PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING MANUAL 9th edition
Chapter 1
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been developed as a way to
control pests without relying solely on pesticides. IPM is a systematic plan
which brings together different pest control tactics into one program. This
Chapter defines IPM, the various pest control methods used in IPM, and
how to set up an IPM program, and provides information to help pesticide
applicators manage insects, plant diseases, weeds, and vertebrate pests.
Integrated Pest Management
provides farmers with choices
about how to manage pests
safely and effectively.
Photo: NRCS
Chapter 1. Integrated Pest
1
Management
, Notes Page
PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING 19th
2
MANUAL Edition
,Section 1: What Is
Integrated Pest
Management?
With IPM, a farmer uses pesticides as one tool in an overall pest-control
program. Let’s look at what each of the words in the term Integrated
Pest Management means:
◗ Integrated: a focus on interactions of pests, crops, the
environ- ment, and various control methods. This approach
considers all available tactics and how these tactics fit with
other agricultural
practices used.
Integrated
◗ Pest: an organism that conflicts with our profit, health, or con- Pest
venience. If a species does not exist in numbers that seriously Management,
affect these factors, it is not considered a pest. or IPM, is
◗ Management: a way to keep pests below the levels where they managing
can cause economic damage. Management does not mean crops using
eradicating many tactics to
keep pest
pests. It means finding tactics that are effective and economical, levels below an
and that keep environmental damage to a minimum. economic
This Section describes the development of IPM and the cultural,
biological, mechanical, physical, chemical, and legal control methods
used in IPM.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the difference among the Economic Damage,
Economic Injury Level, and Economic Threshold.
2. Identify the three elements of a successful IPM program.
3. Provide two reasons why pest management has shifted from
routine pesticide application to IPM.
Terms to Know:
◗ Economic damage (ED)
◗ Economic injury level (EIL)
◗ Economic threshold (ET)
◗ Host
◗ Integrated pest management (IPM)
◗ Pest
◗ Pest signs
◗ Pest symptoms
Chapter 1. Integrated Pest
3
Management
, Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Almost all farmers do at least some IPM through normal crop production
practices. Integrated pest management is a balanced, tactical approach
to pest control. It involves taking action to anticipate pest outbreaks and
to prevent potential damage. IPM utilizes a wide range of pest control
strategies or tactics. The goal of this strategy is to prevent pests from
reaching economically or aesthetically damaging levels with the least
risk to the environment.
IPM programs are very site-specific. IPM is based on the identification
of pests, accurate measurement of pest populations, assessment of
damage levels, and knowledge of available pest management strategies
or tactics that enable the specialist to make intelligent decisions about
control.
IPM offers the possibility of improving the effectiveness of pest control
programs while reducing some of the negative effects. Many successful
IPM programs have reduced pesticide use and increased protection of
the environment.
Pesticide use is and will continue to be significant in food and fiber
production, forestry, turf and landscape maintenance, and public health.
Pest management has shifted from relying heavily on pesticides to using
an integrated approach based on pest assessment, decision making, and
evaluation.
Why Practice IPM?
Why have pest managers shifted to IPM when chemical pesticides so
often succeed at controlling pests? There are many reasons to broaden
pest management beyond the use of chemicals.
◗ IPM helps to keep a balanced ecosystem. Every ecosystem,
made up of living things and their non-living environment, has a
balance; the actions of one kind of organism in the ecosystem
usually
affect other species. Introducing chemicals into the ecosystem
can change this balance, destroying certain species and allowing
other species (sometimes pests themselves) to dominate.
Pesticides can kill beneficial insects that consume pests, leaving
few natural mechanisms of pest control.
◗ Pesticides can be ineffective. Chemical pesticides are not
always effective. Pests can become resistant to pesticides. In
fact, some 600 cases of pests developing pesticide resistance
have been
documented to date, including many common weeds, insects, and
disease-causing fungi. Furthermore, pests may survive in
situations where the chemical does not reach pests, is washed off,
is applied at an improper rate, or is applied at an improper life
stage of the pest.
PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING 19th
4
MANUAL Edition
Chapter 1
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been developed as a way to
control pests without relying solely on pesticides. IPM is a systematic plan
which brings together different pest control tactics into one program. This
Chapter defines IPM, the various pest control methods used in IPM, and
how to set up an IPM program, and provides information to help pesticide
applicators manage insects, plant diseases, weeds, and vertebrate pests.
Integrated Pest Management
provides farmers with choices
about how to manage pests
safely and effectively.
Photo: NRCS
Chapter 1. Integrated Pest
1
Management
, Notes Page
PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING 19th
2
MANUAL Edition
,Section 1: What Is
Integrated Pest
Management?
With IPM, a farmer uses pesticides as one tool in an overall pest-control
program. Let’s look at what each of the words in the term Integrated
Pest Management means:
◗ Integrated: a focus on interactions of pests, crops, the
environ- ment, and various control methods. This approach
considers all available tactics and how these tactics fit with
other agricultural
practices used.
Integrated
◗ Pest: an organism that conflicts with our profit, health, or con- Pest
venience. If a species does not exist in numbers that seriously Management,
affect these factors, it is not considered a pest. or IPM, is
◗ Management: a way to keep pests below the levels where they managing
can cause economic damage. Management does not mean crops using
eradicating many tactics to
keep pest
pests. It means finding tactics that are effective and economical, levels below an
and that keep environmental damage to a minimum. economic
This Section describes the development of IPM and the cultural,
biological, mechanical, physical, chemical, and legal control methods
used in IPM.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the difference among the Economic Damage,
Economic Injury Level, and Economic Threshold.
2. Identify the three elements of a successful IPM program.
3. Provide two reasons why pest management has shifted from
routine pesticide application to IPM.
Terms to Know:
◗ Economic damage (ED)
◗ Economic injury level (EIL)
◗ Economic threshold (ET)
◗ Host
◗ Integrated pest management (IPM)
◗ Pest
◗ Pest signs
◗ Pest symptoms
Chapter 1. Integrated Pest
3
Management
, Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Almost all farmers do at least some IPM through normal crop production
practices. Integrated pest management is a balanced, tactical approach
to pest control. It involves taking action to anticipate pest outbreaks and
to prevent potential damage. IPM utilizes a wide range of pest control
strategies or tactics. The goal of this strategy is to prevent pests from
reaching economically or aesthetically damaging levels with the least
risk to the environment.
IPM programs are very site-specific. IPM is based on the identification
of pests, accurate measurement of pest populations, assessment of
damage levels, and knowledge of available pest management strategies
or tactics that enable the specialist to make intelligent decisions about
control.
IPM offers the possibility of improving the effectiveness of pest control
programs while reducing some of the negative effects. Many successful
IPM programs have reduced pesticide use and increased protection of
the environment.
Pesticide use is and will continue to be significant in food and fiber
production, forestry, turf and landscape maintenance, and public health.
Pest management has shifted from relying heavily on pesticides to using
an integrated approach based on pest assessment, decision making, and
evaluation.
Why Practice IPM?
Why have pest managers shifted to IPM when chemical pesticides so
often succeed at controlling pests? There are many reasons to broaden
pest management beyond the use of chemicals.
◗ IPM helps to keep a balanced ecosystem. Every ecosystem,
made up of living things and their non-living environment, has a
balance; the actions of one kind of organism in the ecosystem
usually
affect other species. Introducing chemicals into the ecosystem
can change this balance, destroying certain species and allowing
other species (sometimes pests themselves) to dominate.
Pesticides can kill beneficial insects that consume pests, leaving
few natural mechanisms of pest control.
◗ Pesticides can be ineffective. Chemical pesticides are not
always effective. Pests can become resistant to pesticides. In
fact, some 600 cases of pests developing pesticide resistance
have been
documented to date, including many common weeds, insects, and
disease-causing fungi. Furthermore, pests may survive in
situations where the chemical does not reach pests, is washed off,
is applied at an improper rate, or is applied at an improper life
stage of the pest.
PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING 19th
4
MANUAL Edition
