by George Wooten, Winthrop, WA, November, 1999

What is Integrated Pest Management? This question was used as the basis of an internet Web-based search to discover how different internet sites define Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Since IPM is being touted as a solution to a wide variety of problems, this search was undertaken to test the coherence of IPM methods. To perform the test, first a group of Web-based search engines was tested, then lists of sites with the keywords "Integrated Pest Management" in them were made, and finally this list was sampled to glean representative definitions.

A working definition of IPM - Is it IPM or Not?

The conclusion of this paper synthesizes the following working definition of IPM. Details of how this was done are given below. The following working definition helps answer the question, "How does one know if a project's claim to use IPM is genuine or not?" In evaluating claims of IPM usage, one should question whether the following components are present and functional in a project's design.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management, including Integrated Weed Management, IWM) is an interdisciplinary system of techniques for pest control that is both practical and environmentally sensitive.

Components of an IPM program should include:

• monitoring
• integrating multiple objectives
• integrated strategies
• periodic re-evaluation

• Practicality - is the program effective and cost-efficient?
• Environmentally sensitive - does the program reduce environmental risks?

On 3/6/99, six internet search engines were used to find sites with the keyword phrase "Integrated Pest Management". The results of these searches are ranked below.

Infoseek - 17,338
Alta Vista  - 10,731
Netscape - 3,780
Excite - 3,780
Web Crawler - 179

To find out if the acronym "IPM" was a useful search keyword, the Alta Vista site was also queried for the keyword "IPM", yielding 100,680 matches, approximately ten times as many, however many of these sites had nothing to do with Integrated Pest Management.

B. Categories of Web sites with information about Integrated Pest Management

Using the AltaVista Search Engine - Advanced Query on 5/28/1999, and asking for the search phrase, "Integrated Pest Management" AND   [url specification], the following number of matches were obtained:
 
 

AND...	No. of Matches	Percentage
[no specific url]	16895	100%
url:edu	8542	51%
url:com	3762	22%
url:org	1798	11%
url:gov	1024	6%
url:mil	59	0.3%

C. IPM defined using the World Wide Web.

The second part of using the World Wide Web to find out what IPM is involved using the Alta Vista search engine on the above categories in a relevancy search ranking the keyword phrases ["What is" "what is" definition define defined]. The first sites found that displayed the keywords on the results screen were then linked to and the definitions reproduced here with the site author (see below). Each site category (.com, .gov, .edu, .mi., .org) was linked to once and only once. After extracting eleven results, the search was repeated for the phrase ["Integrated Pest Management" or "Integrated Weed Management"], using the same keywords, but without limitation to organization type, to add three additional sets of definitions for IPM.

Results

1. Salt Wind Farm, Inc., one of New England’s oldest and largest hydroponic greenhouses, located in beautiful Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

"IPM is an abbreviation for Integrated Pest Management. Very simply it means that you don’t use crop protectants (which is a warm and fuzzy word for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or other-icides) unless you actually have a reason to."

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be defined as a comprehensive system of choosing pest management practices from among all available agronomic practices, including cultural, biological and chemical techniques. Selection of practices using an IPM approach is based on the following criteria: To be used realistically by a producer IPM techniques must be:

1. Effective;
2. Environmentally safe;
3. Give practical and achievable results; and
4. Be economically profitable"

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a strategy which encourages the reduction of pesticide use by employing a variety of pest control options in harmonious combination to contain or manage pests below their economic injury levels. These options include:

biological control
cultural control
varietal selection
chemical control.

IPM aims to maximise the use of biological control. Other control measures, especially chemicals, must play a supportive, rather than disruptive, role. Chemicals should not be used on a 'calendar' basis but strictly when needed as defined by systematic pest monitoring. Selective rather than broad-spectrum chemicals should take preference. The aim is to produce high-quality marketable produce at minimal cost by intelligently using the various control options to manage pests."

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment."

"The basic components of IPM are 1) monitoring of potential pest populations and their environment; 2) determining pest injury levels; 3) decision making-developing and integrating all biological, cultural and chemical control strategies; 4) educating personnel on all biological and chemical control strategies; 5) timing and spot treatment utilizing either the chemical, biological or cultural methods; 6) evaluating the results an on-going process."

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM).  The selection, integration, and implementation of pest management methods based on predicted economic, ecological, and sociological consequences. IPM can also be defined as a decision-making process which helps one decide if a treatment is necessary and appropriate, where the treatment should be administered, when treatment should be applied, and what strategies should be integrated for immediate and long-term results."

"1) The first is the definition posted at the National IPM Network web site:

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.

(From Anonymous, 1994, Integrated Pest Management Practices on 1991 Fruits and Nuts, RTD Updates: Pest Management, USDA-ERS, 8pp.)

2) The second definition was presented by M.E. Whalon (Michigan State University) during a presentation to the 1994 Global Resistance Management Summer Institute at Michigan State University:

IPM is a philosophy requiring at least three components - integration, economics and monitoring. The integration of the best set of strategies, tactics and tools to manage pest populations below an economic injury level with minimum adverse effects on society and the environment."

"IPM is defined as the judicious use and integration of various pest control tactics. These tactics are used in the context of the associated environment of the pests and in ways that complement and facilitate biological and other environmentally benign controls of pests to meet economic, public health, and environmental goals."

10. PRO-ACT fact sheet, made with technical assistance in development and review by Mr. Wayne Fordham, Pest and Grounds Management, Headquarters Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency (AFCESA), DSN 523-6465.

"IPM combines biological, chemical, cultural, and physical control practices into one program to manage pest populations. The goal of IPM is to reduce the use of pesticides that may present a hazard to humans and the environment. Whereas traditional pest control methods rely on indiscriminate, often unnecessary use of pesticides, IPM utilizes routine monitoring to ascertain whether pest control measures are necessary. In situations where levels of economic, medical or aesthetic damage are regarded as unacceptable or where safety is threatened, various IPM practices are evaluated to determine which treatment or combination of treatments will be most effective and least disruptive to the environment."

"Integrated pest management (IPM) is an interdisciplinary approach to reducing crop losses through the use, by farmers, or optimum mixes of pest control techniques. It combines the aims of agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and cost effectiveness. It has arisen out of the need to avoid the problems of pest resistance build-up (leading to pest resurgence), secondary pest outbreaks, human health problems, the high cost of pesticide control and environmental degradation caused by excessive and inappropriate chemical pesticide use. The approach has become closely associated with enabling farmers to make crop protection decisions in full awareness of factors operating in their agro- ecosystems.

With its emphasis on making the best use of local and human resources, IPM encourages, wherever appropriate, the use of natural control mechanisms (for instance pest predators) and "traditional" pest management techniques used by farmers. However, the adoption of practical alternatives to chemical methods of control may be constrained by the absence of technical solutions, the lack of resources, or socio-ecocnomic and other factors. Where such constraints are severe, an optimal IPM control package may include selective chemical treatments used in combination with alternative non-chemical control techniques."

"Define and describe Integrated Pest Management - include the types of methods IPM uses and how a farmer would determine when to use each type of method. (12 points) Integrated Pest Management , or IPM, is a pest control system that incorporates a variety of techniques to promote the best socioecnomic and environmental conditions. There are several components to an IPM system:

i. Biological monitoring - these are sampling procedures that are designed to keep track of the pest species. It involves estimating the population sizes and densities of both pests and beneficial organisms, as well as categorizing the health and degree of infection of the crop (or animal) being grown.

ii. Environmental monitoring - since the growth and development of most pest species are affected by environmental conditions (temperature, moisture levels, light levels), monitoring of environmental conditions will allow for prediction of pest outbreaks.

iii. Action and Economic Thresholds - The concept of thresholds are key to the implementation of IPM. In many farmers' minds any pests in a field are detrimental and should be eradicated; in IPM, however, the farmer takes action against a pest only when a threshold is reached. Therefore among IPM practitioners not all pests require a response. An 'Action Threshold' is the threshold of pest density or damage at which an action by the farmer is warranted. Once the action threshold has been reached, the farmer must decide which type of response is necessary. Here the farmer uses an 'Economic Threshold.' There is an economic threshold for each type of response method - the threshold for each method is the level of pest damage at which the economic loss due to the pest is equal to the cost of the response method. Only when the economic loss due to pest damage exceeds the cost of the farmer's potential response method will the farmer take action against the pest. Use of this threshold ensures that the farmer responds to the pest in a cost-effective manner.

iv. Control Methods - A variety of control methods are available to the farmer using IPM. These include cultural practices, biological control, host plant resistance, botanical and microbial pesticides, repellents, oviposition deterrents, and as a last resort, synthetic pesticides. The controls that are the cheapest and least damaging to the environment should be considered first. Only when other methods are ineffective and there is potential for the loss of the entire crop should synthetic pesticides be considered.

v. Monitoring after action taken - once the farmer has chosen a control method, the situation should be monitored to determine if the control action has been effective. If not, an alternative control method should be considered."

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a multidisciplinary approach to solving pest problems. It involves knowledge of many factors including: insect, weed, disease, and host biology; pest monitoring; soil, water, nutrient, and weather effects on the host and pest; and a complete understanding of the benefits and costs of control alternatives."

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a multifaceted and systematic approach to pest problems. Rather than simply trying to eradicate a pest, IPM makes use of the information and experience available, accounts for multiple objectives in managing the problem, considers all available preventive and curative options, and makes informed decisions aimed at achieving optimum results."

Based on the above analysis it appears that just over half (51%) of web sites with definitions of Integrated Pest Management and reside at educational educations, followed by commercial sites, with 22% of the total. From the definitions garnered from a sampling of the World Wide Web, and noting the number of uses of key terms in parentheses, with inferred synonyms separated by slash (/) and brackets surrounding exceptional clauses, a summary definition of IPM was developed.

IPM can be defined as: a philosophy (1);  a strategy or decision-making practice (2); a comprehensive system (1); a combination of practices (1); an optimum mix of techniques (1); an integrated (2), interdisciplinary (1), multi-disciplinary (2), multi-faceted (1), systematic (1), judicious (1), effective (1), environmentally sensitive (1), sustainable (1) approach; or a combination / variety (3) of tools / practices / techniques (4).

The goals of IPM are: the choice of practices for, or methods of (2), pest [damage (1)] management / problems / controls (8) or containment (1); to facilitate / complement biological or environmentally benign controls (1); to reduce pesticide use (2); to promote the best socioeconomic (2) conditions; to promote the best economic (2) conditions; to meet environmental goals (1); to meet public health goals (1); to reduce crop losses (1); or to produce high-quality marketable produce at minimal cost by intelligently using various options (1).

The objectives / aims of IPM include that it should: be an effective / best use of resources (3); be practical (1); be profitable / cost-effective (2); be minimally disruptive (1); be environmentally safe (1); be environmentally sustainable (1); maximize biological controls (1); or maximize agricultural productivity (1).

The components of IPM include that it should: make use of / rely on experience (1), [current (1), comprehensive (1), biological (1)] factors / information (3); monitor pest populations (5); monitor the pest environment (4); determine pest injury thresholds / levels (2); determine aesthetic thresholds (1); determine medical thresholds (1); determine / understand an economic costs / thresholds (4), or benefits (1) [of alternatives (1)]; consider all available preventive and curative options / pest control methods (2); account for multiple objectives (1); integrate strategies / tactics / tools (2); make [informed (1), harmonious (1)] combinations / varieties (3) of common-sense practices (1), pest-control options (1), decisions (3), or tools (1); educate personnel on all strategies (1); take advantage of timing (1); take advantage of spot treatments (1); conduct ongoing monitoring / evaluation of results (2), and if necessary, consider changing methods (1).

The control methods available to IPM include: all available agronomic practices (1), natural controls (1), cultural controls / tools / techniques (5), biological controls / tools / techniques (5), varietal selection / host plant resistance (2), physical controls / tools / techniques (2), botanical & microbial pesticides (1); repellants (1); oviposition deterrants (1); [synthetic (1)] chemical controls / tools / techniques (6) [in a supportive, not disruptive role (1), giving preference to selective chemicals over broad spectrum ones (1)].

The selection of methods used in IPM is based on: need (2); appropriateness (1); achieving optimum results (1); minimizing economic risks / costs (3); minimizing social risks (2); minimizing health risks / hazards (4); minimizing environmental risks / hazards / degradation (5); minimizing property hazards (1); minimizing [crop] injury levels (1); minimizing pest resistance (1); minimizing secondary outbreaks (1); site limitations (1); timing constraints (1); lack of resources (1); absence of technical solutions (1); or immediate and long-term results (1).

But for all the audience, this paper is meant to demonstrate that sound alternatives exist for weed control that are being ignored in our haste to solve problems symptomatically.

Conclusion

Several noteworthy points might be made about this analysis. First, the definition of IPM is very broad, and stems from a variety of viewpoints. It was surprising that IPM was often defined without consideration of a set of goals or objectives, which would strongly affect how and what IPM actually is. Some definitions do not differentiate between goals, aims, methods and constraints, or between components and control methods, although an attempt was made to categorize those along the lines of the majority.

The most consistent features in most definitions of IPM are that it include monitoring, a wide choice of techniques, integration of methods, and consideration of economic, health and environmental costs. Some definitions are notable for providing additional information, for example the use of novel control methods, and considerations on the lack of resources or technical solutions that may constrain the choice of method. Thus, even with the most optimum use of IPM, constraints on practicality should favor solutions incorporating multiple alternatives, so that effeciency across all of the costs is integrated.

While it is refreshing that IPM is flexible, of concern is that so many definitions exist, that there are apparent conflicts in these definitions, and that projects are proceeding based on undefined use of IPM. The use of IPM in management should accompany a concise operating definition, along with specific operational parameters and a description of the scope of its applicability. Without a concise definition of IPM, management projects proclaiming the use of IPM lack a rational basis to proceed, and may in fact be construed as public deception.

Using the above results, the following working definition of IPM is presented as an aid to help guide citizen evaluation of projects that claim to use IPM. As with other definitions, what is presented reflects a synthesis of previous definitions, subject to incorporation of specific elements and change over time.

A working definition of IPM - Is it IPM or Not?

The following is a working definition to help answer the question, "How does one know if a project's claim to use IPM is genuine or not?" In evaluating claims of IPM usage, one should ask if the following components are present and functional in a project's design.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management, including Integrated Weed Management, IWM) is an interdisciplinary system of techniques for pest control that is both practical and environmentally sensitive.

Components of an IPM program should include:

• monitoring
• integrating multiple objectives
• integrated strategies
• periodic re-evaluation

• Practicality - is the program effective and cost-efficient?
• Environmentally sensitive - does the program reduce environmental risks?