Pests (weeds, insects, and diseases) are an expected element of any farming system, but negative economic impact from pests can often be prevented. Modern pest management uses a combination of practices to manage pests. The most sophisticated and effective pest control relies on farming systems that build soil quality and increase a crops ability to withstand pests, and that incorporate rotations, cultural practices, scouting, crop selection, and other field practices to prevent pest problems from occurring. Pest prevention measures allow you to reduce environmental risk while maintaining your profitability. Implementing all appropriate pest prevention practices increases the quantity and quality of production with less reliance on traditional pesticide inputs.

When pest infestations do occur at damaging levels they can be detected by scouting and remedial measures should be employed. When selecting pest control strategies, both environmental risks and cost-effectiveness should be considered. If pesticides are part of your overall cropland pest management plan, proper handling and application of pesticides are both desirable and required by law. To learn more about pesticide issues on the farmstead, see Farm*A*Syst worksheet #2.

How will this worksheet help me improve on-farm pest management?

It will:

• take you step-by-step through your pest management systems, pesticide management practices, site and soil conditions;
• rank your activities according to how they might effect your ability to prevent pest outbreaks and prevent environmental contamination while managing pest problems;
• provide you with easy-to-understand rankings that will help you assess your pest management strengths and weaknesses;
• help you determine which of your practices are effective and which might require modification to reduce your environmental risk; and
• assist you with establishing pest management goals.

How do I complete the worksheet?

Follow the directions at the top of the chart on the next page. It should take you about 15-30 minutes to complete the worksheet.

Other Farm*A*Syst worksheets related to Cropland Pest Management include:

• Pesticide Storage and Handling (#2)
• Hazardous Material (#5)
• Cropland Nutrient Management(#13)

active ingredient - the portion of a pesticide formulation that is active against target pests.

beneficial organisms - organisms that reduce pest numbers, normally predators or parasites of pests. Frequently insects and bacteria but may be fungi, nematodes, etc.

biological control - control of pest populations by naturally occurring or introduced parasites and predators.

biological pesticides - pesticides derived from living organisms, usually via fermentation (e.g. Bt)

integrated pest management - an ecological approach to pest management that uses techniques to avoid economic damage to crops and reduce risks to the environment.

key pests - those pests that occur annually and cause economic damage to crops. An IPM program is structured to maintain key pests below damaging levels.

narrow vs. broad spectrum pesticide - narrow spectrum pesticides act on a single species or a limited range of species while broad spectrum pesticides are toxic to a wide range of organisms.

persistence - the amount of time a pesticide remains in the environment before breaking down to less toxic compounds.

pesticide class - a classification system that groups pesticides with similar chemical structure and similar modes of action against pests.

scouting - sampling crops to determine levels of pest populations, also used to assess natural mortality, plant health and level of beneficial insects.

selective pesticide - a narrow spectrum pesticide that is effective only against certain pest species.

sequential application - the application of one pesticide to a site following another.

setback - the distance from sensitive areas (surface water, wetlands, tile drain inlets, etc.) where no pesticides are applied.

tank mix - a mixture of two or more compatible pesticides for simultaneous application.

trap crops - a crop (usually outside the main crop) that serves to attract and concentrate insect pests in an area where they can be easily controlled to reduce infestation in the main crop.

treatment threshold - level of a pest population at which treatment should be initiated to prevent damage greater than the cost of control.

volatility - the potential for a solid or liquid to become a gas.

weak link - a stage during the development cycle of a pest when it is most vulnerable to control strategies.

Table 1

Table 2

What do I do with these rankings?

When you finish the assessment, go back over them to find high and moderately high risks. If your Farm*A*Syst site assessment worksheet (#11) indicates high risks because of site soil geologic and hydrologic conditions, treat all moderately high risks (rank 2) as high risks (rank 1). Moderately low risks become moderately high risks. List all high and moderately high risks below. For each one you have identified, write down the improvements you plan to make. Use recommendations from the fact sheet on this topic or other resources (listed below) to identify the most realistic improvements for your site. Pick a target date to keep you on schedule for making changes. You do not have to do everything at once, but try to eliminate the most serious risks as soon as you can. It often helps to start with the inexpensive actions first.


Table 3

Contacts for information about cropland pest management:

University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension

· Your UW Extension county office. Local source for University recommendations and research. Check the phone directory for listing.

· Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Scout training, computer software, pilot IPM programs. (608-262-4073)

· Nutrient and Pest Management (NPM) program. On-farm demonstrations, water quality programs, publications. (608-262-4326)

· Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) program. Training for applicator's license, manuals. (608-263-6358)

· Insect Diagnostic Lab. Identification of insect pests. (608-262-6510)

· Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab. Identification of plant diseases. (608-262-2863)

Crop Consultants

· Certified Crop Advisors (CCA-certified) employed by your farm supply dealer.

· Independent crop consultants. Contact Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants (WAPAC) for names. (608-833-7989)

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (608-224-4500)

· Pesticide regulation, applicator licensing (224-4548), agricultural resource management.

Land Conservation Department (LCD), Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS)

· Watershed projects, soil conservation, resource protection and planning. Check local directory for your county office.

July 24, 1998
Dennis Hoffman, Project Leader
Steve Dagitz, Webmaster