WATER QUALITY AND USE:
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT [continued]
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MG
Manual Reference Ch. 16, pp. 16 - 18 |
[Intergrated Pest
Management: ipm | example
| cultural | biological ]
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Although cultural control is often associated with
mechanical operations such as tillage or burning, cultural control
involves many aspects of crop and soil management, including crop
rotations, time of planting and harvesting, trap cropping, and
crop diversification. Since cultural control is primarily aimed at
prevention and reduction of pest outbreaks, the results of these
practices are often unseen and difficult to quantify. When
cultural control practices are easily integrated with other
cultural practices, they are usually readily adopted by gardeners.
However, when cultural control practices require significant
modification in gardening practices, the advantages and
disadvantages must be weighed carefully. Although cultural
practices alone may not give completely satisfactory pest control,
they are important in minimizing pest injury and should be
considered in any integrated control program designed to protect
groundwater quality. |
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Cultural practices which limit the need for chemical
use include: |
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Crop rotation - Crop rotation systems offer
numerous advantages in soil structure, fertility and erosion
management, as well as aiding in control of various pest species.
Crop rotation for pest management consists of a planting scheme
alternating susceptible and insusceptible crops. The necessary
interval between susceptible crops depends upon the length of life
cycle, reproductive potential, degree of specificity, and
dispersal characteristics of the target pest. This approach is
most useful for fairly immobile, soil-dwelling pest species, and
also those pests with a restricted host range or a life cycle of
one year or more. The value of crop rotation is limited in control
of highly mobile insects. |
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Planting and harvest dates - Planting and
harvest dates of some crops can be altered to reduce or avoid
potential pest damage. Early planted corn is far less susceptible
to corn earworm damage than late planted crops. Late planted corn
is also more susceptible to corn borer damage. |
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Sanitation - Sanitation is a broad term which
includes a variety of practices aimed at removing food and shelter
from pests during critical life stages, or the physical
destruction of pests through cultural practices. This approach is
particularly effective against pests which spend part of their
life cycle in the soil, such as corn borer and the common stalk
borer. Fall tillage which buries crop residues destroys the
overwintering habitat of the pests. Removal of weeds around crop
borders can help reduce common stalk borer infestations because
this insect utilizes a wide spectrum of weed hosts. Burning of
crop residues has been used historically for cultural control of
various pests, but air quality concerns are reducing the use of
this practice. |
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Trap crops - Trap crops are used effectively
against many insect pests, including the Mexican bean beetle and
the bean leaf beetle. Early maturing bean varieties can be planted
10 days to two weeks prior to planting the main bean crop. The
adult beetles are attracted to these early maturing trap crops and
are then sprayed with an insecticide. While this technique still
relies on insecticidal control, the amount of area treated is
greatly reduced. Adjusting row spacing is also an effective
cultural control measure for reducing corn earworm infestations.
By using narrow row spacing, the canopy closes over the soil
quicker, reducing the attractiveness of the crop to host-seeking
corn earworm moths. |
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