APPLICATION OF IPM

Introduction:-
Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest
control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates
both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests.
IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level
(EIL). The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as "the
careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and
subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the
development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other
interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or
minimize risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes
the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-
ecosystems and encourages natural pest control
mechanisms." Entomologists and ecologists have urged the adoption of
IPM pest control since the 1970s. IPM allows for safer pest control.

The introduction and spread of invasive species can also be managed

with IPM by reducing risks while maximizing benefits and reducing costs.

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Integrated Pest Management Objectives:-

Previously, pest management mostly relied on synthetic pesticides.

However, chemicals strongly harm people and nature, as well as
develop resistance in target organisms. The goal of integrated pest
management is to minimize this harm and control acceptable infestation
levels rather than eradicate all undesired populations. This is why it is
important to understand what measures are justified in each case and
use aggressive ones only when other integrated management
techniques don’t work.

Integrated Pest Management Benefits

Integrated management mitigates the negative consequences of a

non-IPM approach, and the main benefits of IPM include the
following:
 reduction of workers’ exposure to chemicals;

 use of natural management methods with the least harm to the

environment;

 minimization of water and air pollution;

 elimination of land contamination, which boosts soil fertility;

 prevention of resistance to chemicals.

On a larger scope, integrated pest management advantages include
the promotion of nature protection and sustainable agriculture in the
long run.

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Integrated Pest Management Methods:-

The very idea of IPM is to use all the available integrated pest
management techniques in complex and use strong treatment only
when the previous options don’t work.

Advanced integrated pest management widely employs innovative

solutions. For example, an Israeli company successfully controls
Mediterranean fruit flies with sterile insect technology by neutralizing
males and then releasing them in nature. Mating with wild fertile
females, they produce no vibrant offspring.

Cultural Integrated Pest Management:-

Cultural control in integrated management decreases infestations through

suitable agronomic practices. Cultural IPM methods are more effective
when crops are healthy. This is why regular EOSDA Crop Monitoring in
integrated management helps address the problem early and mitigate
the upcoming negative consequences. Among others, IPM cultural
methods include the following field management techniques:
 soil treatment;

 selection of suitable plants;

 crop rotation;

 interplanting or strip cropping;

 choice of planting dates;

 weed control;

 use of trap plants.

Biological Control In Integrated Pest Management

This integrated management method implies a common way of

destroying pests by predators, parasitoids, pathogens, and other
biological control agents (aka antagonistic organisms). The role of
biological control in IPM is to cause a minimum imbalance in ecosystems
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by mimicking nature. Biocontrol in integrated management is similar to
natural processes, yet natural control occurs without human
intervention.

Use Of Predators

Predators eat up their prey that damages crops, for example, ladybugs
reduce aphid numbers. Predators’ populations for integrated
management are boosted in their primary habitat or imported from other
regions. However, when increasing predators’ numbers in integrated
pest management, there are several aspects to consider:
 ‘foreign’ predators may not cope with the task;

 reduction of certain species may give rise to secondary pest invasions;

 introduced animals become pests themselves with time if there are no

natural enemies to control their population in the new environment.
A renowned example of a food chain error in integrated management is
the import of rabbits to Australia. With time, their population turned out
to be a real nuisance to farmers alongside indigenous kangaroos or
dingoes. The cane toad is another case illustrating integrated biological
control failure in this regard when it refused to hunt the target species
and became a pest itself.

Use Of Parasitoids

Parasitoids develop on or within their hosts to eventually kill them after

maturing. Typical examples of parasitoids are most wasps or flies.
Applying this integrated pest management technique, it is important to
remember that parasitoids are also subject to hyperparasitoids’ attacks.
A study reports a 20% of hyperparasitism rate for cereal aphids in
Canadian wheat fields.

Use Of Pathogens

Pathogenic microorganisms are viruses, bacteria, and fungi that infect

pests and cause diseases reducing their numbers, which are also used
in the integrated pest management system. For example, wild rabbits’

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numbers significantly decreased after infections with the myxomatosis
virus borne by mosquitoes. In the regions with a lack of mosquitoes, the
idea was implemented with a flea-borne virus.

Chemical Integrated Pest Management

This group of the integrated approach applies natural or synthetic

chemical substances to repel or eradicate pests. Biopesticides are natural
repellents containing plant extracts or oils, which is the safest option for
humans, animals, and crops.

Application of IPM:-

IPM programs take advantage of all appropriate pest management

strategies, including the judicious use of pesticides. Preventive pesticide
application is limited because the risk of pesticide exposure may
outweigh the benefits of control, especially when non-chemical methods
provide the same results.

IPM is not a single pest control method but rather involves integrating
multiple control methods based on site information obtained through:

 inspection;
 monitoring; and
 reports.

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Consequently, every IPM program is designed based on the pest
prevention goals and eradication needs of the situation. Successful IPM
programs use this four-tiered implementation approach:

 Identify pests and monitor progress.

 Set action threshholds.
 Prevent.
 Control.

Identify Pests and Monitor Progress

Correct pest identification is required to:

 Determine the best preventive measures.

 Reduce the unnecessary use of pesticides.
Additionally, correct identification will prevent the elimination of beneficial
organisms. When monitoring for pests:

 Maintain records for each building detailing:

o monitoring techniques;
o location; and
o inspection schedule.
 Record monitoring results and inspection findings, including
recommendations.
Many monitoring techniques are available and often vary according to
the pest. Successful IPM programs routinely monitor:

 pest populations;
 areas vulnerable to pests; and
 the efficacy of prevention and control methods.
IPM plans should be updated in response to monitoring results.

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Set Action Thresholds
An action threshold is the pest population level at which the pest's
presence is a:

 nuisance;
 health hazard; or
 economic threat.
Setting an action threshold is critical to guiding pest control decisions. A
defined threshold will focus the size, scope, and intensity of an IPM plan.

Prevent Pests
IPM focuses on prevention by removing conditions that attract pests,
such as food, water, and shelter. Preventive actions include:

 Reducing clutter.
 Sealing areas where pests enter the building (weatherization).
 Removing trash and overgrown vegetation.
 Maintaining clean dining and food storage areas.
 Installing pest barriers.
 Removing standing water.
 Educating building occupants on IPM.

Control Pests
Pest control is required if action thresholds are exceeded. IPM programs
use the most effective, lowest risk options considering the risks to the
applicator, building occupants, and environment. Control methods
include:

 Pest trapping.
 Heat/cold treatment.
 Physical removal.
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  Pesticide application.
Documenting pest control actions is critical in evaluating success and
should include:

 An on-site record of each pest control service, including all

pesticide applications, in a searchable, organized system.
 Evidence that non-chemical control methods were considered and
implemented.
 Recommendations for preventing future pest problems.
Protecting the health of children is one of EPA’s top priorities. Pollution
Prevention, known as P2, has been a cornerstone at EPA for
implementing programs that protect children’s health and the
environment.

EPA recommends that schools use integrated pest management (IPM) -

a Smart, Sensible and Sustainable approach to pest control:

 Smart because IPM creates a safer and healthier learning

environment by managing pests and reducing children’s exposure
to pests and pesticides.
 Sensible since practical strategies are used to reduce sources of
food, water and shelter for pests in school buildings and grounds.
 Sustainable because the emphasis is on prevention, which makes
it an economically advantageous approach.
IPM is an effective and environmentally-sensitive approach that offers a
wide variety of tools to reduce contact with pests and exposure to
pesticides. The website focuses on providing vital information in the
school setting to parents, school administrators, staff and pest
management professionals. Knowledgeable, proactive stakeholders can
enable a community to prevent or significantly reduce pollution from
unnecessary pesticide use.
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Benefits of Integrated Pest Management:-

IPM offers several benefits. It helps to:

 Reduce the number of pests.

 Reduce the number of pesticide applications.
 Save money while protecting human health.
Did you know that children in the United States continue to face serious
risks arising from pests and the use of pesticides in certain cases?

Children may:

 Continue to contract diseases carried by biting insects.

 Suffer respiratory attacks from exposure to asthma triggers and
allergens attributed to cockroach and rodent infestations.
 Be exposed unnecessarily to pesticides that have been over-
applied or misused in settings they frequent, such as schools.
In the United States, more than 53 million children and 6 million adults
spend a significant portion of their days in more than 120,000 public and
private schools. IPM provides an opportunity to create a safer learning
environment – to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides as well as
eliminate pests.

A school IPM program prescribes common sense strategies to reduce

sources of food, water and shelter for pests in school buildings and
grounds. Put simply, IPM is a safer and usually less costly option for
effective pest management in the school community.

Health Benefits
Adopting IPM reduces exposure to both pests and pesticides. Two
health concerns faced throughout the country by children and adults are:

 Allergies.
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  Asthma.
Rodents, cockroaches, and dust mites are often present in buildings and
can cause or inflame serious allergic reactions and asthma attacks.
Studies in New York City

 revealed a significant association between the prevalence of

asthma among children and adults, and the incidence of pests,
allergens (high cockroach and mouse allergen levels) and
pesticides found in public housing; and
 demonstrated the effectiveness of IPM in controlling these
allergens.

Principles
An American IPM system is designed around six basic components:

 Acceptable pest levels—The emphasis is on control,

not eradication. IPM holds that wiping out an entire pest population is
often impossible, and the attempt can be expensive and unsafe. IPM
programmes first work to establish acceptable pest levels, called
action thresholds, and apply controls if those thresholds are crossed.
These thresholds are pest and site specific, meaning that it may be
acceptable at one site to have a weed such as white clover, but not at
another site. Allowing a pest population to survive at a reasonable
threshold reduces selection pressure. This lowers the rate at which a
pest develops resistance to a control, because if almost all pests are
killed then those that have resistance will provide the genetic basis of
the future population. Retaining a significant number of unresistant
specimens dilutes the prevalence of any resistant genes that appear.
Similarly, the repeated use of a single class of controls will create
pest populations that are more resistant to that class, whereas
alternating among classes helps prevent this.
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 Preventive cultural practices—Selecting varieties best for local
growing conditions and maintaining healthy crops is the first line of
defense. Plant quarantine and 'cultural techniques' such as crop
sanitation are next, e.g., removal of diseased plants, and cleaning
pruning shears to prevent spread of infections.
Beneficial fungi and bacteria are added to the potting media
of horticultural crops vulnerable to root diseases, greatly reducing the
need for fungicides.
 Monitoring—Regular observation is critically important. Observation
is broken into inspection and identification. Visual inspection, insect
and spore traps, and other methods are used to monitor pest levels.
Record-keeping is essential, as is a thorough knowledge of target
pest behavior and reproductive cycles. Since insects are cold-
blooded, their physical development is dependent on area
temperatures. Many insects have had their development cycles
modeled in terms of degree-days. The degree days of an
environment determines the optimal time for a specific insect
outbreak. Plant pathogens follow similar patterns of response to
weather and season.
 Mechanical controls—Should a pest reach an unacceptable level,
mechanical methods are the first options. They include simple hand-
picking, barriers, traps, vacuuming and tillage to disrupt breeding.
 Biological controls—Natural biological processes and materials can
provide control, with acceptable environmental impact, and often at
lower cost. The main approach is to promote beneficial insects that
eat or parasitize target pests. Biological insecticides, derived from
naturally occurring microorganisms (e.g.—Bt, entomopathogenic
fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes), also fall in this category.
Further 'biology-based' or 'ecological' techniques are under
evaluation.
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 Responsible use—Synthetic pesticides are used as required and
often only at specific times in a pest's life cycle. Many newer
pesticides are derived from plants or naturally occurring substances
(e.g.—nicotine, pyrethrum and insect juvenile hormone analogues),
but the toxophore or active component may be altered to provide
increased biological activity or stability. Applications of pesticides
must reach their intended targets. Matching the application technique
to the crop, the pest, and the pesticide is critical. The use of low-
volume spray equipment reduces overall pesticide use and labor
cost.

An IPM regime can be simple or sophisticated. Historically, the main

focus of IPM programmes was on agricultural insect pests. Although
originally developed for agricultural pest management, IPM programmes
are now developed to encompass diseases, weeds and other pests that
interfere with management objectives for sites such as residential and
commercial structures, lawn and turf areas, and home and community
gardens. Predictive models have proved to be suitable tools supporting
the implementation of IPM programmes.

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 REFERENCES
1. https://www.epa.gov/ipm/introduction-integrated-pest-

management

2. www.wikipedia.com/integrated-pest-management.

3. Metcalf, Robert Lee; Luckmann, William Henry (1994). Introduction

to Insect Pest Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

p. 266.

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