Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
manage their farming system. All but one facilitated enhanced pest mon-
itoring, and 16 facilitated enhanced crop, soil, and irrigation monitoring
and analysis.
Specific examples of the monitoring practices are listed in table 5.2.
Fifteen report developing new pest or fertility monitoring techniques.
Partnership leaders determine the scope of alternatives they want grow-
ers to consider by what they want growers and their PCAs to monitor
and count. Efforts to encourage increased or more sophisticated moni-
toring have been most successful when growers understand the process,
have confidence in it, and perceive an opportunity to at least break even
or save money.
Social learning about agroecological pest-management strategies pro-
ceeds through a graduated process of enhanced perception. The three
main steps are these:
Recognize pests as an biological organism.
Perceive the insects in the context of a dynamic insect complex.
Understand the insect complex as one component of a dynamic farming
system that can be managed.
The first step involves learning about the life cycle of the insects, espe-
cially its feeding and reproductive patterns, to determine when the insect
is most vulnerable to a grower's intervention. Very few insects are pests,
and managing them effectively requires an understanding of their specific
Table 5.2
Agroecological monitoring practices promoted by selected partnerships.
Crop, soil and water
Pest monitoring techniques
monitoring
Walnuts,
Pheromone-based pest (codling moth)
Well water nutrient
pears,
traps; agroecological monitoring
analysis; leaf tissue
apples (9)
protocols; assess beneficial insects
analysis
Grapes
Agroecological monitoring protocols;
Well water nutrient
(wine,
assess beneficial insects; insect ID
analysis; leaf tissue
table,
sheets; computer monitoring data
analysis; moisture
raisin) (8)
software
analysis
Almonds,
Agroecological monitoring protocols;
Well water nutrient
prunes and
pheromone-based traps; assess
analysis; leaf tissue
stone
beneficial insects; insect ID sheets;
analysis; tree moisture
fruit (5)
computer monitoring data software
analysis
