Integrated Pest Management
Once farmers have information about the conditions in their fields, they can implement strategies to combat the pests. Some of the methods used in IPM include removing conditions that can attract pests such as clutter, food, standing water, etc. Pest control starts usually by pest trapping, heat/cold treatments (easier to do in a greenhouse!), physical/mechanical removal of pests (needs a lot of people in a large field), and finally, when nothing else works, pesticide application. In greenhouses, especially in Canada, most (if not all) farmers use IPM. It is the same in many countries nowadays.
In Thailand and Vietnam, farmers use IPM in rice fields to combat the planthopper, a very serious pest that devastates rice crops. Strategies such as encouraging natural predators to kill pests, using clean and pest resistant seeds, and not over applying fertilizer have helped farmers reduce pesticide use. Instead of applying pesticides five to seven times during a growing season (which is about 3-4 months), farmers now apply pesticides only about once, during the peak of planthopper outbreaks. In the end, IPM saves farmers money and helps protect human health. However, it is more labour intensive than conventional agriculture. Key to the uptake of IPM practices was an intensive educational campaign about these practices and the damage of increased pesticide use.
