Conditions Required For Successful IPM

Favorable conditions that encourage IPM adoption by farmers are the cultivation of high-value crops with a market demand such as citrus fruits, apples, cotton, olives, tobacco and ornamental flowers. There are few examples of IPM adoption with low value crops such as sorghum and millet, even though these crops are important in many living in developing countries. Cereals, with the major exception of irrigated rice and, to a lesser extent, maize, are notable for their almost complete absence of IPM.

Below: sunflower field,
another example of continuous cropping

Agri-ecosystems

• Continuous cropping on the same piece of land (i.e. apple orchard)
• Same crop grown over a wide area.

  Pest complex

• A small number of important pests
• Previous problems with intensive use of pesticides (high applications of insecticide results in problems with pest resistance)

  Farmer support

• Good research/extension base

Clearly, a combination of these factors can go a long way toward favoring the adoption of an IPM program. However, their relative IPM-promotion value may well be quite different. For example, a good research/extension base may contribute less toward favoring IPM adoption than the presence of a relatively simple agri-ecosystem based on monoculture over a wide area.

(Integrated Pest Management-Ideals and Realities in Developing Countries, 1997)