Cultural, Mechanical, and Biological IPM

Discovering the vectors of a plant’s pests and or issues are broken down into two basic categories Biotic, Abiotic, which are then further incorporated into a proactive and reactive procedures that makes up the doctrine of integrated pest management. The idea of adding standard operational procedures that protect and insulate a crops/plant health.

Abiotic: Plant issues that are derived from non-living physical and chemical sources in an environment. 

  • Water
  • Air
  • Sunlight
  • Soil
  • Minerals
  • Mechanical/Physical
  • Chemicals

Biotic: Plant issues that initially come from living organisms in an environment. These can be introduced and or are obtained from the biosphere.

  • Animals
  • Birds
  • Plants
  • Insects
  • Fungi and other similar organisms; pathogens, bacteria… etc

Cultural Controls: The IPM practice using a broad set of techniques intended to manipulate the environment, crop and/or production system in order to reduce, control, avoid plant pest populations from causing damage to crop/plant.

  • Destruction or provision of breeding or overwintering refugia
  • Destruction or provision of alternate hosts or volunteer plants
  • Crop rotation or maintenance of a host-free season
  • Timing of planting or harvest
  • Delayed planting
  • Early harvest date
  • Trap crops
  • Sanitation
  • Water or nutrient management
  • Fertilization
  • Physical barriers
  • Border sprays
  • Cold/Heat treatments

Mechanical/Physical Controls: The IPM practice of using abiotic techniques to kill a pest directly and or creating/removing environments unsuitable for pests to thrive in. 

  • Proper operational SOP’s centered around reducing transmission of pest vectors; entry flow and isolation to prevent sharing of pest issues
  • Sweeping floors, cleaning benches
  • Remove/Reduce pest breeding grounds
  • Barriers to prevent/inhibit pest entry into the grow environment.

Biological Controls: The IPM practice of using abiotic/biotic vectors to kill, reduce, control and avoid plant pest in order to reduce damage to a plant/crop.  Introducing products and or organisms to cause injury, death and or inhibit the life cycle of a pest.

  • Predatory Insects, Organisms, Fungi’s, Bacteria
  • Chemicals
  • Insecticides
  • Ovacides 
  • Growth inhibitors
  • Reproductive inhibitors
  • Determining types and sages of life of pest

 

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