What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM) ?

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What is Integrated Pest Management(IPM) ?
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Learning Objectives

• Create an understanding of IPM
• Importance of IPM to Producers
• Importance of IPM to the environment
• Importance of IPM to human health and safety
• What are IPM strategies
• Advantages and limitations to IPM

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Why Study IPM?

• Why a new approach to pest management is
  needed
• 1920s cotton pest management
• Pesticide Treadmill of 1960s 1970s
• Pesticide resistance
• Secondary pest outbreaks
• Environmental concerns
• IPM concept reborn in 1970s

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IPM is

• A pest management philosophy that utilizes all
  suitable pest management techniques and methods
  to keep pest populations below economically
  injurious levels. Each pest management technique
  must be environmentally sound and compatible with
  producer objectives.

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A pest management philosophy..

• Recognizes there is no cure-all in pest
  control.
• Dependence on any one pest management method will
  have undesirable effects.
• Determine and correct the cause of the pest
  problem.
• Understanding Pest biology and ecology is
  essential.
• Manipulate the environment to the crops
  advantage and to the detriment of the pest.
• Recognizes that eradication of a pest is seldom
  necessary or even desirable, and generally not
  possible.
• Some damage is unavoidable and acceptable

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IPM is a continuum, not an end.
Good
Fair
Better
Poor
Best
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Utilizes all suitable pest management
tactics..

• Pesticides
• Cultural
• Mechanical
• Sanitary
• Natural
• Biological
• Host Plant Resistance

NOTE Some tactics fall Into several categories.
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Should Pesticides be used in an IPM Program?

• Pesticides can to be used in an IPM program,
  however only as a last resort and of course in a
  manner that is legal.
• Pesticides are to be used when there is no risk
  of environmental damage or when benefits outweigh
  the risks. Use pesticides only when other control
  practices arent available, economical or
  practical.
• Must monitor pest populations in the field.
• Identify the pest
• Compare pest population and the economic
  threshold
• Life stage susceptible to pesticide?
• Crop stage and preventable loss.

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What is Cultural Control

• Agronomic practices that are designed to
• Optimize growing conditions for the crop.
  Anything that increases a crops competitive edge
  will result in increased tolerance to pests often
  resulting in reduced pesticide use.
• Create unfavorable conditions for the pest

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What is Mechanical Control?

• Uses machinery and/or other tools to control
  pests
• Tillage
• Physical barriers

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What is Sanitary Control?

• Methods to avoid introducing a pest into a field
• Cleaning field equipment
• Planting certified seed
• Quarantines

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What is Natural Control?

• Enhancement of naturally occurring pest
  management methods
• Beneficial insects
• Beneficial diseases

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What is Biological Control?

• Manipulation of biological organism to control
  pests
• Release of predators/parasites/disease of an
  insect or weed
• Can be time consuming, expensive and difficult

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What is Host Plant Resistance?

• Manipulating the crop to withstand or tolerate
  pests
• Natural breeding method
• Genetically modified plants
• Not a permanent method of control
• Examples Glandular-haired Alfalfa, Bt Corn,

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To Keep Pests Below the Economic Injury Level

• Economic Injury Level
• Cost of control amount of damage caused by
  the pest
• Includes amount of pest damage
• Cost of each control practice
• Are determined through extensive research
• Economic Injury Level is the information that is
  necessary to develop an Economic Threshold, which
  is used by crop advisors

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Economic Threshold

• Pest Population at which a grower must take
  action to prevent a pest populations from
  reaching the economic injury level
• Economic threshold is slightly below the economic
  injury level
• Pest populations must be increasing

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Economic Injury Level
Economic Threshold
Pest Density
Pest Population
Time
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Economic Threshold Example European Corn Borer
on Corn

• Field Sampling Data needed
• plants infested
• Ave. number of larvae/plant
• Crop Management Data Needed
• Expected yield (bu/A)
• Expected selling price of the crop
• Cost of pest control

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1st Generation European Corn BorerEconomic
Threshold Worksheet

• ___ of 100 plants infested x ___average of
  borers/plantA ___average borers/plant.
• ___average borers/plant x 5 yield loss per borer
  ___ yield loss.
• ___ yield loss x ___expected yield (bu/A) ___
  bu/A loss
• ___bu/A loss x ___ expected selling price/bu
  ___ loss/A
• __ loss/A x___ controlB ___ preventable
  loss/A
• ___ preventable loss/A - ___cost of control/A
  gain () or loss (-) per acre if treatment is
  applied
• A Determined by checking whorls from 20 plants.
• B Assume 80 control for most products

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1st Generation European Corn BorerEconomic
Threshold Worksheet

• 0.67 ( of 100 plants infested) X 2 (average of
  borers/plant)A 1.34 (average borers/plant).
• 1.34 (average borers/plant) X 5 ( yield loss per
  borer) 0.067 ( yield loss).
• 0.67 ( yield loss) x 120 (expected yield in
  bu/A) 8.04 (bu/A loss)
• 8.04 bu/A loss x 2.25 expected selling price/bu
  18.09 loss/A
• 18.09 (loss/A) x 80 ( controlB) 14.47
  (preventable loss/A)
• 14.47 (preventable loss/A) - 15.00 (cost of
  control/A) - 0.53 (gain () or loss (-) per
  acre if treatment is applied)
• A Determined by checking whorls from 20 plants.
• B Assume 80 control for most products

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Potato Leafhopper Threshold for Alfalfa
Alfalfa Height Economic Threshold (leafhoppers/sweep)
lt 3 inches 0.2/sweep
6 inches 0.5/sweep
8-11 inches 1.0/sweep
gt 12 inches 2.0/sweep
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Economic Threshold Concept doesnt work for all
pests and pest types

• Insects
• Weeds
• Diseases

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Each Pest Control Technique Must be
Environmentally SoundRisk vs. Benefits
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AndCompatible with With Producers Objectives
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What IPM Is and Isnt

• Stresses a multi disciplinary approach to pest
  management
• Entomology
• Plant Pathology
• Nematology
• Weed Science
• Crop Sciences (Horticulture/Agronomy)
• Soil Science
• Ecology

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IPM is not static

• New Pests
• Soybean aphids, bean leaf beetle,
• New Races/strains of pests
• Western corn rootworm
• Weed Species shifts
• Roundup ready technology
• Tillage system
• Pesticide Resistance
• Colorado Potato Beetle
• Common lambsquarters

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Four Basic Principles of IPM

• 1) Thorough understanding of the crop, pest, and
  the environment and their interrelationships
• 2) Requires advanced planning
• 3) Balances cost/benefits of all control
  practices
• 4) Requires routine monitoring of crop and pest
  conditions

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1a. Understanding Crop Growth and Development

• How do you grow a healthy
• crop?
• When is the crop most
• susceptible to pest damage?
• When is the crop under stress?

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• 1b. Understanding the Pest
• Proper ID
• Understanding of Pest Life cycle
• When is it present
• When is it most susceptible to control-
• Weak Link

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Meadow Spittlebug nymph
Potato Leafhopper nymph
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Giant foxtail
Large crabgrass
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1c. Understanding the Pest and Their Life Cycle

• When is the pest present
• When is it most susceptible to
• control-Weak Link
• When is too late to control

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1d. Understanding the Environment

• How does it affect crop growth
• Stress
• Time within susceptible stage
• How it affects pest development
• High mortality
• High survival

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Basic Principles of IPM

• 1) Thorough understanding of the crop, pest, and
  the environment and their interrelationships
• 2) Requires Advanced Planning
• 3) Balances cost/benefits of all control
  practices
• 4) Requires routine monitoring of crop and pest
  conditions

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Basic Principles of IPM

• 1) Thorough understanding of the crop, pest, and
  the environment and their interrelationships
• 2) Requires Advanced Planning
• 3) Balances cost/benefits of all control
  practices
• 4) Requires routine monitoring of crop and pest
  conditions

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Basic Principles of IPM

• 1) Thorough understanding of the crop, pest, and
  the environment and their interrelationships
• 2) Requires Advanced Planning
• 3) Balances cost/benefits of all control
  practices
• 4) Requires routine monitoring of crop and pest
  conditions

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Potato leafhopper scouting

• Equipment
• 15 in diameter insect sweep net.
• Timing
• Start on regrowth of second crop alfalfa
• Frequency
• Scout once each week.
• Scouting pattern
• walk a W-shaped pattern in the field

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Potato leafhopper scouting

• Take 20 consecutive sweeps in each of 5 areas
  along the W-shaped pattern (100 total sweeps)
• Count the total number of Potato leafhopper
  nymphs and adults divide by 100 (total number of
  sweeps)

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Potato Leafhopper Economic Threshold
Alfalfa height Treat if PLH number are or gt than listed
3 inches 0.2/sweep
6 inches 0.5/sweep
8-11 inches 1.0/sweep
gt 12 inches 2.0/sweep
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Benefits of an IPM Program

• Protects environment through elimination of
  unnecessary pesticide applications
• Improves Profitability
• Reduces risk of crop loss by a pest
• Peace of Mind

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Disadvantages of an IPM Program

• Requires a higher degree of management
• More labor intensive
• Success can be weather dependent

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Career opportunities in IPM

• Crop Advisors
• Independent
• Industry
• Ag. Industries
• Sales (chemical, seed)
• Research
• Technical services
• Teaching
• Cooperative Extension
• High school
• Technical college

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Education

• 2 or 4 year degree
• Major Field of Study
• Agronomy
• Soil Science
• Areas of interest
• Weed science
• Entomology
• Plant Pathology

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Possible coursework

• Crop Management
• Weed Management
• Entomology
• Plant Nutrition
• Soil Conservation
• Ecology
• Plant Pathology
• Plant Physiology
• Business Management