The Texas landscape is rich, diverse and beautiful, and we all would like to keep it that way. Protecting the state's land and water is really everyone's job. We all have a stake in the outcome.
That's why you'll be hearing a lot more about Integrated Pest Management (IPM). It's a big name for a big idea. In a nutshell, IPM is a strategy to control pests - insects, weeds and plant diseases, for example - using methods that are effective, economical, and the least harmful to the environment.
But IPM may require a major change in attitude about the way we manage pests and use pesticides, even around the home. Managing pests requires that we do more than read a pesticide label and apply the proper dose. IPM seeks to reduce reliance on pesticides by using a range of practices that do the job just as well or better.
IPM applies to all kinds of pests including those in homes, lawns, gardens, crops and even pests on animals. IPM for the yard and garden, for example, includes planting well adapted varieties that may naturally resist pests, keeping plants healthy and vigorous (and more resistant to insects and diseases), encouraging natural enemies of pests like lady bugs and spiders and, if necessary, using pesticides that are less toxic and break down quickly.
While IPM may be a new concept to many of us, it's old hat to people in agriculture, the industry that pioneered IPM in the United States. Working for decades with land-grant colleges like Texas A&M University, agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private agencies like the Texas Pest Management Association, farmers and agribusinesses have been developing IPM methods for practically every commodity.
IPM makes maximum use of conditions and methods that control pests naturally. Here are some examples of how IPM is used in agriculture to provides us with safe and inexpensive food and fiber:
Crop management. In some of the earliest IPM practices, Texas cotton farmers in the 1920s and 1930s found that destroying cotton stalks immediately after harvest cut down on boll weevil populations. This practice disrupted the life cycle of the weevils by taking away their food source. Other effective practices include scheduling planting and harvesting at times that avoid high pest populations and using fast-maturing crops that have limited exposure to pest damage.
At one time farmers believed that the only good bug was a dead bug. We now know that's far from true. Pests have fields full of natural enemies - predators, parasites and diseases - that can help keep their damage in check. IPM makes the most of nature's own arsenal. During a growing season, farmers will routinely "scout" their fields, counting pests to estimate how rapidly they are building up. Often they find the numbers of good insects increasing fast enough to take care of the problem and to avoid chemical applications altogether.
Researchers are breeding plants that are more resistant to insects and
diseases. Some plants are even capable of producing their own insecticides.
Advances in 
biotechnology offer new ways to modify plants to enhance
their natural ability to withstand insect pests, diseases, and weeds.
Pesticides are often essential parts of IPM strategies, but they are applied typically after field checks or other evidence indicate their use is necessary to prevent extensive crop damage. IPM has reduced pesticide use in some crops by as much as 70 percent. Many chemicals used today are designed to break down rapidly in the environment and target specific pests without harming "good" insects.
Research is making IPM easier to carry out, more effective and more reliable. This is important because IPM practices vary from place to place with differences in climate, growing conditions and soil types.
If the past is any indication, IPM is the future of effective pest control. IPM techniques are like a craftsman's box of tools. The more the craftsman learns, the more tools he adds to his collection. In the same way, the more that people learn about IPM, the more IPM tools they use.
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Do your
part by learning more about IPM and adopting a personal IPM program around
your home, farm or ranch. Your local office of the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service has practical information that can help you get started. You'll be helping protect the Texas we all love. |
Click here for more information on how IPM is making Texas better for all of us.
Authors: Thomas W. Fuchs, Professor and Extension IPM Coordinator;
Dave Mayes and Steve Byrns
Design: Blanca Jackson, Agricultural Communications
Photos: Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas Department of Transportation
This brochure was funded by a grant from the Texas Department
of Agriculture, with funds
administered through the Texas Pest Management Association.
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Last modified: August 21, 1997 by Rudolf Bendixen