Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Use

Abstract

Worldwide, integrated pest management (IPM) is the policy decision for pest management. It has been five decades since the development of threshold theory and harmonious control strategies were the domain of pest management research in the USA, Canada, and some parts of Europe. In the 1970s the work on development and validation of IPM technologies started in developing countries. The implementation of IPM and pesticide reduction programs has been in place in the developed and developing countries for the last three to four decades. There are plausible questions raised about the objectives of IPM, adoption of IPM practices, and pesticide use. Questions are also being raised on the use of robust indicators to measure the impact of IPM research and extension. Pesticide use by volume, pesticide use by treatment frequency index, reduction in use of more toxic pesticides, and environmental impact quotient have been used as IPM impact evaluation indicators. Low volume pesticides and transgenic crops both decreased and stabilized pesticide use in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, the pesticide sales regained an upward trajectory, and pesticide use in agriculture has increased. Transgenetic crops were thus not proven to be a perfect technique in IPM. We propose that the reduction in pesticide use frequency and the environmental impact quotient be the primary indicators to evaluate the success of IPM programs in the future. We have moved full circle from IPM to integrated pest and pesticide management. This chapter analyzes the development and implementation of IPM programs in the developed and developing countries and their impact on pesticide use.