National Centre for Integrated Pest

Management

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IPM Philosophy

India has marched ahead to a comfortable position in terms of food security,

however, the increasing population continues to stress us to do a lot more and prop up the agricultural production for meeting the ever increasing demands while keeping the environment clean and healthy.  In spite of dramatic advances in pest control technologies, largely based on chemical pesticides over the last half century, pests have become increasingly serious constraints in agricultural production.  Simultaneously, the problems of pest resistance and resurgence and minor pests becoming major ones are increasing. The only amicable solution before the plant protection community is Integrated Pest Management (IPM).  IPM is a systems approach involving the use of cultural practices, crop husbandry, resistant varieties, biological and chemical control strategies.  IPM  is more complex and too knowledge intensive for the farmers than the routine chemical sprays followed by them, often available on credit basis.  IPM was promoted as an alternative pest control strategy in India as early as in 1960's but there were few IPM technologies available to be transferred to farmers. Now the  situation has improved considerably, as the farmers are growing increasingly responsive to scientific experts advocating the need of  IPM.               

A successful IPM programme takes time, money, patience, short and long term planning, flexibility and commitment.  The implementing officials need to spend time on self education and on making contacts with extension and research personnel to discuss farming operations which vary from location to location.  Government must take the lead in changing the pest control scenario to make chemical control less attractive and provide incentives to agencies involved in production and promotion of eco-friendly quality inputs essentially required for IPM.    

The experiences of IPM programmes at different agencies have already proved to be economically viable and socially acceptable in different crops in various agro-ecological zones.