IPM: Science-Based Decision Making for Sustainable Pest Management

4 Credits

Long-term global food security requires a sustainable increase in agricultural productivity to ensure the availability and accessibility of safe and nutritious food. Agricultural pests reduce global food production and threaten its sustainability. This course explores sustainable pest management in agroecosystems using the integrated pest management (IPM) paradigm. IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties. Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and non-target organisms, and the environment.