Integrated pest management, usually shortened to IPM, is a decision-making framework rather than a single product. The idea is to combine several tools, and to spray only when the numbers justify it.

IPM grew out of frustration with the pesticide treadmill of the 1950s and 1960s. Insects developed resistance, secondary pests moved in after beneficials were wiped out, and costs kept climbing. Entomologists at universities in California and elsewhere pushed back with a system built on monitoring and thresholds. The FAO later adopted IPM as policy, especially for cotton and rice in Asia.

The basic toolkit

• Scouting and traps to count pests before acting
• Cultural controls: crop rotation, resistant varieties, sanitation
• Biological controls: predators, parasitoids, pathogens
• Chemical controls as a last resort, chosen for low impact

Done well, IPM cuts spray bills and keeps natural enemies in the field. Done badly, it becomes a label with no monitoring behind it. The difference is whether anyone is actually walking the rows with a notebook.