Ray F. Smith

The Origins of Integrated Pest Management Concepts for Agricultural Crops

Most discussions of the conceptual origins of integrated pest management (IPM) for crop protection center on the overuse and overdependence of chemical pesticides following World War II and their subsequent unfavorable consequences. Included among examples of these unfavorable consequences are the development of chemical-pesticide-resistant insect and plant pathogen populations, rapid resurgence of target pest populations following treatment, outbreaks of unleashed secondary pests, and undesirable environmental effects. Then as the story goes, this series of mishaps was countered by the wisdom of a few omniscient soothsayers in the form of pest management. Another account described it as a mixture of “idealism, evangelism, pursuit of fashion, fundraising, and even empire-building. The movement has indeed acquired the impetus and character of a religious revival....” (Price Jones, 1970).

The Pesticide Syndrome—Diagnosis and Suggested Prophylaxis

The word“pesticide” is a fabricated term of recent invention. Like the vast array of chemical poisons which it appropriately designates, it is both synthetic and modern. Pesticides emerged rather slowly and in a crude form out of the nineteenth century. Then with surprising suddenness they evolved into compounds having spectacular toxicity. They proliferated enormously. They spread over the entire globe. They are characteristic of our time and have confronted us with another environmental crisis of this decade, outstanding in terms of massiveness, extensiveness and rate of change.

The importance of economic injury levels in the development of integrated pest control programs

Although economic injury levels have long been considered of importance in determining the needs for pest control measures, they take on added significance in integrated pest control programs. The designation of damage tolerance levels defines the goals of the integrated control effort. These management goals should be defined in terms of damage not numbers of pests. Although insect numbers and damage incidence are related they are not perfectly correlated and the relationship varies with changes in the ecological and economic environment. Many plants have the ability to tolerate or compensate for large amounts of injury without affecting yield or quality. Other plants have a limited capacity to produce a marketable crop; pest injury which does not reduce the capacity of the plant is not damage. These characteristics of plants, among others, and the limitations of artificial control measures permit the maintenance of subeconomic levels of pests in agricultural crop areas. These subeconomic pest populations foster an entomophagous fauna. It is very difficult to calculate precise cost/potential benefit ratios because of subtile long-term effects of artificial controls and the vagaries of estimates of potential economic value of the harvested crop.

Progress, Problems, and Prospects for Integrated Pest Management

The inequality of food demand and food supply has persisted in parts of the world since the dawn of man’s history, but in modern times the populations of developed countries have felt secure in their escape from hunger. This situation changed in 1974 with some food commodities in short supply on a worldwide basis. A high world population growth rate (currently about 2%) and major regional crop failures because of adverse climate and damaging pest attacks (principally insects and diseases) has brought the world feed and food grain reserves to their lowest levels in two decades (Revelle, 1974). Although the actual magnitude of the world food problem is not known, famine is reported in many developing countries, and the death rate is actually rising in at least 12 and possibly 20 such nations in Africa and Southern Asia (NAS, 1975). This imbalance in the world food-people equation has focused unprecedented attention to increased agricultural production in both developed and developing nations. Regardless of whether we succeed or fail in reducing significantly human population growth, the immediate challenge of the United States and the World is to optimize agricultural and other renewable resource productivity per unit of land area, water, fertilizer, energy, and time (Wittwer, 1975). These efforts to increase productivity of the land in both developed and developing countries will accelerate the development and adoption of production practices that generally intensify crop protection problems. The magnitude of agricultural crop losses to pests has not been measured adequately even in the most highly developed countries, but these losses are recognized as being substantial.

Systems Analysis and Pest Management

Previous chapters have dealt with various aspects of biological control theory and practice and with natural control factors, particularly the role of predators and parasites. The following chapters continue the same theme but with greater emphasis on integrated control and the role biological control plays in the application of integrated control in pest management.

Report of the Representative to the American Grassland Council

The annual business meeting of the American Grassland Council was held in Washington, D. C. on December 20, 1962. The present officers were re-e1ected to serve through 1963. Six new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Legal steps were completed during the year for incorporation of the Council.

Report of the Representative on the Governing Board of the American Institute of Biological Sciences

Your representative attended the two meetings of the AIBS Governing Board held in 1962 in Boulder, Colorado, on May 7 and 8 and in Corvallis, Oregon, on August 25. Biology and biologists are served in a great variety of important ways by AIBS. It is not practical review these services in detail here and the members the ESA are referred to reports and summaries in the AIBS Bulletin in In Brief-In Biology , and in the BSCS Newsletter. One matter of especial significance is the impact of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study on the teaching of biology in high schools and colleges. The value of this item alone justifies our full support AIBS. Members of the ESA are also referred to the article by Frits Went and John Olive which appeared the June AIBS Bulletin.