both mechanical, biological, as chemical control measures. IPM uses these control measures in a [[Organic_and_sustainable_farming#Overview_of_combined_organic.2Fsustainable_farming_techniques|particular order]]. It primarily focuses on preventing infestation trough careful planning (use of polyculture with crop rotation, strong crops species, intercropping, weeding, ...) and intervenes (preferably without use of chemicals) when this is found necessary after observation.
+The control of [[pests and diseases]] is a vital element for improving crop yields and the quality of the final output. '''Integrated pest management (IPM)''' helps in achieving this. Integrated pest management uses both mechanical, biological, as chemical control measures. The combined use of these 3 measures makes it an effective and environmentally sensitive tool. IPM uses these control measures in a [[Organic_and_sustainable_farming#Overview_of_combined_organic.2Fsustainable_farming_techniques|particular order]]. It primarily focuses on preventing infestation trough careful planning (use of polyculture with crop rotation, strong crops species, intercropping, weeding, ...) and intervenes (preferably without use of chemicals) when this is found necessary after observation.
 == Introduction ==
-Control of pests and diseases is vital in farming to improve yields and the quality of the final output. This page shows methods of reducing pests and diseases.
+Integrated pest management (IPM) is  approach to pest management.  It uses a plant positive approach instead of a pest negative one and natural forms of pest control, such as lady bugs.  It is important to understand that a healthy garden will have all types of insects present and until they start to affect your crops in a serious way they are not a problem.  The idea behind IPM is that pest infestations are not the problem but instead an indication of a problem within the growing environment. When there is a pest problem here are some questions to ask yourself.
-Integrated pest management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management.  It uses a plant positive approach instead of a pest negative one and natural forms of pest control, such as lady bugs.  It is important to understand that a healthy garden will have all types of insects present and until they start to affect your crops in a serious way they are not a problem.  The idea behind IPM is that pest infestations are not the problem but instead an indication of a problem within the growing environment. When there is a pest problem here are some questions to ask yourself.
 *Is the quantity of insects acceptable?  For instance, if they are seriously affecting only five percent of your crops, then the level of infestation is probably acceptable.