Integrated Pest Management:
It stands for integrated pest management. It can be defined as coordinated use of two or more pest suppression techniques which keeps the insect population within economical threshold.
principles of Integrated Pest Management:
- Pest resistant varieties should be promoted.
- Careful preservation and propagation of predators which feed on other farm insects.
- Minimum use of pesticides.
- Ban on pesticides with residual toxicity.
- Crop rotation
- Organized sanitation system.
- Hand destruction of weeds.
Methods of Pest Control:
1. Cultural Method: Like ploughing ,tilage
2. Legislative Method: The government bans those pesticides which are harmful and ineffective.
—Discourages import of certain varieties of plants, which are prone to pest attack.
3.Cultural Method: In this method living organisms,such as parasites predators and pathogens are used to bring down population of target species.
Importance of IMP:
- Man has become increasingly reliant on chemical pesticides for crop protection which increase cost of production.
- Man has become aware that pesticides have harmful effects.
- Destruction of natural predators who kill and eat other organisms.
- Resurgence of pest populations rapidly after chemical treatments.
- Outbreak of secondary pests.
- Development of resistance in pest population against pesticides.
- Residues of pesticides remain in feed, food , and environment.
- Hazards of pests to human and animal life.
- Destruction of natural Environment of ecosystem.