Chapter 9 - Pesticide Use Practices in Integrated Pest Management

Abstract

Integrated pest management (IPM) is the management of insect, disease, nematode, weed, and vertebrate pests in a systems framework, rather than a tactic or group of tactics for a specific pest or pest group. IPM strategies and tactics have gradually been adopted as alternatives to the conventional chemical control paradigm. IPM uses a systems approach to reduce pest damage to tolerable levels through a variety of techniques, including natural predators and parasites, genetically resistant hosts, environmental modifications and, when necessary and appropriate, chemical pesticides. IPM strategies generally rely first upon biological defenses against pests before chemically altering the environment. Pesticides often represent the first line of defense in situations of pest outbreak or where a specific pest must be eradicated for quarantine or public health purposes. Pesticides may be used in an IPM system when applied based on scouting and strict consideration of available action thresholds. Where choices of pesticides exist, those which are least toxic and present the lowest potential for disruption should be selected for use to reduce selection pressure on the pest population and delay the development of pesticide resistance. Reduced-risk pesticides and those pesticides that have less potential for harming humans or the environment are favored in IPM systems.