integrated Pest Management

IRAC fully supports integrated pest management (IPM) as a holistic and sustainable approach towards controlling insect pests. Our definition of IPM is the integration of any economically viable method for managing insect pest populations in a given pest-cropping system situation, including the use of insecticides.

IPM strategies may employ a large number of tactics to reduce pest pressure. These can include cultural and agronomic practices such as crop rotations or removal of crop residues and alternative host plants. Biological control using predators or parasitoids is now well established in controlled environments, such as greenhouse grown crops. Sterile male technology is used in vector control. Pheromone technology (e.g. “mating disruption”) is commonly employed in specialty crops such as viticulture, orchards or greenhouses, and is now being explored in field crop situations. The conservation of natural enemies is a key element in IPM programs and in this context the introduction of BT crops played an important role. In the US, BT cotton crops served as a model, where the concept of natural enemy conservation was conceived and implemented, altering the pest status of whiteflies in the cotton growing system of Arizona. Conventional plant breeding for virus tolerance and new gene editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas can be part of such an approach as well. In addition, highly targeted insecticides are becoming available based on RNA interference (RNAi).

Though IPM is not IRAC’s primary expertise, IRAC will, where appropriate, seek to enable the dissemination of information on IPM options developed by research institutions, academia or government agencies for certain crop-pest situations through our outreach channels.

Read the full article: Trends in IPM: A commentary from an IRAC Perspective