Transcript Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management
February 19,2008
What is a Pest?
Insect, disease, or pathogen
 May be situational
 IPM requires some pest tolerance
 Only 5% of known insect species are
considered “pests” of humans.

What is IPM?
Multiple arsenals of pest control methods
 Multiple tactics used simultaneously
 Requires knowledge and time
 Management vs. eradication
 Rethink acceptable pest population levels
 Develop action thresholds

Four Components of IPM
Pest Identification
 Monitoring (aka scouting)
 Control Guidelines (aka thresholds)
 Methods of control

Pest Identification

How can you control it if you don’t know
what it is?
 Family
or group vs. species
 Where is it from?
 How often will it reproduce?
 What is its dispersal pattern?
 How much damage does it do?
 What part of the plant will it eat?
Monitoring
The earlier, the better!
 Early detection = more control choices
 Remember undersides of leaves
 In greenhouses or crops, use random
letter patterns to scout
 Repeat throughout season

Control Guidelines
aka thresholds
 May be aesthetic, economic, or personal
 Decide when action will be taken
 Vary with crop and intended use
 Not developed for all crops and insects

Control Guidelines
Sometimes no control is needed
 Typically multiple controls are chosen to
work together
 Timing is crucial
 Better understanding of pest leads to
better control decisions

The IPM Arsenal
Natural Controls
 Host resistance
 Cultural
 Mechanical/ Physical
 Biological
 Chemical

Natural Controls
Climate
 Natural enemies
 Geography
 Supply and demand of resources

Host Resistance
Tomatoes bred for disease resistance
 ‘Underhill’ wheat is an early example
 Monoculture cropping requires continuous
resistance development
 Should genetically modified crops be
included, i.e. Bt corn?

Cultural Controls
Rotation cropping
 Time planting for low pest levels
 Diversify
 Companion planting
 Cleanliness in greenhouse
 Watering methods

Mechanical / Physical Controls
Nets, barriers, traps
 Picking or knocking insects off plants
 Repellant devices
 Foil or moving objects
 Tree shaking machines
 Human or dog urine or hair

Biological Controls
Beneficial insects- predators and parasites
 Nematodes
 Naturally occurring pesticides
 Bt, Neem

Chemical Controls
Last for a reason
 Don’t work well with some biological
controls
 May be only option if pest caught too late
 Make informed use choices
 Broad spectrum pesticides kill beneficial
insects

Basic IPM Concepts
INTEGRATED- tactics from multiple
arsenals may be used simultaneously
 Suppression is more likely than eradication
 Actions are taken based on “thresholds”
 Requires time and knowledge of operator
 Takes longer to control pests
 Many “old-time” practices are IPM tactics
without the fancy name!

Pesticide Resistance
More is NOT better!
 That which does not kill them, makes
them stronger
 Only resistant progeny will result

Common Pests
Aphids- only 3,000 species!
 Whitefly
 Spider Mites
 Thrips
 Lepidopterous pests

Aphids
Many beneficial insects will attack them
 Look for mummified bodies
 Congregate on new growth
 Spread slowly- at first
 Winged individuals only when plants
become overcrowded
 Up to 20 generations per year!

Green Peach Aphid
Black Peach Aphid
Whitefly
Wide range of host plants (> 250 species)
 Control differs for young/ adults
 Biological, physical, chemical controls
 Cannot over winter in freezing
temperatures
 Found on undersides of leaves
 Common poinsettia and hibiscus pest

Whitefly
Spider mites
Mites are arachnids
 Thrive in hot, dry conditions
 Apparent by “webbing” under leaves
 Leaves may be mottled or distorted

Thrips
Really tiny insects
 asymmetrical mouthparts
 Infest flowers and new growth
 Present in most flowers!
 Situational pests, i.e. greenhouses
 Control with blue plastic plates (honest!)

Caterpillars
life cycle duration varies
 Single vs. multiple generations
 Chemical treatments only work early

Cabbage Looper- Early Instar
Cabbage Looper- Late Instar
Cabbage Looper Pupa
Cabbage Looper Adult
Beneficial Insects
•Spiders and mites may
also be beneficial
•Predators, parasites, or
parasitoids
Beneficial Insects
Wasps
 Syrphid Flies
 Minute pirate bug
 Big-eyed bug
 Lady beetles
 Praying Mantids
 Spined Soldier bug

Beneficial Insects
Lacewings
 Damsel Bugs
 Earwigs
 Rove beetles
 Tiger beetles

Encouraging Beneficial Insects
Diversify your plantings
 Plant the Compositaceae family
 Don’t use chemicals right away
 Use compatible control methods
 Don’t demand eradication

It amounts to the gardener’s version of a
balanced ecosystem
Why a Balanced Ecosystem?

Monoculture math
potato monoculture
+
lack of host plant resistance
=
thousands of starving Irish
A similar example: cotton, the boll weevil,
….and thousands of starving southerners
IPM is for all Gardeners
Beginnings in agriculture
 Pesticide resistance has made IPM
palatable even to chemical manufacturers
 IPM has always been practiced…
 We now have decades of scientific proof
that IPM works
 Departure from man vs. nature mentality

Questions and Discussion