Integrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimises economic, health and environmental risks. IPM emphasises the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agricultural ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.
What is IPM
IPM is a sustainable approach to managing pests, weeds and diseases on your land. It can be used by all farmers, growers, and land managers.
The aims of an IPM approach are to:
- support healthy crops using a range of control methods and agronomic practices
- support resilient and sustainable agricultural production
- help manage pesticide resistance
- encourage natural pest control mechanisms
- enhance wildlife and biodiversity
- reduce reliance on the use of chemical pesticides, also known as Plant Protection Products (PPPs)
IPM has applications for professionals and amateurs. Professional sectors include:
- agriculture
- horticulture
- forestry
- amenity
How to Apply IPM
Prevention
You can use preventative methods to reduce the risk of pests becoming established. This can include:
- crop rotation
- encouraging natural predators
- cultivation and tillage practices (how the land is prepared to grow crops)
- growing pest and disease resistant varieties
- hygiene measures (for example, regular cleansing of machinery and equipment)
- using trap crops to draw away pests.
Monitoring
Animals and plants classified as pests or weeds may be important to the structure and function of local ecosystems. Effective monitoring ensures you only use chemical pesticides when necessary. You should choose the correct control method for your land and apply it at the right time. This can include:
- inspection of crops
- pest, weed and disease identification
- forecasting and assessing levels of pest populations and diseases
- the use of early diagnosis systems
- advice from professionally qualified individuals, advisers or agronomists
Use of Thresholds
You can use thresholds which take into account pest, weed and disease pressures, region, crops and particular climatic conditions to help you decide when to use control measures.
Once a threshold, or predicted threshold, has been exceeded (such as when pest population levels, pest damage or weed prevalence become economically or environmentally unsustainable) you should take action to control the pest.
Intervention and Control
The control methods you choose should be practical and effective. You can use sustainable physical, biological and chemical methods.
Physical control measures can include:
- mechanical weeding and hand weeding
- physical barriers such as netting
Biological control measures can include:
- predatory species
- biopesticides, such as using microbes or pheromones to disrupt insect mating
If you need to use chemical pesticides, you should use:
- the minimum effective dose and application frequency
- targeted application to minimise potential negative impacts – for example, using precision technology like spot treatments and weed wipers
Managing Pesticide Resistance
You can use anti-resistance strategies to maintain the effectiveness of chemical pesticide products. This can include using:
- The appropriate dosage rates of pesticides
- Pesticides with multiple modes of action
These strategies should be used when:
- the risk of resistance against a plant protection measure is known
- the level of harmful organisms requires repeated application of pesticides to the crops
Review and Evaluation
Review the success of all plant protection and pest control measures regularly to ensure their effectiveness. This can be done by creating an IPM plan which you should review every year.
Creating your IPM Plan
An IPM plan can help you:
- apply different control measures to your crops
- minimise the risks associated with the use of chemical pesticides
It should describe how you plan to apply IPM to your land. It can include details of:
- your land and the crops you grow
- the pests, weed and diseases you have identified or considered to be a risk on your land
- control measures in the current season and plans for next season
You can find IPM plan templates online and you should decide which works best for you. This IPM Tool contains written guidance for certain crop types. This is optional and DAERA does not require you to use this tool.
Assess your IPM Approach using Decisions Support Systems (DSS)
Decision support systems can help you manage and respond to different pest pressures to your crops.
Decision support systems include tools for:
- pest monitoring and treatment thresholds
- forecasting pest density and damage
- comparing treatments
You can find decision support systems for many pests, weeds and diseases online and you should decide which works best for you. IPM Decisions platform may help you assess which decision support systems are relevant to your land. This is optional and DAERA does not require you to use this tool.
The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute’s (AFBI’s) aphid monitoring service provides pest forecasting information on the flight activity of aphid species to allow cereal and potato growers to make informed choices about the need to for insecticide application to protect against aphids and the viruses which they may vector.
If you use Pesticides Professionally
If you use pesticides in a professional capacity, you must be registered with DAERA. You can register at The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 – List of Operators Registration.
All professional users of pesticides must also hold an accredited certificate (unless you are working under the direct supervision of someone who holds one). Please see the list of UK designated bodies and recognised specified certificates and Specified certificates recognised under the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, relating to the use of products authorised for professional use.
More information on operator responsibilities regarding pesticides can be found at Operator responsibilities regarding pesticides.
DAERA’s IPM Guidance Booklet
DAERA has developed an Integrated Pest Management Guide to assist farmers with understanding the requirements of IPM which can be found at Integrated Pest Management guidance. The guide includes an ‘Application of IPM at user level’ record sheet. You will also find on the linked page, guidance on Rush Control.
External IPM Guidance
- ADAS conducts research and provides guidance
- ADAS YouTube channel hosts a series of videos on IPM focusing on disease control in cereals
- Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) IPM hub provides guidance for farmers
- IPM@Hutton conducts research and provides IPM resources
- IPM Works is a network demonstrating and promoting IPM strategies
- Voluntary Initiative is an industry led scheme which provides IPM planning tools and guidance for farmers
- Parks for London – Integrated Weed Management Reference Guide for Amenity Spaces and Public Realm aims to guide grounds maintenance professionals in adopting a sustainable approach to managing weeds that reduces reliance on chemicals.
Visiting these websites is optional – DAERA does not manage or maintain these websites and cannot take responsibility for their factual accuracy. You should always do your own research when deciding whether to use external websites.
IPM Support for NI Businesses
Officials from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) also support industry through knowledge and technology transfer projects, training and demonstration farms. Visit the CAFRE website for current technical advice and details of upcoming events, on IPM approaches relevant to NI agriculture and horticulture.
Monitoring Pests
Monitoring and accurate identification of pests is an essential element of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and helps inform the decision-making processes when considering the need for insecticide treatments for example. Within the DAERA-sponsored Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI), the newly established ‘Plant Health & IPM Branch’ has a specific remit to research and develop IPM principles. AFBI monitor cereal and potato aphids using a 12.2 m Rothamsted suction trap and in-field yellow pan traps, respectively. Aphids are identified and counted, and information displayed on an interactive dashboard that enables growers to make informed decisions about aphid and virus management on their crops. More information on these programmes is available online at:
Research and Innovation
In 2023, AFBI completed a two-and-a-half year project on ‘Integrated Pest Management approaches to leatherjacket mitigation in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland’. This was funded through the European Innovation Partnership (supported by DAERA) and in collaboration with AgriSearch and local farmers. The output from this project was a Leatherjacket Mitigation Strategy available at: www.cafre.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Leatherjacket-Mitigation-Strategies-Final-Report.pdf
Other research articles on IPM include:
- Measuring the unmeasurable? A method to quantify adoption of IPM practices in temperate arable farming systems
- Identifying the drivers and constraints to adoption of IPM among arable farmers in the UK and Ireland