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- The roots of IPM can be traced to the late 1880s when "ecology" was identified
as the foundation of scientific plant protection. The advent of modern
synthetic insecticides in the mid 1940s resulted in a shift of focus to
pesticide technology. Over the next 30 years, recognition of the limitations,
and often detrimental consequences of over reliance on insecticides, led to the
formulation of the concepts of IPM. In 1972, President Nixon formally
committed the U.S. government to the development and promotion of IPM. In
reality, pesticide-based pest control still predominates U.S. agriculture.
However, biologically intensive control technologies are increasingly
displacing agrochemically intensive technologies.
Photograph (above): Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae). This destructive pest of alfalfa (lucerne) was accidentally
established in North America on three occasions. Alfalfa weevil has been the
target of classical biological control efforts since its discovery in North
America more than 90 years ago. These efforts have resulted in the
establishment of at least 9 exotic parasitoids and egg predators. This once
devastating pest is now largely controlled in the eastern U.S. by these natural
enemies.
Website: http://ipmworld.umn.edu/
Info: IPM
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