In principle according to guardian pest control, the most well-known technique for the control of agricultural pests is chemical control. However, in the search for more sustainable methods and aiming at reducing the use of chemicals, other efficient methods in pest control have been used.
Therefore, in addition to chemical control, we have biological, cultural, genetic control, and integrated pest management (MIP) that encompasses more than one method for pest control.
Chemical Control
Chemical control consists of applying insecticides to eliminate crop pests. Despite being very efficient, the use of these chemicals should be used by the producer with great caution. The unrestricted use of insecticides can lead to the emergence of resistant pest populations.
Therefore, it is recommended to use chemical control for pest management only when the insect population reaches critical levels.
Biological Control
Biological control has been a pest control alternative much used in current crops. This control method consists of using natural enemies to reduce the population of insect pests. Natural enemies are organisms that will act as biological control agents through parasitism or predation. The role of natural enemies is to keep insect pests at a population level that is not capable of causing economic damage to crops.
We have several successful cases of using biological control in crops, such as microvespa (Cotesia flavipes) to control cane borer (Diatraea saccharalis).
Cultural Control
The control of agricultural pests can also be carried out through the use of cultural management strategies. For example, we can mention crop rotation, weed management, planting density, correct sowing, and harvesting time.
However, the measures aiming at the cultural control of pests, in their majority, must be thought and applied before the implementation of the culture in the field.
Genetic Control
Currently, there are cultivars resistant to the main agricultural pests that cause enormous damage to crops. The use of these cultivars should be prioritized whenever possible, as it allows the adoption of other control measures and being more economical.
However, the producers at https://www.guardianhome.com/pest-control-bellevue/ must always alternate the use of resistant cultivars with non-resistant ones aiming at the durability of the resistance in the field.
