Chapter 4. Integrated Pest Management
Peter J. Dittmar, Nicholas S. Dufault, Johan Desaeger, Joseph W. Noling, Philip Stansly, Nathan Boyd,
Mathews L. Paret, and Susan E. Webb
Disease Management
The health of vegetable crops is best maintained through management
practices that integrate different techniques. When making management
decisions it is important to consider the economics of the crop, cost of
the management practice, history of the production area, weather and
climatic conditions, and potential risk for a disease to develop. Integrated
management strategies are more likely to successfully control diseases
than non-integrated because they reduce disease risk through multiple
techniques and often before infection begins. Non-integrated strategies can
also adequately manage a disease; however, producers must limit expecta-
a crop. Ultimately, integrated management strategies provide a means for
from a disease.
ECONOMICS
will depend upon the market price of the crop as well as the cost of the
labor, machinery, fuel, and various materials (e.g. fungicides) used in an
integrated disease management strategy. All of these costs are variable and
diseases so they can calculate the economic returns from their decisions,
if any.
DISEASE IDENTIFICATION
Proper management of any plant disease starts with an accurate
different types of pathogens (i.e. fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes)
involved in diseases of vegetable crops, which can require very different
management strategies. In order to assess which management strategy is
most appropriate, there needs to be information about the pathogen present
yourself and/or with the aid of a professional. There are many guides and
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tion often requires the use of microscope to identify key structures or use
of a more complex test (e.g. DNA/RNA-based and serological). There are
many printed and electronic (e.g. EDIS; University of Florida) resources
or nearest UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Clinic for help.
DISEASE RISK
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where and when the disease may be a problem. Monitoring is also critical
economic impacts from a disease. For example, if a disease is affecting
only 5% of a production area, it is likely that a combination of multiple lowcost
strategies will effectively manage the disease. However, if a disease is
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ment strategies will be needed to adequately reduce its impact.
There are many integrated management methods available for disease
control, and many of these methods are often chosen even before the
crop is planted. Three important pre-plant tools are site determination and
preparation, crop rotation, and cultivar selection. Site determination and
crop rotation are two excellent methods for reducing a pathogen population
more likely to have that disease again, especially if it has been continually
planted with susceptible host plants. Removal of debris through tillage or
the planting of a non-host plant can limit the pathogens present and thus
reduce a disease’s overall impact. Cultivar selection is also critical to determining
how likely a disease is to continue developing and spread within a
cultivars after disease establishment.
Multiple post-plant management options are also available to producers.
These include, but are not limited to, weed control, irrigation management,
nutrient management, soil amendments, sanitation practices, and canopy
regulations (e.g. staked tomatoes). These management options are aimed
at reducing plant stresses and limiting mechanical movement of the patho-
a pathogen and can stress plants by competing for essential nutrients such
as calcium. Stressed plants are more prone to pathogen infections and
alternate weed hosts create local inoculum sources that can cause problems
under the right environmental conditions. All of these management
strategies provide better results when used as prevention methods, and are
even more useful when combined with pre-plant methods.
Inoculum is the pathogen propagule that can cause infection in vegetable
crops. The amount of inoculum present is critical to the development and
spread of disease. Monitoring provides producers with an initial assessment
of the pathogen’s inoculum; however, the production of further inoculum is
highly dependent on the environment. Environmental conditions that are
it is possible to assess the risk of continued inoculum production. There
are many disease models and decision support systems (e.g. strawberry)
available to evaluate disease risk based on environmental conditions. When
determining the risk of further disease development it is important to consider
the environment and the likelihood that disease will continue to develop.
Biological and chemical products are an important component of many
Three key factors for successful integrated pest management.
1. Economics: successful programs are not only effective but cost-effective, too.
2. Diagnosis:
proper management.
3. Disease risk: management strategies will be more effective in high-risk
situations.