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Updated: 1/03/2005
Integrated pest management (IPM) offers an effective way of dealing with insect control problems. It integrates a wide variety of pest control methods—physical, biological, cultural-traditional and chemical—and aims to reduce pesticide use in order to minimize environmental pollution and adverse health effect and slow down the development of pest resistance to pesticides. Monitoring of pest population levels and pest resistance to pesticides is a very important component of IPM. The method also relies heavily on protection and conservation of natural enemies, parasites, predators and diseases that regulate or balance populations of pests. By encouraging natural enemies, the need for chemical insecticides can be reduced dramatically when compared to conventional spray programs. In cases where chemical pesticides are ineffective in solving pest problems due to the development of increased resistance by the pest to the poison, natural enemies provide an effective solution which is safe for user, crop and environment. In Israel, several projects have been initiated to promote IPM. They include, among others, use of cover crops to protect the soil surface, insect-proof nets, insect traps, and natural enemies. Important progress has been made in the development and introduction of beneficial natural enemies (e.g., predatory mites, predatory beetles, parasitic wasps) as alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides. Projects range from the use of pheromone traps, to commercial production and application of the Bacillus t. israelensis (BTI) to control moth and water-breeding insects, to use of bees to biologically control strawberries from pests, to release of barn owls to effectively control rodent populations in farming areas. In addition, agricultural activity may be transformed into environment-friendly activity through changes in work processes and procedures. Equipment for the mechanical suction of insects, rapidly decomposing substances, crop-specific and slow-release fertilizers, plastic containers to prevent the infiltration of manure and silage to groundwater, farm kits for monitoring soil and water, and environmentally-sound approaches to pest and weed management are only some examples. The Ministry of the Environment, in cooperation with the Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, is endeavoring to increase the environmental awareness of farmers and to encourage research and development.
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