As application rates decline, more of these beneficial animals survive and are able to play a more active role in suppressing insect pests. Cotton plant varieties that have been genetically engineered. The key components of integrated pest management Successful integrated pest management usually has several key components. Information about interactions within agricultural ecosystems is also important. IPM draws on the fundamental knowledge of plant and insect biology accumulated by biologists.
Farmers can use relatively simple techniques to keep track of what pests are where.
This information, combined with knowledge of pest life cycles, can enable farmers to implement control measures at the most effective times. For example, the pyrgo beetle is a major defoliating insect pest of tea tree in Australia. In the past, growers have used large quantities of chloropyrifos spray to control the beetle, but this chemical has been showing up as an undesirable residue in tea-tree oil products. Clearly, better ways are needed. Field trials have demonstrated that the placement of yellow sticky traps within tea-tree plantations gives growers an accurate picture of beetle distribution at an early stage of their life cycle, enabling better targeted control programs.