Page 29 - 2019 Ag Mag

KMAland 2019 Integrated Pest Management 29
clay and organic matter particles ment? many places IPM practices have
are bound together by sticky Practices like no-till, cover fallen by the wayside as some
substances exuded by roots and crops and crop rotations do the chemicals and stacked traits
fungi to form aggregates. These four things listed above that seemed like an “Easy Button”
aggregates are large enough to build soil aggregate stability and compared to crop scouting and
result in pore spaces between organic matter. Modern herbi- rotating crop protection prac-
them that allow air, water and cides, insecticides and stacked tices.
roots to move through the soil. traits in seeds can make adopt- I won’t go into detail about
When soil aggregates fall apart, ing those practices easier. How- what IPM does or how it works
the pore spaces become clogged, ever, farmers’ abilities to use here; see the other articles in this
blocking water and air from get- those tools is at risk because of magazine from Iowa State Uni-
ting into the soil. Stable soil increased resistance of weeds versity IPM experts for those ex-
aggregates help water soak into and pests to many herbicides, planations. I DO want to make
the soil’s root zone where it is insecticides and stacked traits. these points:
available for crop use. Remem- For example: No-till, cover crops and crop
ber the old adage – “rain makes In 2016, 75% of 87 samples of rotations can help build soil or-
grain”. weed seeds from Iowa tested at ganic matter and aggregate sta-
What can farmers and garden- the University of Illinois Plant bility – and so protect and build
ers do to build soil organic mat- Clinic were resistant to glypho- the productive capacity of soils.
ter and stable soil aggregates? sate and PPO inhibitors. Modern herbicides, insecti-
Minimize soil disturbance – In the most recent Iowa Farm cides and stacked traits can help
Over time, tillage reduces soil’s and Rural Life Poll, 22 percent make no-till, cover crops and
ability to soak in and hold water. of respondents believed they crop rotations easier to manage.
It also leaves soil susceptible to had weeds that were resistant IPM practices can help pre-
erosion and nutrient loss. to PPO inhibitor herbicides in serve the effectiveness of mod-
Maintain plant diversity – their fields, up from 3 percent in ern herbicides, insecticides and
through crop rotations and cov- 2013. stacked traits.
er crops. Plant diversity leads to Weedscience.org has docu- SO, the use of IPM practices is
more diversity in soil microor- mented 17 herbicide-resistant important long-term for protect-
ganisms and helps break up dis- weeds in Iowa. ing and building soils.
ease and pest cycles. Pyrethroid resistance has been IPM can also help avoid harm
Living roots growing through- documented in some soybean to non-target species, pollina-
out the year – to feed soil micro- aphids. tors and your neighbor’s fields or
organisms and keep nitrates in Varietal resistance by soybean garden.
the root zone where they can be cyst nematodes has been docu- I encourage you to read the
used in the next crop. mented at some locations. other articles in this magazine
Keep the soil covered to help Weeds and pests can develop about what IPM is, how you can
prevent erosion, conserve mois- resistance to modern crop pro- make it work for you. You, your
ture and moderate root zone tection chemicals and crop va- checkbook, your neighbors and
temperatures. Crop residues left riety traits when those tools are a hungry world will be glad you
on the soil surface will decom- used year after year. Integrated did.
pose in place, helping to build Pest Management (IPM) can
soil organic matter. help prevent the development
So, what does this have to do of pest resistance. IPM has been
with Integrated Pest Manage- around for a long time, but in