Environmental Stewardship
Environmental Stewardship
Integrated Pest Management
Introduction
IPM History
What is IPM?
IPM Basics
IPM is not Organic Agriculture
IPM Adoption
IPM Benefits in the Real World
Syngenta's Commitment to IPM
Precision Ag - A Big Lift for IPM
The Producer is Key to Success
The Future of IPM
IPM Resources on the Web
Stewardship Home
Make No Mistake – IPM is not Organic Agriculture


Though IPM programs share some of the same tools as organic systems, for example, scouting or use of pheromones for mating disruption of insects, they are significantly different. IPM programs allow for the use of a wide array of tools but are very specific in the production outcomes that are to be achieved. Organic systems, on the other hand, determine a priori which materials and methods may be used, eliminating most pesticides regardless of their efficacy or benefits. As a result organic producers must garner market premiums to compensate for any increased pest damage or higher production costs.

IPM programs can be applied to a wide range of production systems from field crops and fruits and vegetables to the control of flies in poultry houses. As awareness of the value of IPM has increased it has been applied to an equally wide range of non-agricultural uses - from control of structural pests such as termites to the management of pests in lawn and golf course turf and the control of pests in schools. The IPM programs in these settings include the same basic elements as used in agriculture - the judicious use of pesticides in combination with monitoring and appropriate cultural or biological controls. Regardless of the setting, the basic elements of an IPM program are as appropriate to a small farm or a garden as they are to large commercial operation.