Monday 17th January 2022
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest prevention. It’s a long-term process of prevention of pests and their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, culture modification, habitat manipulation, and employing resistant varieties. IPM has been at the heart of the UK's approach to agriculture and horticulture since 2009.In IPM, pesticides are used only after attentive monitoring indicates that they are necessary. According to established guidelines, any treatments done should only be used to remove the target organism alone. IPM ensures that pest control materials are selected and applied in a way that does not put human health, beneficial and nontarget organisms, and the environment at risk.
The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home, garden, and workplace. It takes advantage of all safe pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides.
This article will give you everything you need to know when it comes to Integrated Pest Management Services.
What Are IPM Services?
How do IPM Services Work?
The Relevance of IPM Services
What Are IPM Services?
IPM services use several resources to monitor and get timely, comprehensive information on the life cycles of various pests and their interaction with the environment. Monitoring means checking your field, crop or glasshouse to identify which pests are present, how many there are, or what damage they've caused. Correctly identifying the pest is key to knowing whether a pest is likely to become a problem and determining the best management strategy.
This information, coupled with various pest control methods, is then used to manage pest damage using the most economical means. Being economical is not the sole aim, however, as the main focus is on controlling the pests while eliminating hazardous situations to people and the environment.
Correctly identifying the pest that you are dealing with is key to knowing whether the pest is likely to cause a problem and determining the best strategy to counter the infestation. After monitoring and considering key information about the pest itself, its biology, and environmental factors, the IPM process can decide whether the pest can be tolerated or whether it’s a problem that warrants immediate control.
This information, coupled with various pest control methods, is then used to manage pest damage using the most economical means. Being economical is not the sole aim, however, as the main focus is on controlling the pests while eliminating hazardous situations to people and the environment.
Correctly identifying the pest that you are dealing with is key to knowing whether the pest is likely to cause a problem and determining the best strategy to counter the infestation. After monitoring and considering key information about the pest itself, its biology, and environmental factors, the IPM process can decide whether the pest can be tolerated or whether it’s a problem that warrants immediate control.
In the UK, there is a definition of IPM that the Government uses that comes from the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (SUDP). This definition identifies IPM through eight key principles. One of these principles states that the professional user has to painstakingly decide whether and when to apply plant protection measures.
If control is needed, this information also helps these services to select the most effective management methods and the best time to use them.
If control is needed, this information also helps these services to select the most effective management methods and the best time to use them.
How do IPM Services Work?
As you may already know, IPM doesn't utilise a single pest control method but rather a variety of pest management evaluations, decisions and controls. In practising IPM, horticulturists need to have an eye for pest infestation and follow a systematic approach to manage pests. The four-tiered approach includes.
Setting Action Thresholds
Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that immediate action must be taken to control the pests. According to the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, IPM control must be supported by the use of balanced fertilisation, liming and suitable drainage and irrigation practices among other factors. Just sighting a single pest does not mean that control is needed. The level at which pests go on to become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.Monitoring and Trying to Identify Pests
In horticulture, not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms are pests that require control. Some of these organisms are innocuous, and maybe even beneficial. IPM services work to monitor pests and identify them accurately so that the appropriate control decisions can be made in conjunction with action thresholds. The purpose of this identification process is to remove the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used. Our Agronomy services help to identify all types of horticultural pests so that you know what you are dealing with.Preventing Further Damage
As the first line of pest control, IPM services manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to avert pests from becoming a threat. For horticultural crops, this calls for the use of cultural methods such as crop rotation, selecting pest-resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock. These control methods can be very effective and cost-efficient and present little to no risk to people or the environment.Control
Once monitoring and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective, IPM programs then evaluate the proper control method.
Effective, less risky pest control methods are chosen first, including mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding. If further monitoring and identification indicate that less risky controls are not working, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as microbiological beneficial insects, bio-pesticides or targeted spraying of pesticides. Broadcast spraying of non-specific chemical pesticides is a last resort, but you have to hope that it doesn't come to that.
Effective, less risky pest control methods are chosen first, including mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding. If further monitoring and identification indicate that less risky controls are not working, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as microbiological beneficial insects, bio-pesticides or targeted spraying of pesticides. Broadcast spraying of non-specific chemical pesticides is a last resort, but you have to hope that it doesn't come to that.
The Relevance of IPM Services
Apart from saving your business money by preventing infestation, IPM services will also work with you to change your general practices and behaviours, thus making your site less attractive to pests.
Make sure that your service provider doesn't overlook the importance of implementing simple but effective pest prevention measures. These measures include sealing off entry points, especially in greenhouses.
IPM also potentially reduces the total input of pesticides in horticulture, which has social and ecological benefits in terms of embracing eco-friendly pest management improving biodiversity.
Make sure that your service provider doesn't overlook the importance of implementing simple but effective pest prevention measures. These measures include sealing off entry points, especially in greenhouses.
IPM also potentially reduces the total input of pesticides in horticulture, which has social and ecological benefits in terms of embracing eco-friendly pest management improving biodiversity.
You can also significantly reduce input cost in terms of total pesticide used and the number of spraying passes. This is because IPM advocates for the use of more resistant varieties to reduce the number of fungicide or insecticide sprays.