Abstract
Tylka, G.L.. 1998. A different perspective on IPM: multiple pests, multiple tactics. Presentation at the 1998 Society of Nematologists Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
Integrated pest management, or IPM, has evolved to be interpreted as many different things in agriculture. Most simply, IPM is the use of scouting to determine whether pest population densities exceed established threshold values before applying a pesticide. At a more complex level, IPM is the selective use of available chemical, cultural, and biological control tactics to manage one or a few targeted pest species. However, the maximum utility of IPM will not be realized until a system of coordinated tactics is developed to manage entire pest complexes (weeds, insects, nematodes, etc.) for each crop. Since 1990, a multidisciplinary research team at Iowa State University has evaluated a variety of pest management tactics, including altered planting dates, herbicides, and nematode- and herbicide-resistant soybean varieties, for effects on weed, insect, and soybean cyst nematode population densities. Many of the pest management practices evaluated to date have had significant effects on the nontarget pests studied. This type of research is needed to develop a system of pest management tactics that effectively minimizes pest damage and maximizes crop yields.