Integrated Pest Management :: essays research papers

Integrated Pest ManagementIntegrated pesterer management (IPM) is a recently developed technology for pest admit that is aimed at achieving the desire control while reducing the use ofpesticides. To accomplish this, various combinations of chemical, biological,and corporal controls are industrious. In the past, pesticides were all too oftenapplied routinely whether needed or not. With IPM, pest populations as well as unspoilt parasite and predator populations are monitored to determine whetherthe pests actually present a serious problem that needs to be treated. Ifproperly and extensively employed, IPM ability reduce pesticide use by as much as50 percent, while at the same time improving pest control. If this culture wereachieved, the environmental problems would be minimized, and significantbenefits would result for farmers and society as a whole.IPM coordinates economically and environmentally acceptable methods of pestcontrol with judicious and stripped use of toxic pesticid es. IPM programs assesslocal conditions, including climate, lick characteristics, the biology of thepest species, and soil quality, to determine the best method of pest control.Tactics employed include better tillage to prevent soil erosion and approachof beneficial sucking louses that eat harmful species. Many pests that are attached tocrop residues can be eliminated by plowing them underground. Simple paper orplastic barriers placed around fruit trees deter insects, which can excessively beattracted to light traps and destroyed. Weeds can be controlled by bed covergrass, leaf, or black plastic mulch. Weeds also may be pulled or hoed from thesoil.Many biological controls are also effective. Such insect pests as the Europeancorn borer, and the Japanese beetle, have been controlled by introducing theirpredators and parasites. Wasps that antedate on fruit-boring insect larvae are now be commercially bred and released in California orchards. The many hundredsof species of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and nematodes that parasitizepest insects and weeds are now being investigated as selective control agents.Another area of biological control is breeding host plants to be pest resistant,making them less prostrate to attack by fungi and insects. The use of sex pheromonesis an effective saloon for luring and trapping insects. Pheromones have beensynthesized for the Mediterranean fruit fly, the melon fly, and the Oriental