Integrated Pest Management

1. Linda Seals Commercial Horticulture Agent UF Brevard County IFAS Extension Integrated Pest Management

2. What is a plant pest? • Anything that affects the growth, quality, and appearance of a plant

3. What is IPM? • The use of different pest management strategies to maintain a landscape • A pesticide-only approach is one-layered • Environmentally unsound • Economically unfeasible • Use several management practices together

4. Think of it as a tool box…

5. The Principles of IPM • Establish thresholds • Scouting and identification • Prevention • Control

6. The Benefits? • Provides long-term solutions to pest problems • Protects the environment • Reduces pesticide costs and liabilities • Limits development of pesticide resistance • Good for public relations

7. The Disadvantages? • More labor costs for training and scouting • More to learn, more to remember

8. Why is IPM Important? • To reduce pesticide resistance • To reduce water contamination • Avoid harm to non-target organisms • Avoid pesticide movement in the environment

9. Pest Resistance • It’s genetic • Insects that carry the resistance gene do not die when exposed to pesticide • The resulting offspring also carry the gene • Factors influencing resistance • Broad spectrum pesticides = > resistance • Increased pesticide use = > resistance • Pesticides that provide good control = > resistance

10. Preventing Resistance • Never rely on a single pesticide class. • Integrate chemical control with effective, complementary cultural and biological control practices. • Always use pesticides at recommended rates and strive for thorough coverage.

11. Non-Target Organisms • A non-target organism is anything that the pesticide is not intended for • Can be harmed directly (contact) • Harmed by residue or accumulation Foto de Linda Seals

12. Pesticide movement • Drift – when pesticide move through the air • Leaching – when pesticide moves downward through soil • Runoff – when pesticide moves with water off of a surface (e.g., roads, sidewalks, roofs)

13. Pesticide movement • Surface runoff and leaching may occur when: • Too much liquid pesticide is applied, leaked or spilled • Too much rainwater, irrigation water or other water gets onto a surface containing pesticide residue Foto: Alabama State Water Program

14. Pesticides can move into water via • Drift, leaching and runoff • Spills, leaks and back-siphoning • Improper disposal of pesticides, rinsates and containers Photo: Linda Seals

15. How soil affects pesticides • Soil texture – sand, silt, and clay • Soil permeability –how fast water can move downward • Soil organic matter – influences how much water the soil can hold before it moves downward

16. Prevention • What can you do to prevent pests? • Right plant, right place • Proper pruning, fertilization, watering, mulching, spacing, etc. • Installation and establishment • Choosing pest resistant cultivars/species • Proper site preparation

17. Prevention • Avoid monocultures (what’s that?) • Start with pest-free, weed-free plants • Reduce food, water, and shelter that might attract pests • Attract natural predators!! • Observe planting dates • Sanitation

18. Scouting • Scout the landscape frequently for pest problems • Reduces the spread of the pest • Reduces the amount of pesticides used • Reduces cost • May allow for the use of less harmful control measures

19. Scouting • Learn key plants and key pests • When do they emerge? When is their peak season? • Keep records of pest numbers, type of damage, number of beneficials, growth and health of the plant, soil conditions, weather, etc.

20. Scouting What kinds of pests are present? Are the numbers great enough to warrant control? When is the right time to begin control? Have the control efforts successfully reduced the number of pests?