Slide 1 2 Pest Management Principles: Managing pests is an art in and of itself. In an a controlled environment, such as a home, pest management is quite simple; you: clean up debris in and around the house to eliminate pest breeding sites, close the door and repair torn screens to keep pests from entering, and squash those already inside. In this scenario, you ve used 3 management techniques: sanitation, prevention, and eradication. This multi faceted approach in minimizing pest infestations is formally known as Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. 3 Integrated Pest Management Unlike a home, however, controlling pests outdoors can be a bit trickier, even though the principles are the same. Although its original meaning has gotten blurred over the years, IPM still relies on a mixture of practices and technologies, specific to a given crop or host, in managing pest populations. Thus, for an IPM program to be successful, it must be practical, agronomically sound, and economically viable. 4 What IPM is NOT Knowing what IPM is not or can t do is just as important as understanding the basic principles behind an IPM program. Therefore, IPM is: Not new Not implemented overnight Not organic farming Not universal, and Not a formula to eliminate pesticides.
5 What IPM is... Planning ahead. IPM may require you to plan as much as three years in advance. Rotations using resistant cultivars or hybrids have to be planned to assure that these tools are effectively utilized. Waiting till the problem is full blast is not effective. At that point we are just patching up problems that might have been avoided. Using all the tools available. Rotations, resistance, planting dates, nutritional regimes to name a few tools can all be selected and adjusted to the problems at hand. Knowing your problems. Knowing which problems you have, how they exist within the system you are managing and knowing what practices promotes and inhibits those problems is essential to success. Understanding the system. We practice agriculture in a very complex system; having a good understanding of the system allows us to make more informed decisions on managing it. Not always easy. However, if done correctly, it can be effective and sustainable. You are probably doing it already, meaning that you may use more than one tool to control pests already. 6 Pest Prevention: Just as you soon discovered that prevention is necessary to effectively keep pests from entering your home, so it is with crop or animal production. Planting certified seed and pest resistant varieties, rotating crops, cleaning your tillage and harvesting equipment before exiting a field, and using weed free feed are just a few practices to keep pests from spreading, which is the first step in carrying out an IPM program. 7 Decision Making Process: Beyond that, deciding how best to manage pests means that you'll need to become familiar with the growth stage when your crops are most susceptible, accurate pest detection methods, the biology and habits of the common pests of your crops, the threshold level of infestation that warrants action, and your management options. It has taken the scientific community decades to improve our understanding of this delicate relationship between hosts, pests, and the environment, with more work yet to be done. It stands to reason, then, that improving your current IPM program also will take time and effort.
8 Scouting Of the many components involved in IPM, an essential element is regular monitoring of crops. Scouting reveals which pests are present, whether a pest infestation is increasing, the stage of pest or crop growth, and the condition of the crop. Only a regular scouting schedule can give you this information, which is essential to correctly time your pest management measures, and warn you when something is amiss, such as the early sign of pest resistance to pesticides. 9 Correct Identification: Correct pest identification is the start to developing an IPM plan. Understanding that not everything out there is a pest and that some pests do not have an impact at small enough numbers will help in understanding the problem. Although we all want a completely pest free field, especially when next to the highway, but it might be unfeasible to obtain that. [Photo ID: Western Corn Rootworm beetle, Corn Flea Beetle vector for Stewards wilt, Soybean aphid, yellow nutsedge, wild porso millet, Canada thistle, Goss s wilt, Sudden Death Syndrome.] 10 Pesticide Resistance: There are several factors that influence pesticide resistance. Frequency of resistance before using the pesticide: Resistance can exist in a pest before the pesticide is used. However, if the pesticide is not a possible tool, then this resistance doesn t mean anything to us. If this resistance is common in the pest before we use the pesticide the problem of resistance will occur faster. Chemical diversity of pesticides: Using the same chemistry and thus the same mode of action applies selection pressure to the pest promoting the development of resistance. Mode of Action: In some cases, how the pesticide works can have an effect on the probability that resistance may develop. Pesticides that target very precise components, such as single enzymes in the pest can be rendered ineffective with small changes in the pest. Persistence and Frequency of the pesticide: In pesticides that persist or are applied frequently, the selection pressure is maintained over a period of time also promoting the chance of resistance developing. Proportion of population exposed: Greater coverage of the pest population weeds out the susceptible pests and forces the resistant pests to mate with other resistant pests, thus promoting the breeding for resistant pests. And Life cycle of pest: Pests that have short life cycles, but have many offspring can develop resistance faster than other pests.
11 Pesticide Resistance: Examples of resistant pests in Wisconsin are shown here. As resistance to a pesticide becomes more prevalent, you will find that it is impossible to get adequate control with the pesticide. Some examples of insects are house flies, the Indian meal moth, the Colorado potato beetle and on the home front, bed bugs. Weeds include common lambquarters, waterhemp and giant ragweed and in diseases potato late blight. 12 Resistance Development Pests can develop resistance to pesticides quite rapidly. Insects are the classic case of resistance development. Because insect populations are so large, and the natural genetic makeup so diverse, a small percentage of individuals may be able to survive the effects of pesticides and pass on that ability to their offspring. That one insect that has resistance survives and is allowed to pass its resistance to its offspring. If the pesticide is used repeatedly, then, resistant individuals will make up a larger percentage of the population with each succeeding generation. 13 The next thing you know is that the resistant population becomes the majority of the pests in a field. Eventually, over time in large enough area, if nothing different is done, the resistant pest becomes the normal condition. 14 The first line of defense against an advancing resistance problem is to develop an IPM plan. When it comes to chemical control, mix up the modes of action of the pesticides being used. Many labels are now providing resistance strategies in their instructions. Essentially, don t let your pest management techniques become stagnant.
15 Use all the tools available to you. Starting with knowing your problem you can build an IPM strategy that incorporates many of the tools needed to control pests. Don t rule out any legal option available to you even if it includes... 16 hoeing. What better time to have family discussions, with a hoe in your hands. 17