Question

What is Integrated Pest Management?

Answer 1

It is an Agricultural practice that involves management and various methods to improve crop productivity by using selective pesticides that cannot be managed by natural methods without any harm.

Complete solution: Integrated pest management (IPM) incorporates the application of environmental, cultural, and chemical methods to combat insect pests in agriculture. It attempts to use natural predators or insects to combat pests, using selective pesticides only where pests cannot be managed by natural means. The IPM should not be confused with ecological practice. It does not prohibit the spraying of chemicals; it encourages the spraying of selective pesticides only when the crop requires them, which usually ensures that fewer pesticides are used.
For managing Pest, various approaches are often grouped in the following categories.
Biological control-Biological control is the use of natural enemies like predators, parasites, pathogens, and competitors—to control pests and their damage.
Cultural controls-Cultural controls are practices that reduce pest establishment, reproduction, dispersal, and survival.
Mechanical and physical controls-Mechanical and physical controls kill a pest directly, block pests out, or make the environment unsuitable for it.
Chemical control-Require the use of pesticides in pest control. It is used in IPM where biological and cultural regulation has not been adequate to protect crop yields.

Additional information:
In the practice of IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation adopt a four-tiered strategy. The four measures must include:
Set Action Thresholds-IPM first sets an action threshold at which insect species or environmental factors suggest that pest control action must be taken. The sighting of a single pest does not necessarily mean that control is required. The degree to which pests will either become an economic burden is important in influencing future decisions on pest management.
Monitor and Identify Pests – IPM services work to monitor and accurately recognize pests so that effective management measures can be taken in accordance with intervention thresholds. This surveillance and detection remove the risk that pesticides would be used when they are not really required or that a pesticide of the wrong kind would be used.
Prevention-IPM systems focus on seed, lawn, or indoor maintenance to deter pests from being a danger. In an agricultural crop, this can include the use of cultural methods such as rotation between various crops, collection of pest-resistant varieties, and planting of the pest-free rootstock. This measure can be very reliable and cost-effective and poses little to no risk to humans or the environment.
Control - Once the detection, recognition, and intervention thresholds suggest that pest management is needed and prevention measures are no longer efficient or appropriate, IPM systems will then determine the correct control system for both efficacy and risk. Effective, less risky pest prevention, such as highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones that inhibit pest mating, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding, is preferred.

Note: IPM is an innovative and environmentally conscious approach to pest management that focuses on a variety of common-sense practices. IPM systems use an up-to-date, detailed knowledge of insect life cycles and their relationship with the environment.