IPM is a systems approach to reduce pest
damage to tolerable levels using a variety of techniques such as natural
enemies, genetically resistant plants, sound cultural practices, and, when
appropriate, chemical pesticides. The IPM approach is based on proper pest
identification, periodic scouting, and on the application of pest management
practices during the precise stage of the crop's development when no control
action would result in significant economic losses. Two additional strategies
of an IPM approach are (1) Take pest control actions during the most vulnerable
stage of the pest's life cycle to maximize results with the least possible
effort, and (2) Use synthetic pesticide spray applications for pest suppression
only after all other pest control alternatives have been considered and
exhausted. The main objectives of using alternative pest controls are to reduce
the high capital costs incurred with frequent pesticide applications and to
maximize the abundance of beneficial organisms.
Scouting
Periodic pest monitoring allows the
producer to take control actions on a timely manner based on stage of crop
growth and on pest population levels. This is more efficient than the
conventional calendar approach of pesticide applications which consist of
weekly sprays whether pest pressure is high or not. Scouting consists of
periodic field visits to take about five random samples. Keep a written record
of pest numbers, damage levels, distribution in the field, and stage of crop
growth at each sampling date. This records will be helpful to develop
"in-house" economic threshold levels for the major pests on the farm.
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