What Is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. The IPM approach uses knowledge of pest, crop, and environmental conditions to select the best combination of management strategies from the following management technologies:

• Biological control-beneficial organisms that manage pests
• Chemical control-judicious use of pesticides and other chemicals
• Cultural control-crop rotation, sanitation, and other farm practices that reduce pest problems
• Genetic control (host plant resistance) -traditional selective breeding and newer biotechnology that produce pest-resistant crop varieties
• Mechanical and physical controls- traps, cultivation, and temperature modification
• Regulatory control-state and federal regulations that prevent the spread of pest organisms.