If you haven't read yesterday's post yet, you should do that now, otherwise this one won't make sense. Putting an IPM into practice can consume much of a farmer's time. Here in Owyhee County there isn't much we can do to prevent pests. The food is there, so they're going to come to eat it. So I'm going to skip strait to Observation.
No matter what your job is, one of the primary rules is: Know Your Workspace. The same is true for farmers, although their workspace is spread over a very large area. The trick is to see and identify. I'll start out easy.
These little piles of dirt seems pretty harmless, but every farmer can identify them on sight. They're gopher mounds, and gophers are trouble. They like to eat roots and bulbs. Things that the farmers would rather stay on their plants and out of gopher bellies.
Weeds are easy to see, but the trick is knowing which weed is which. If you don't know which weed is which, then you can't properly deal with them.
Insects tend to be a bit more difficult to see. A net can help to scoop them out, like these two Lygus.
Once a pest has been identified, something has to be done about it. But, a major part of an IPM is cost/benefit analysis. Each problem has a solution, and part of the farmers skill set is knowing solutions and being able to create more. Being able to afford it is a different matter. This site will mostly be dealing with affordable solutions.
Most pests are very prolific, and will spread rapidly without intervention. Such is the gopher. Traps like the one above take care of the problem.
As for the insects (and arachnids) and weeds, the most effective and efficient methods are spraying and cultivation. I've written about that quite a bit already, and will probably again. For now I wish to impress upon you the amount of information a farmer must know to get to the point where he can do those.
Each one of these little booklets is information on a single chemical. Inside is information on what the chemical is used for, the application rates, what you can and cannot mix it with, and where not to use it. (and more) This drawer is packed with them, so there are quite a few here.
Much of this blogs archives are descriptions of the application of IPM, so I won't go any farther today. My hope with this two day series is to share with you the amount of information a farmer must know and the amount of work involved in an Integrated Pest Management. It's a lot of work, but it ultimately allows more food and goods to be brought to the marketplace.
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