Performance of IPM Techniques on Pesticide use and Yield of Vegetables

Background: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach for plant protection that was de­signed to reduce the need of chemical control. It is a complex, knowledge-based technology that combines biological, cultural and chemical control methods to keep pests below economically acceptable level. This study was done to assess the impact of IPM technology on pesticides use and yield of vegetable crops.Methods: A total of five hundred vegetable grower farmers from Banke and Surkhet districts of Lumbini and Karnali provinces, respectively, were purposively selected as the study area. These districts are the major vegetable growing areas in Nepal. Yield function was developed in estimating the functional relationship. Pesticide input was used as independent variable to know the effect of pesticide on vegetable yield. To detect the impact of IPM-technology on vegetable yield linear regression was used in this study.Result: IPM practicing farmers were significantly younger and more educated than control farmers. Pesticides and bio-pesticides were the major inputs used for controlling pests and diseases. Based on the sign and coefficient of the IPM (practice) variable, it has been concluded that use of IPM has positive and significant effect on the net revenue from the vegetables.

Chapter 3: Variety Selection

Selection of the variety to plant is one of the most important decisions the commercial vegetable grower must make each season. This document is HS712, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date June 1995. Revised November 2006.

Transplant Age in Vegetable Crops

The research reviewed here represents the majority of the information available on transplant age to date. When the results of these studies are distilled down to the “ideal” transplant age for setting of a specific crop, we generally arrive at the recommendations found in the 1962 edition of Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers. The conflicting results in the literature on transplant age may be due to the different environmental and cultural conditions that the plants were exposed to, both in the greenhouse and in the field. The studies did reveal that the transplant age window for certain crops might be wider than previously thought. Older transplants generally result in earlier yields while younger transplants will produce comparable yields, but take longer to do so. Our modern cultivars, improved production systems, and technical expertise enable us to produce high yields regardless of transplant age. The data, in general, support the view that if a vegetable grower requires resets after an catastrophic establishment failure (freeze, flood, etc.), they need not fear the older plants usually on hand at the transplant production facility.

Metering Nonuniform Vegetable Seed

Selecting the proper seeder setup to effectively meter a given seed lot can be very difficult for a vegetable grower, especially if the seed lot is not graded for size uniformity. A belt-type seeder should be able to effectively singulate the seeds if the seeds are spherical and uniform because the holes are specifically sized. Seeds that are not graded for size uniformity may not be singulated effectively by a belt-type seeder. A vacuum-type seeder should be able to uniformly meter a wider range of seed sizes better than a belt-type seeder since the holes in the seed plate must only be smaller than the smallest seeds in the lot. Seed lots (graded and ungraded) of two cultivars of turnip (Brassica rape L. Rapifera group) were metered with a belt seeder using belts with holes 6/64 inch (2.4 mm) or 7/64 inch (2.8 mm) in diameter or with a vacuum seeder. Neither the belt nor vacuum seeder resulted in satisfactory singulation with any of the seed lots. With the larger [7/64 inch (2.8 mm)] belt holes, there were excessive incidences of multiple seeds per drop. With the smaller [6/64 inch (2.4 mm)] belt holes, multiple drops and missed seed were both excessive. The vacuum seeder also resulted in excessive misses and multiples.

Metering Nonuniform Vegetable Seed

Selecting the proper seeder setup to meter a given seed lot effectively can be very difficult for a vegetable grower, especially if the seed lot is not graded for size uniformity. A belt-type seeder should effectively singulate the seeds if the seeds are spherical and uniform because the holes are specifically sized. Seeds that are not graded for size uniformity may not be singulated effectively by a belt-type seeder. A vacuum-type seeder should uniformly meter a wider range of seed sizes better than a belt-type seeder since the holes in the seed plate must only be smaller than the smallest seeds in the lot. Seed lots (graded and ungraded) of two turnip (Brassica rapa L. rapifera group) cultivars were metered with a belt seeder using belts with holes 6/64 inch (2.4 mm) or 7/64 inch (2.8 mm) in diameter or with a vacuum seeder. Neither the belt nor vacuum seeder satisfactorily singulated any of the seed lots. With the larger (7/64 inch) belt holes, there were excessive incidences of multiple seeds per drop. With the smaller (6/64 inch) belt holes, multiple drops and missed seed were excessive. The vacuum seeder also resulted in excessive misses and multiples.