FUTURE CONTROL
OF PESTS
As I read through the various
production publications that I
received last week, I came across
two unrelated articles that upon
closer thought are actually talking
about the same topic—future con
trol of pests in crop production.
The first was an article regard
ing weed control in vegetables and
the second discussed the use of
mating disruption to control
codling moths in pome fruit
onotNowi
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Vegetables
This year was a difficult year for
some farmers to control weeds in
their vegetable fields. Our abun
dant rainfall provided ideal condi
tions for both the weeds and the
vegetables to grow well and we all
know which plants are more com
petitive for available space and
nutrients.
The excessive rainfall was also
responsible for leaching preemer
gem herbicides out of the upper
layers of the soil where they
needed to be to prevent weed
growth.
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What can be done to prevent
weed problems from occurring in
the next wet growing season? Per
haps not relying on herbicides as
the sole method of controlling
weeds is the answer.
A recent editorial article in a
grower magazine discussed the
development of herbicides and the
effect it had on weed management
procedures in the United States.
Initial results with herbicides were
so encouraging that many
researchers concentrated on deve
loping this new technology to its
fullest potential.
Industry concentrated on the use
of herbicides because of the pro
fits. This lack of development of
alternative methods of weed con
trol has resulted in our present lop
sided weed management system.
With the current political envi
ronment in regards to the use of
chemicals in all agricultural pro
duction systems, perhaps now is
the time to begin to rethink our
approach to weed control and to
start developing more of a systems
approach.
The term “systems approach”
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P. O. Box 399, Morton, IL 61550
© 1994 Morton Buildings Inc
has been appearing in various of the impact of fanning on the
publications lately and basically environment
refers to the use of more than one You should already see the
method to solve a problem or pre- “handwriting on the wall” as far as
vent crop loss. In the case of weed chemical control of weeds is con
control, alternatives to herbicides cemed. Like many insects, some
that could be used in a systems weed species have developed
approach include preventative, resistance to the herbicides used to
mechanical, cultural, biological, control them, such as triazine
chemical, and integrated strate- resistant lambsquarters. As a far
gies. Herbicides are still a part of a mer, you are going to need to seek
systems approach but they are not an alternative method of controll
the sole method of controlling ing herbicide-resistant weeds any
weeds in an alternative or inte- way so you can benefit now from
grated weed management strategy, adopting an integrated approach to
Our current political environ- weed control and maybe prevent
ment, spurred on by our increas- some problems such as resis
ingly sensitive measurement tech- tance from developing in the
niques for chemical residues, is first place,
one factor encouraging this new The fact that we have not elimi
way of approaching crop produc- nated weeds as a pest in our veget
tion. Environmental standards able fields should tell you some
such as water quality are becoming thing about their adaptability to
increasingly important measures surviving our eradication efforts.
The basic premise of an integrated approach is
that you use more than one method to control
weeds with the more methods used the better.
While weeds can develop resistance to herbi
cides, they will have a harder time resisting crop
rotation and mechanical methods of control
when integrated with a standard herbicide
program.
As a producer, you receive the benefit of a
'more effective weed control program while at the
same time you are being more “environmentally
friendly.” Depending on how you market your
produce, this may be to your advantage, too. I am
constantly reading about marketing programs
and buyers looking for “earth-friendly” produc
ers. Rather than fighting this trend, why not take
advantage of it?
Researchers do not have all the answers to the
questions about the most effective integrated
weed control strategies. Future technologies may
include weed-competitive crops, biological and
ecological weed management, reduced tillage
crop production, and precision herbicide appli
cation. New EPA pesticide registration rulings
may result in the loss of a significant number of
our current herbicides in 1997.
Do we want to wait until we have fewer herbi
cides available to develop new technologies? I
doubt it.
I suspect many of you have already integrated
several weed control strategies into your current
vegetable production system and thus you have
already developed the start of a systems
approach. If you haven’t. I’d encourage you to
start reading about and experimenting with new
weed control methods in your vegetable produc
tion system.
any kind, call Morton
Lancaster farming, Saturday/ October 18, ‘lMW}*"'
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The use of mating disruption to control
codling moths in pome fruit is not a new technol
ogy. However, early trials with the use of phero
mones met with mixed results.
While these compounds affected only the
target species of pests, in many cases they failed
to give satisfactory control of fruit damage, espe
cially when compared to conventional chemical
controls. But now the traditional method of using
broad-spectrum insecticides to control this pest
is coming under scrutiny and, as a result, alterna
tive control measures are being examined.
A magazine article recently discussed
research being conducted in Washington state
combining the technology of mating disruption
with traditional insecticide applications to con
trol codling moths. The first generation of moths
is controlled with an insecticide timed to coin
cide with peak moth flight if population levels
are 100 high. Later generations are then con
trolled with pheromones and overall insecticide
use in these orchards is reduced.
Early failures of mating disruption were fre
quently linked to high first generation popula
tions of moths. By combining pheromone and
chemical control methods, satisfactory control of
moth damage is achieved while reducing insecti
cide applications.
As this research indicates, sometimes the
combination of differing methods to control an
orchard pest give excellent results with a reduced
“environmental” impact. Now is a good time to
start looking at combinations of control methods
to reduce losses from other orchard pests and the
environmental impacts associated with tradition
al control methods.
Fruit