Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is presented by Chaman Kumar Arya

IPM Definition

• The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, 1967) defines IPM as a system using suitable techniques and methods in relation to the environment and pest dynamics.
• IPM maintains pest populations below levels that cause economic injury.
• Luckmann and Metcalf (1994) define IPM as the intelligent selection and use of pest control tactics ensuring economical, ecological, and sociological benefits.

History of IPM

• Michelbacher and Bacon (1952) first used the term "Integrated control."
• Stern et al. (1959) defined integrated control as "Applied pest control which combines and integrates biological and chemical control."
• Geier (1966) coined the term "Pest Management."
• The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ, 1972) used the term "Integrated Pest Management."
• Smith and Adkisson received the World Food Prize in 1997 for their pioneering work on IPM implementation.

Need for Pest Management

• Insects are developing resistance to insecticides like Organophosphates and synthetic pyrethroids in Helicoverpa armigera.
• Secondary pest outbreaks, such as whiteflies, occur when insecticides are sprayed against Helicoverpa armigera.
• Target pests, such as rice BPH, resurge when some Organophosphate chemicals are applied.
• Increased applications lead to decreased profit.
• Pest management is needed to avoid environmental contamination, quality reduction, non-target deaths and health hazards

Stages in Crop Protection Leading to IPM

• Subsistence phase: Uses only natural control without insecticides.
• Exploitation phase: Applies more pesticides and grows HY varieties for increased yield and returns.
• Crisis phase: The overuse of pesticides leads to resurgence, resistance, secondary pest outbreaks, and increased production costs.
• Disaster phase: Increased pesticide use results in no profit and high soil residue, causing a collapse of the control system.
• Integrated Management Phase: IPM integrates eco-friendly methods to optimize control.

Objectives of Pest Management

• Reduce pest status below the economic injury level without complete elimination.
• Manage insects by preventing feeding, multiplication, and dispersal.
• Use eco-friendly methods to maintain environmental quality including air, water, wildlife and plant life.
• Maximize the use of natural mortality factors and apply control measures only when needed.
• Use components in sustainable crop production.

Requirements for Successful Pest Management

• Correct identification of insect pests and understanding their life history and behavior.
• Knowledge of natural enemies and weather factors affecting pest populations.
• Pest forecasting to predict pest outbreaks.
• Determining the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) for each pest in a crop.
• Need and timing of control measure decisions.
• Selection of suitable control methods.
• Analysis of cost/benefit and benefit/risk of each control measure.
• Farmer awareness, participation, and government support.
• Consumer awareness of pesticide-free products.

Injury Level

• ETL (Economic Threshold Level): The pest density at which control measures should be applied to prevent the population from reaching the Economic Injury Level; also known as Action Threshold Level.
• EIL (Economic Injury Level): The lowest population density that causes economic damage; also known as Damage Threshold Level (DTL).

Principles and Strategies of IPM

• Monitor insect pests and natural enemies through pest surveillance and forecasting.
• Use ETL and EIL concepts to reduce insecticide use and its environmental impact.
• Integrate compatible pest control tactics.
• A strategy of applying pest management tactics is similar to preventive and curative practices in human medicine.

IPM Methods

• Preventive methods: Can be used irrespective of pest incidence levels and can be followed routinely.
  • Natural enemies
  • Host plant resistance
  • Cultural control
  • Legal control (Plant Quarantine)
• Curative methods: Must be followed when the pest attains the economic threshold level.
  • Physical and mechanical methods
  • Inundative method releasing biocontrol agents
  • Chemical insecticides

Tools or Components of IPM

• Cultural Methods: Use agronomic practices like crop rotation, sanitation, ploughing, adjusted planting/harvesting times and trap crops.
• Mechanical Methods: Include hand collection, nets, barriers, mechanical traps, suction devices, and collecting machines.
• Physical Methods: Uses temperature, humidity, and energy regulation such as light traps or irradiation.
• Biological Control: Includes conservation of natural enemies, use of parasites/parasitoids, microbial pathogens, and predators.
• Host Plant Resistance: Utilizes varietal resistance through antixenosis, antibiosis, tolerance, and ecological resistance.
• Behavioral Methods: Uses pheromones and alchemical methods.
• Genetic/Biotechnology Methods: Involves transgenic plants and the release of genetically incompatible or sterile pests.
• Regulatory/Legal Control: Plant/animal quarantine and eradication/suppression programs.
• Chemical Control: Employs natural insecticides (Azadirachtin, Pyrethrum), synthetic insecticides (Organochlorines, Carbamates), attractants, repellents, insect growth inhibitors, and chemo-sterilants.

Advantages of IPM

• Lower cost intervention
• Benefits to the environment
• Balanced ecosystems
• Biodiversity protection
• Minimal residue hazards of pesticides
• Reduced pesticide resistance
• Best intervention for the general public

Disadvantages of IPM

• Requires more technical involvement
• Time and energy-consuming
• Demands significant resources
• Longer time to understand

Challenges in IPM

• Financial constraints during the initial phases.
• Lack of expertise and inadequate research on pests.
• Lack of supportive government policies.
• Difficult to implement in developing countries where traditional farming is practiced and farmers are unfamiliar with IPM concepts.