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Integrated Pest Management

What is integrated pest management?

Integrated pest management (IPM) is the combination of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical tools to prevent, manage, and control pests (Figure 1). A pest is any organism that is harmful to humans or human concerns. They include weeds, insects and other invertebrates, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and in some cases vertebrates, such as mice in a grain elevator. 

The steps to implement an IPM program are:

  1. Prevention and Planning
  2. Monitoring 
  3. Decision Making
  4. Implementation
  5. Monitoring and Evaluation

 

 

Figure 1. Components of integrated pest management

The goal of pest management is not to completely eradicate the target pest. Pest management should bring the pest population numbers to levels where the losses in quality and/or quantity due to the pest presence are below economic injury levels (Figure 2). In other words, it is not advisable to take action if the solution is more expensive than the economic loss expected by pest damage. Action should be taken at critical periods, action thresholds, or when a disease is forecasted, depending on the nature of pest.  

 

Image caption: 
Fig. 2 Pest numbers by time

Figure 2 . Pest numbers over time
Pest numbers are represented by the continuous red curve. Action threshold [AT (ET)] and economic injury level (EIL) are represented by the dashed green and blue lines, respectively. These are the pest levels at which action to control should be taken.  Pest levels, if no action is taken (represented by the dashed red line), could surpass the economic injury level. At this point, the producer would spend more money implementing a control solution than the value of crop that would be lost due to pest damage.

Implementing an IPM plan provides crop protection while reducing human and environmental health risks associated with the use of pest control products. The central components of all IPM plans are prevention and monitoring, with constant record keeping throughout. 

What are the benefits of integrated pest management?

Integrated pest management is a holistic approach that diversifies the tools used for protecting crops against pests. In this way, the onset of pesticide resistance can be delayed, and the efficacy of pest control products is prolonged. Future generations of farmers will have efficacious options to combat the pressures of the future. 

IPM can result in economic gains by reducing the total inputs required to provide crop protection. When action is taken only when it’s needed, as opposed to a scheduled program, there may be a reduction in the number of sprays required. The result is a reduced input cost to the producer, less time spent spraying, and reduced fuel costs.

Environmentally, IPM may reduce environmental risk through the same mechanism by which it conveys potential economic benefits. If fewer inputs are required there is lower pest control product exposure to the environment and to the organisms that interact with the agro-system, including humans.

How to develop an integrated pest management program?

  1. Prevention and Planning
    Become familiar with your crop, the pests associated with the crop, and potential management and control options in case they are needed. Key concepts to consider: 
    1. Know and recognize the development stages of your crop, and when and how to monitor for each pest
    2. Consider pest issues in previous growing years. You can consider any cultural or physical control methods that will help manage pest populations. Cultural controls that you may consider prior to crop establishment include cultivar and site selection. You may also begin planning for physical controls that are implemented prior to pest emergence such as insect netting or trap cropping
    3. Recognize the organisms that jeopardize the crop and learn to differentiate them from those that are beneficial, such as pollinators and predators of pests (hover flies, endemic bees and wasps, ground beetles, spiders, lacewings, endemic ladybeetles, etc.)
    4. Develop your monitoring thresholds or discover critical periods for management. Use reputable sources of information such as fact sheets published by recognized institutions and/or organizations, i.e. universities, governments, grower associations, research institutes
    5. Proceed with caution when assessing information from online forums, or when using information from reputable sources in jurisdictions with different climatic conditions from yours. The action thresholds for pests will vary between regions and even individual farms. These are flexible, varying depending on the interaction between the host, the pest, and the environment. The closer to you the information came from, the higher the chance that the system will behave similarly 
  2. Monitoring
    Monitoring is conducted by scouting, placing traps and/or lures, or by forecasting. Forecasting involves using models that vary in complexity, some of which use accumulation of degree days and others use multiple factors such as relative humidity, air temperature, and presence of inoculum. Things to consider:
    1. Create a plan for how frequently traps need to be monitored, or how frequently crops need to be scouted
    2. Create data sheets where numbers of pests can be tallied and compared to thresholds. Record data for all pests scouted for and the number found. Zeroes are still data, do not rely on your memory to recall pest absence or presence
    3. It is important that the monitoring technique used has been validated, so that the thresholds correspond to an actual economic value, i.e. what does it mean to have 1 aphid/plant, is there a risk?
  3. Decision Making
    1. You should be familiar with thresholds, critical periods, and models to forecast diseases before you start monitoring for them (Step 1). If the target pest has reached the threshold that you decided on, this is where you decide which pest management solution(s) you will implement. Things to consider:
    2. Which methods have or have not worked in the past?
    3. Use biological, physical, and cultural control options if appropriate. Consider if there are enough predators in the system that will take care of the problem
    4. If using a chemical control, consider which of the pest control products available suits the situation best. If there is more than one pest control product available, do they have the same mode of action? Make sure you rotate mode of action or tank mix when possible to deter pesticide resistance
  4. Implementation
    Once pest levels have reached your action threshold, this is when you implement your chosen pest management solution. Things to consider:
    1. If you are using a chemical control option, follow the label of all pest control products used; respect the rates approved for its use, the number of applications per season allowed, pre-harvest and reentry intervals. It is the law and any violation is a violation of the Federal Pest Control Products Act. 
    2. Make sure that if you use pest control products, you or the applicator has a valid pesticide applicator certificate issued by the PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and you are keeping records of all applications. It is the law. Any violation is a violation of the Provincial Pesticides Control Act. 
  5. Monitoring and Evaluation
    This step will allow you to evaluate the efficacy of the pest management control that was taken. When monitoring the field after implementing your solution, you can assess risks such as development of resistance, calibration issues or product choice. It can also help you plan for cultural practices next season such as site selection, choosing cover crops, or changing varieties. 

Additional information on integrated pest management:

The information contained in the links below is for general reference only. They are included with the intention of starting a discussion about developing Integrated Pest Management strategies. Some may not be applicable to you, and some may require further refinement depending on the interaction between the environment, the pest, and the host; there is no silver bullet when working with pests and what works for one farm may not work for another. Any chemical control products listed in the below resources are for reference only. Always read the product label; in case of disagreement between these resources and the label, the label shall be considered correct. Please visit the Health Canada Pesticide Label Search for the most up to date labels.

Who to talk to about integrated pest management?

Agri-Environmental Specialist/Provincial Minor Use Coordinator 
Shauna Barry
PEI Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 2000, Charlottetown PE
C1A 7N8
Tel: 314-0388
Fax: 368- 4857
slbarry@gov.pe.ca

Manager, Sustainable Agriculture Section
PEI Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 2000, Charlottetown PE
C1A 7N8
Tel: 368-6366
Fax: 368-4857
 

Published date: 
September 18, 2024
Agriculture

Resources

2023 Pesticide Log Record Book

Additional Links

Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education Course (CEC)

General Inquiries

Department of Agriculture
5th Floor, Jones Building
11 Kent Street,
P.O. Box 2000,
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7N8

Phone: 902-368-4880
Fax: 902-368-4857

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Agriculture Information Desk
1-866-PEI FARM (734-3276)

DeptAg@gov.pe.ca