Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Integrated Pest Management
Pesticides have been constantly scrutinized since
Rachel Carson's topic Silent Spring in the early
1960's and the birth of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in the early 1970's.
Registrations of many pesticides have been can-
celed and more will be canceled with the passage
of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) in
1996. The diminished availability of pesticides
may limit choices to more costly materials. In
addition, there is growing concern about ground-
water contamination by pesticides and fertilizers,
consumer exposure to pesticide residue on food
and plant material, pesticide resistance in plant
pathogens, insects and weeds, destruction of ben-
eficial organisms, atmospheric contamination by
pollutants, and concern for endangered species,
all of which combine to make the problem of pest
control more serious.
For the past 30 years integrated pest manage-
ment (IPM) has received increased interest.
Investigations have concentrated on enhance-
ment of a broad arsenal of integrated strategies
for control of pests and diseases on selected com-
modities. A key goal of IPM strategies is the
reduction of pesticide use to the absolute mini-
mum and the reliance on other strategies to assist
in controlling pests. IPM strategies which can be
used include:
Apply pesticides only when necessary;
Make use of application methods that apply
less pesticide or use a more efficient spray
system;
Use biocompatible chemicals as they become
available;
Use biological controls when available and
when appropriate; and
Use cultural practices which are favorable to
healthy plant growth.
A successful IPM program depends on four
basic techniques.
Scouting. Regular and random visual
observations provide early warning to disease
problems.
Disease Identification. The first and most
important step is to identify the problem;
misdiagnosis
results
in use of
improper
control.
Timing. Improper timing of control measure
will result in disease control failure; the con-
trol measure must be timed correctly to the
stage of disease development.
Records. Brief accurate records are a good
tool for disease control decisions.
Although entomologists have achieved some
success with biological controls, the successes by
plant pathologists with biological control has
been somewhat sparse. While use of classical
biological control has aided pest control, most
biocontrol products have not yet proved to be
preferred treatments for disease control. Intense
research in biological control of root diseases
has been proceeding in the United States and
in Europe. Some microbial agents, although
sometimes sensitive to environmental variation,
can be effective in controlling soil-borne plant
pathogens. Although there are many promising
fungal and bacterial biocontrol agents, and exper-
iments demonstrate successful biocontrol in the
