Review of Integrated Pest Management of Alfalfa Hay Crop: A Successful Example at TADCO

Abstract

Alfalfa hay crop was grown at TADCO, mainly for dairy farms companies in Saudi Arabia on contract basis. This crop and due to the application of broad-spectrum contact insecticides lead to aphids’ outbreak during spring and autumn and worms’ outbreak during the summer month of each year leading to loss of hay quality and yield quantity. An Integrated Pest Management program was applied at TADCO in the period 2000 to 2010, and it succeeded to regulate the aphids and worms’ insects’ numbers on the alfalfa crop which resulted in a smaller number of sprays per season and lowered the cost of pest control over the years. This success was due to using selective insecticides which has little impact on the predators and parasites insects and allowed the company to produce high quality hay desired by the dairy farm companies and reduced the cost of production. Alfalfa was an ideal crop for applying integrated pest management program (IPM) as it is a perennial crop grown at each pivot for an average of two years, and this allowed the beneficial insects to stay on it and survive between the seasons feeding on insect pests. Keywords: IPM; Predators; Parasites; Alfalfa Hay; Selective Insecticides