In agriculture, Intergrated Pest Management (IPM) is a pest control strategy that uses an array of complementary methods that can significantly reduce the use of herbicides/pesticides in crops.

Support for this project is provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Pesticide Risk Reduction Program Pest Management Centre (www.agr.gc.ca/prrmup) in partnership with Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta (ARECA).

The objective of this project is to accelerate the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) and pesticide risk reduction (PRR) practices by Alberta cereal growers.

In November and December 2006, 285 farmers from four geographical regions in Alberta were surveyed to determine baseline adoption rates of IPM/PRR practices.

The survey was created with input from ARECA co-applicants, AAFC advisors, an AAFC Scientist specializing in farmer surveys, a consultant specializing in survey development and administration, and some farmer advisors. Surveyees were chosen using methods to ensure a random sample.

The survey results showed that many IPM/PRR practices are being utilized, but very few have high rates of adoption. As well, farmers struggle to have a clear understanding of IPM, with over 1/3 unfamiliar with the term integrated pest management.

Based on the survey results, three priority IPM/PRR practices were identified:

1) reducing pesticide use by increasing crop competitiveness through the use of competitive cultivars and seed treatments, and optimization of seeding date and rate

2) reducing pesticide risk (resistance) by practising herbicide rotation

3) reducing pesticide use and risk through effective field scouting

These three priority practices were chosen based on the following assumptions: 1) increased adoption would be of significant benefit to producers in all the regions 2) a difference in baseline and increased adoption could be measured 3) able to be written/spoken about, and/or put in research/demonstration trials and toured 4) current adoption rates were lower than expected 5) perception of practice effectiveness was lower than expected

Farmers indicated that their top three preferences for receiving information are: 1) printed information 2) attending a presentation or workshop 3) on-farm demonstration Therefore, these are the extension methods that were chosen for emphasis in the upcoming 2007 extension events to promote IPM/PRR practice adoption.

A variety of ARECA extension events are planned for 2007 throughout Alberta, including: 1) competitive ability of barley cultivars research and demonstration plots 2) demonstrations featuring herbicide rotations and crop scouting 3) summer tours and diagnostic field schools featuring priority IPM practices 4) workshops and seminars featuring priority IPM practices 5) newsletter and other publication articles featuring priority IPM practices, which will be sent to tens of thousands of Alberta farmers 6) information on the ARECA website 7) the creation and distribution of colour brochures featuring priority IPM practices

Extension events will be planned for 2008, after evaluation of the success and effectiveness of the 2007 events. A follow-up survey will be conducted in November and December 2008, to measure whether the concerted extension efforts increased the adoption of priority IPM/PRR practices, and to ascertain which methods were most effective.

Integrated Pest Management Brochures and Articles  (PDF format):

Part 1: Reducing Pesticide Use by Increasing Crop Competitiveness
Part 2: Reducing Pesticide Resistance Risk by Practicing Herbicide Rotation
Part 3: Reducing Pesticide Use and Risk through Effective Field Scouting


 
Articles:

Crop Scouting
Innovative Pest Management Techniques for Better Crops
Herbicide Resistance



Specific information about the survey is available below:

Accelerating the Adoption of Integrated Pest Management and Risk Management Strategies in Wheat and Other Cereals

Final Survey Results for 2006 and 2008

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