INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an alternative to the extreme degree of reliance on synthetic pesticides to control pests in modern agricultural systems. IPM includes both an alternative philosophy regarding pestcontrol and alternative practices regarding control.

• The philosphy of IPM is that the grower seeks not to eliminate pests, but to reduce pest populations to tolerable levels with environmental protection as a goal
• The practice of IPM is to employ a mixture of techniques to control pests.

IPM places relatively high reliance on natural and cultural pest controls, often with some chemical use, as part of a balanced program. It was first put forth formally by entomologists in the 1950's, and IPM systems for insect control are generally better developed to this day than are IPM systems for other kinds of pests.

While IPM was, until recently, considered a form of "alternative agriculture," it is no longer alternative -- it is mainline, and its importance will only increase with time. For example, as genetic resistance to pesticides continues to increase, it is likely that agriculture will not be able to continue its focus on chemical controls for long into the future. In fact many of the major agricultural chemical companies are changing so that farmers buy not only chemicals from them, but buy IPM programs from them!!

IPM has been embraced by the USDA (US Department of Agriculture), EPA, and many state governments. IPM systems are widely used in many parts of the country; for example, it is estimated that more than 50% of farmers in CA practice IPM in one form or another -- particularly for insects.

IPM employs:

• Environmental controls (biotic and abiotic, including altered cultural practices)
• Biological controls (introduction or favoring of natural control agents, such as organisms that prey on pests)
• Reproductive controls (manipulations to render pests sterile, for example)
• Genetic controls (host plant resistance as well as more exotic methods, some involving genetic engineering)
• Chemical controls (including conventional pesticides as well as other chemical approaches)

You can move to any of those topics by clicking, above. To return to the list of topics for this section on sustainable agriculture, click sustainable; to return to the master Table of Contents for this BI 301 home page, click "CONTENTS," below. For reminders on how to move about within and among these documents, click NAVIGATE.

This page is maintained by Patricia Muir at Oregon State University. Page last updated Nov. 26, 2008.