The author, Director of the R & D (Research and Development) International Courses of CINADCO, gives us a look at the recent course on R & D of New Concepts in Integrated Pest Management.
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)? Pests are present everywhere in nature but in our case we refer to those effecting agricultural crops only. We can define IPM as the means for effective regulation of pest species, stressing safety for the human population and for the environment in which we live. Awareness of an integrated method of pest control extends to moderation in the use of pesticides, and consideration of alternative controls of pests, which cause heavy damage to agricultural produce. Plant protection measures are essential to reach a high level of production in agriculture, and this cannot be achieved, in practice and on large scale, without using chemicals. Many people all over the world would be left without food if the use of farm chemicals were to be completely avoided. However, by using chemicals we kill not only the bad pests, but also those good ones, i.e., the natural enemies of the bad pests (good for our purposes, because they kill those pests which cause damage to the crops). Scientists have developed in recent decades methods to reduce the use of chemicals to the minimal level possible, in order to sustain a wholesome, abundant food supply, trying to do their best to maintain a safe environment for human beings and other species at the same time.
In June 2000 the second course on R & D of New Concepts in Integrated Pest Management ended after four intensive weeks of study. In this course 31 participants from 22 countries all over the world studied, worked and traveled together. The course was carried out by CINADCO under the auspices of MASHAV and in cooperation with the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO). These courses, which take place in the Volcani Agricultural Center, place special emphasis on research and development. The aim is to bring to the knowledge of the participants the recent developments in research taking place in Israel and in the world. The program of each course is prepared by the course director, in cooperation with a scientific director/s of the course who are senior scientists from the research institute which deals with the subject of the course, in this case the Institute of Plant Protection, with Dr. Itamar Glazer as scientific director and Dr. Victoria Soroker as senior scientific advisors.
The program of the course tried to give the participants an overview of a wide range of subjects dealing with plant diseases, pests, viruses, bacteria, funguses and nematodes which cause damage to crops and how to supply the best and most economical protection with the least damage to the environment. Chemical, biological and physical means are used to protect the plants, and were the subjects of many lectures. For some of the participants the stay at the Volcani Center was an excellent opportunity to develop professional and scientific relationship with Israeli scientists.
Lectures on general subjects, like Israel and its agriculture, extension services, agroecology the history of Israel, religions in Israel, the political situation in the Middle East, and others were also part of the program, to give the participants a more comprehensive view of Israel.
An important part of the course was the preparation of the final projects by the participants. They were divided to four groups and each of them started to work on a subject related to the course from the first week. The projects were presented on the last day of the course to the participants and invited guests. Much time was put in the preparation of the projects. The library of the Volcani Institute and its facilities were fully available. Meeting with some of the ARO's 300 scientists for advice on the subjects of the projects, as well as on other professional subjects of interest, were part of the course. The conclusions and suggestions of the participants in each project are as follows:
"Development of Integrated Pest Management Strategies on Tomato in the Philippines" by Dr. Abdou Aziz Mbaye (Senegal), Wilberto Castillo and Dr. Aurea Roxas (the Philippines), Li Hongye (China), Ani Barboulova (Bulgaria), Danny Agathine (Seychelles), Christina Triantaphyllidou (Cyprus) and Sakorn Somjit (Thailand).
The tomato is one of the most important vegetables of considerable agronomic importance worldwide. The usual method used to overcome plant protection problems is the use of expensive and hazardous chemicals which increases the cost of inputs and leads to lower or even no profit to the farmers. In addition, it can induce pesticide resistance among insects, effect natural enemies, cause hazards to humans and pollute the environment. IPM has not yet been developed for tomatoes in the Philippines. Therefore, the design of an IPM system for various pests and diseases of tomato under Philippines conditions are of great importance. The proposed plan is as follows:
1. Use of resistant varieties - the best preventive method
2. Clean culture/sanitation - removal of infested parts of tomato plants as well as other plant residues, and proper weed control to reduce sources of inoculum.
3. Crop rotation - Alternative crops that are not susceptible to common tomato pests should be planted in rotation with tomato.
4. Regular monitoring - The main tomato pests are diverse and multiply easily, and hence there is a need for constant checking and monitoring in fields. The levels of pests and natural enemy populations should be examined regularly as a basis for treatment recommendations. Generally three methods can be employed: visual, trapping (various traps can be used) and net sweeping, by the use of a net particularly for the mobile insects present in the field.
5. Biological control -
This is the basic foundation of any IPM undertaking country. There are quite a lot of natural enemies present in the tomato field. Intensive pesticide applications disturbed their existence. Selective use of pesticides and release of artificially grown natural enemies can improve the situation.
6. Safe and effective use of insecticides - The use of synthetic pesticides should be the last resort. Calendar spraying should be avoided. The use of selective insecticides and threshold levels of bad insects before spraying is essential. Action on control should also be based on an economic threshold.
Conventional control measures against viruses
The viruses are transferred to the plants by insects. The following measures should be taken against them.
Phytosanitation or elimination of alternative hosts and crop residues.
Removing and destroying affected plants.
Seed treatment and use of healthy seedlings.
Time of planting to avoid the heavy infestation of white fly (a carrier of viruses)
Use of yellow and blue traps.
Physica1 barriers. Using sheets and nets to prevent contact of insect vectors with the seedling and plants and transmitting viruses this way.
Use of resistant varieties.
Non-conventional methods to develop transgenic plants by biotechnological methods. The plants will be genetically resistant to viruses.
Fungal diseases:
All the above methods mentioned are good also for diseases: use of resistant varieties, seed treatment, field sanitation, controlled use of chemicals and biological control.
Nematodes and soil borne pathogens:
Nematodes are small worms living in the soil which attack the roots of plants. The following measures are recommended:
In nurseries: Use of resistant varieties, care of seedlings by soil sterilization by heating, soil solarization of the containers of the seed beds (the use of methyl bromide restricted).
In the open field: sanitation, bed solarization and crop rotation with different crops. If all these methods do not work, than application of chemicals should be undertaken.
"Integrated Pest Management of Oranges in Turkey" by Maria Pildain (Argentina), Dr. Ogagaoghene Emosairue (Nigeria), Genet Mehariew (Ethiopia), Uftade Piskinand Sevilhan Mennan (Turkey), Dr. Benson Odongo (Uganda), Magdalena Palczewska (Poland), Dr. Olivera Petrovic (Yugoslavia) and Chingduang Saengmanee (Thailand).
Turkey is an important citrus growing country, graded the 7th largest in the world of planted area. Because citrus is a perennial crop, the trees provide stable agro-ecosystems for numerous organisms. In the case of Turkey, at least a combination of 27 important arthropodal pests, nematodes, diseases and weeds have been identified.
This project recommends the following integrated pest management measures for sustainable agricultural productivity:
1. Cultural control
use of healthy seedlings and rootstocks
maintenance of clean nurseries
pruning of trees which improves aeration, to encourage preservation of beneficial insects and control fungal disease
2. Biological control
Efforts must be made to conserve the natural enemies and, if needed, to apply them after growing them in artificial conditions by commercial firms.
3. Pheronoms and juvenile hormones
Pheronomes (artificial products which spread a smell of female insects to mislead the males) should be used.
4. Chemical control
Pesticides should be used judiciously in harmony with IPM. Application should be based on a window policy where the different chemicals are sprayed at various times to reduce development of resistance. Insecticides which are not broad spectrum should be used within the window policy.
5. Physical treatments
Use of polyethylene sheeting for multiple purposes like soil solarization against pests, killing weeds and moisture preservation
Use of sticky yellow traps to catch aphids and white fly vectors of viruses.
"Prospectus and Management Strategies of Apple Pests in Kashmir, India" by Dr. Shyam Sunder Sharma (India), Dr. Miloslava Navratilova (Czech Republic), Elzbieta Pacyna (Poland), Soloman Ogwal (Uganda), Dr. Vladimir Kopitsia (Belarus) and Qi Derong (China).
The natural conditions in Kashmir are favorable for apple production and more than 50% of the cultivated area is under this crop. The wet and warm climate of Kashmir is also favorable for development of pests such as insects, diseases and weeds. Therefore the high pest intensity requires the development of application of integrated pest management (IPM), a policy which ensure adequate protection of apple orchards and the environment. The control measures proposed for IPM in Kashmir are:
1. Weed control using the less harmful herbicides like pre-emergence herbicides, and/or mulching materials, such as black or light impermeable covering material (polyethylene). The space between rows should be kept under short grass cover to prevent soil erosion.
2. Monitoring the phenological development of apple trees allows the monitoring of pest and disease development. There is a clear relation between crop age and pest development. The presence of a good prognostic model of disease and pest development reduces the number of pesticide treatments, making pest control more ecologically safe.
3. Monitoring development of pest and natural enemy populations reveals pest thresholds that indicate the extent of ecological interactions. When pest populations reach injury level, the use of ecologically safe pesticides, such as pyrethroids and insect growth regulators, are recommended.
4. Monitoring development and spread of diseases is a precondition for effective control. The presence of a prognostic model allows early planning for preventive measures against the diseases. Preventive treatment reduces disease development and, therefore, the need to spray with strong chemicals. The use of modern fungicides, such as the strobilurin group, provides good management of diseases with a reduced number of treatments. Sanitation supplemented with preventive measures such as 5% urea spraying can provide effective control.
5. The use of tolerant and resistant varieties with high productivity and quality can markedly reduce the frequency and intensity of orchard treatments with chemicals, therefore providing biological safety to non-target fauna and flora.
"Corn Diseases and Insect Pests in Awasa, Ethiopia: Towards Integrated Pest Management" by Emana Getu Degaga (Ethiopia), Silvana Mabel Sede (Argentina), Guo Fengying (China), Dr. Sanad Abdel Nabi (Egypt), Muli Makuu (Kenya), Steluta Raranciuc (Romania), Samiji Kisamo (Tanzania) and Ioannis Engly (Micronesia).
Corn was introduced to Ethiopia in early 17th century probably in the northern part of the country by merchants from Portugal. Since then corn is widely grown in the country. The main purpose of growing corn is for human food and the lowest proportion is used as silage for animal feed. Despite the great potential for corn production in Ethiopia many factors lead to the low national yield which is less than half the world average of 3.7 t/ha. Diseases and insect pests are among the major factors and cause 20-50 percent of the loss. Grain also suffers from heavy post-harvest losses estimated at 30-50%.
Awasa is one of the major corn producing districts of the Southern Ethiopia. Activities to be undertaken for IPM implementation and cost/benefit analysis of IPM implementation will be discussed.
The control options for most diseases and insects suggested are: resistant varieties, cultural control, botanical control, biological control, physical methods, sowing date and chemical control. For example, successful IPM implementation for the control of two important diseases in corn in the Awasa area, Leaf Blight and Common Rust, can be achieved through the operation of the following activities:
- The work on resistant varieties should be continued.
- Developing methods and time of scouting for the presence of both diseases.
- The relationship of weather and disease occurrence.
- Appropriate cultural practices such as crop rotation, soil tillage, destruction of crop residues, date and plant sensitivity should be experimentally determined.
- There should be strong quarantine at the inlet-outlet and within the country.
- Continuous survey should be conducted to know the situation of these diseases as well as others in corn year after year.
- Development of a window policy for official fungicides (a window policy is a program of spraying of chemicals, limiting the periods and dates in which the use of specific chemical is sanctioned so resistance of the fungi - in the case of diseases - is minimized).
- Creating induced resistance to corn by balancing the nutrients in the soil.
Cost/benefit analysis of using IPM on corn in Awasa area.
The use of IPM has many advantages over the other methods of corn diseases and corn insect pest control: low pest control cost, low environmental pollution and high sustainability. Before the birth of the IPM concept, orchards used to be sprayed over 20 times per season and field crops like corn used to be sprayed up to six times. Apart from the high cost of chemicals, prophylactic sprays lead to the elimination of natural enemies, as well as to the development of resistance of pests to the chemicals. After the development of the IPM concept, the number of sprayings is reduced dramatically, the role of natural enemies promoted and cost of control tremendously reduced. In many cases the farmers cannot pay the cost of chemicals and by reducing the number and quantity of chemical sprays we make it possible and more economic to the small farmer. By using IPM principals we manage to reduce the current 20-30% losses of corn to 10-15% and since the cost of IPM is 3-5%, our benefit is 7-10%.
From the experience of Israel we learned that IPM is a sustainable and environmentally sound method of pest management. However, coordinated work among researchers, extensionists and farmers is essential. Therefore, in the study area in addition to generating IPM technologies, strengthening the collaboration of these three players is crucial. In the future a project of IPM in corn will be developed in Awasa by local scientists in collaboration with Volcani scientists.
Implementing Ideas
The R&D Division of CINADCO, which works in cooperation with the Volcani Center of the ARO, was established only two years ago. Emphasis in each course is put on reand its implementation based on the Israeli experience. An important part of the course was the professional visits to various fields, plantations and research institutes all over the country, visits which enabled participants to see first hand the situation of farmers and to often get explanations directly from the farmer or the extension officer of the region. Drs. Itamar Glazer and Victoria Soroker, along with Dr. Reuven Steinhardt, retired soil scientist and guide, and myself as course director made sure that the participants understood our essential aim: to provide more and healthier food and to protect the environment for the growing population of our earth.