**2.5 Developing management strategies**

*Pests, Weeds and Diseases in Agricultural Crop and Animal Husbandry Production*

A pest is an anthromorphic categorization which is beneficial and harmful at the same time. For instance, termites considered beneficial organisms in forests converting dead trees to organic matter are also considered as pests as they on wood having high economic value [19]. Pest inspection includes regular site inspections and trapping to determine the extent of infestation levels and types of pests at particular site. It also includes regular check on the occurrence of species identified properly and considered to be pests or beneficial organisms, the damage caused by the pests, the crop characteristics, and the environmental factors. Monitoring procedure is a key element of IPM programs as it helps early detection, timely information on pest activity, ranking of the severity of infestations, identify its causes, and estimation of future populations. Environment monitoring methodologies must be designed for assessing instantaneous and dynamic aspects of the pest's density, activity, or incidence [18]. Understanding these environmental interactions allows crop advisors to react to changing environmental conditions and helps to determine acceptable pest population levels, effective reduction measures, and breach of the action threshold.

**2.4 Determine economic injury and action threshold level of pest activity**

The primary objective in integrated pest management is not to eliminate a pest but to bring it into acceptable boundary. FOA defines pest as any species/strain/biotype of plant, animal, or pathogenic agent injurious to plants and plant products, materials, or environments and includes vectors of parasites or pathogens of human and animal disease and animals causing public health nuisance. In IPM, a few pests can be tolerated and it is compulsory to take action when pest numbers reach a certain level, this level is known as threshold. The lowest level of injury to crop plants where the damage can be measured is called the damage boundary and the lowest number of insects that will cause economic damage is referred to as economic injury level (EIL). Economic threshold level (ETL) is defined as the pest density at which control measures should be applied to prevent an increasing pest population from reaching economic injury level. An action threshold level (ATL) is the pest population size that requires remedial action for human-health, economic, or aesthetic reasons and it will vary depending on the site structure and how it is being used (**Figure 1**). As ETL and ATL are pest and site specific, meaning that it may be acceptable at one site but at another site it may

*To make control practice profitable, or at least break even, it is necessary to set the economic threshold (ET) below the economic injury level (EIL). Graphic: National Pesticide Applicator Certification Core Manual,* 

**2.3 Establishing a periodic inspection and monitoring system**

**6**

**Figure 1.**

*NASDARF.*

In IPM, implementation of treatment strategy involves mechanical, cultural, biological, or chemical controls, or a combination of these strategies. Although using a single strategy may be successful for a short duration but by integration of these practices may provide safe guards against ecological disruptions (pest resistance or destruction of natural enemies) that often develop because of reliance on a single strategy [20]. If all methods have failed and the monitoring system shows that pest population is still beyond action thresholds, then the use of synthetic chemicals should be last resort only, but when used, the least toxic materials should be chosen to minimize exposure to all nontarget organisms. Ultimately, the goal is to control pests with little impact on the environment.
