**2. Principles and strategies of crop protection in organic farming system**

Pest management in organic farming is a holistic (whole-farm) approach that largely depends on the ecological processes and biodiversity in the agroecosystem. Accordingly, most IPM tactics, principles, and components match with organic farming systems [6]. The goal of this strategy is to prevent pests from reaching economically damaging levels without causing risk to the environment. Successful IPM programs in organic farming may have the following components: (1) monitoring crops for pests, (2) accurately identifying pests, (3) developing economic thresholds, (4) implementing integrated pest control tactics, and (5) record keeping and evaluation.

The factors that render crop habitat unsuitable for pests and diseases include limitation of resources, competition, parasitism, and predation [7]. These factors play an important role in maintaining equilibrium of the agroecosystem and suppression of harmful pests. Faunal and floral diversities play a substantial role in pest and disease management in organic farming system [8, 9]. The four principles of pest management in organic farming system, namely, prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression, will be discussed in this chapter with special reference to date palm as case study.
