Pillars of Integrated Disease Management

Abstract

Economical and sustainable disease control can be obtained through the establishment of an integrated disease management system. The first integrated management system was developed by Dwight Isely to manage the population of cotton boll worm (Anthonomus grandis), which gave positive results for over 60 years in the United States (Newson 1980). Later, several other integrated management systems were developed and their basic concept was introduced to develop integrated management systems for diseases as well. Although there are several definitions of the integrated management system, according to Ledbetter et al. (1979) cited by Blair and Edwards (1980), “it is a system where all the possible pest control techniques are used to keep the pest population below the economic threshold. Each technique is eco-friendly and is compatible with the objectives of the user. Integrated management is more than merely the control of pests through chemicals. In several cases it includes the biological, cultural and sanitary control techniques for a complex of pests.