When will integrated pest management strategies be adopted? Example of the development and implementation of integrated pest management strategies in cropping systems in Victoria

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Horne ◽  
Jessica Page ◽  
Cam Nicholson

This paper discusses the development and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for broadacre cropping in Victoria, Australia, with reference to other crops and also the levels of adoption of IPM in Australia and overseas. Levels and rates of adoption are mostly low but with some exceptions. The reasons for differing levels of adoption include the failure of strategies to successfully deal with all pests, the lack of motivation to change to using IPM given current successful pesticide-based controls, and the poor availability of IPM advisors in the field. This paper outlines how IPM strategies for wheat, barley and canola crops were developed and implemented using a collaborative approach between farmers, agronomists and entomologists. It was found that although there were no existing specific IPM strategies for the crops grown in the region of south-eastern Australia, there was sufficient information for farmers to start using an IPM approach. This paper gives a case study of implementing change to IPM from conventional pesticide spraying, including the development of a course in IPM for growers and agronomists. It focuses on the process of changing practices and information transfer rather than on entomological details.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M Little ◽  
Thomas W Chapman ◽  
N Kirk Hillier

AbstractThe past 100 yr have seen dramatic philosophical shifts in our approach to controlling or managing pest species. The introduction of integrated pest management in the 1970s resulted in the incorporation of biological and behavioral approaches to preserve ecosystems and reduce reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides. Increased understanding of the local ecosystem, including its structure and the biology of its species, can improve efficacy of integrated pest management strategies. Pest management strategies incorporating insect learning paradigms to control insect pests or to use insects to control other pests can mediate risk to nontarget insects, including pollinators. Although our understanding of insect learning is in its early stages, efforts to integrate insect learning into pest management strategies have been promising. Due to considerable differences in cognitive abilities among insect species, a case-by-case assessment is needed for each potential application of insect learning within a pest management strategy.


2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 993 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Robertson

The impact of different management strategies on production and profit can be evaluated with knowledge of how sheep production responds to changes in the available feed base and sheep or pasture management. This study aimed to quantify on-farm pasture and sheep production in mixed sheep and cropping systems in the Victorian Mallee of south-eastern Australia (325 ± 50 mm annual rainfall) as a prelude to computer simulation modelling. During 2001 (average rainfall) and 2002 (extreme drought) pasture production, the feed base and sheep production were monitored in 15 paddocks on 5 properties located across the region. Crop stubbles were the major source of feed for 6 months of the year, enabling ewes to maintain liveweight. There was more variation in pasture parameters between paddocks at the 1 location than between locations. The botanical composition, plant density, soil fertility and management were key variables associated with between-paddock variation in pasture production. Variation in pasture production between years was larger than within-year differences. In contrast, stocking rates were not much lower in the drought year of 2002 than in 2001. This study suggests there is potential for management to improve pasture production, and demonstrates the importance of feed sources other than annual pasture for sheep production in environments where the annual pasture growing season is short.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randa Jabbour ◽  
Shiri Noy

Pest management strategies involve a complex set of considerations, circumstances, and decision-making. Existing research suggests that farmers are reflexive and reflective in their management choices yet continue to employ curative rather than preventative strategies, and opt for chemical over biological solutions. In this piece, we detail work from a two-year, multidisciplinary, mixed-methods study of insect pest management strategies in alfalfa in Wyoming, integrating data from four focus groups, a statewide survey, and biological sampling of production fields. We outline how these different sources of data together contribute to a more complete understanding of the challenges and strategies employed by farmers, and specifically on biological pest control. We applied this approach across alfalfa hay and seed crop systems. Relatively few farmers acknowledged biological control in focus groups or surveys, yet biological exploration yielded abundant parasitism of common pest alfalfa weevil. On the other hand, parasitism of seed alfalfa pest Lygus was far less common and patchy across fields. It is only in integrating quantitative and qualitative, biological and social data that we are able to generate a more complete portrait of the challenges and opportunities of working with farmers to embrace a preventative paradigm. In doing so, we offer insights on possible barriers to the adoption of preventative insect management strategies and provide a case study of integrating social science and biophysical techniques to better understand opportunities to expand biological pest control in cropping systems.


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