How to Reduce Pest Control in Agriculture

Agricultural pest control is time-consuming and expensive, and depending on the product used, can also be polluting. While chemical pesticides can be very effective at reducing agricultural pests, these same pests can grow resistant to the pesticides, and chemicals can leach into food sources and waterways, causing harm to humans.
In contrast, sustainable agricultural methods encourage natural means of controlling pests by using organically certified pest control products, natural predators, and efforts to enhance the nutrient quality and health of your soil. Sustainable practices can be employed in home gardens and in large agricultural environments.

Instructions

Predators

1. Encourage natural predators such as frogs, birds and small mammals to hunt destructive pest insects by leaving hedgerows, living and fallen trees, and water areas undisturbed. These predators can then feed on pests in agricultural areas, reducing pest control activities and costs.

2. Plant crops that will throw shadows over weeds and outgrow them, depriving pests of host plants. Leafy food crops such as squashes or forage crops such as clover provide excellent coverage of the surrounding soil, making it difficult for weeds to get established.

3. Release natural predatory insects to control existing populations of agricultural pests. Use ladybugs, lacewings and tiny trichogramma wasps to control aphids, damaging caterpillars, thrips, webworms, loopers, beetles and armyworms.

4. Reduce the use of non-selective pesticides in agricultural areas. Non-selective pesticides kill both the damaging pests that can destroy crops and the predator pests that feed on damaging pests. Rather than using a broad-range pesticide, select pesticides that target only the pest insect causing immediate problems.

Soil

1. Test soils to ensure the right level of soil pH for the crop's growing needs and add natural amendments as recommended by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Healthy plants are better able to ward off pest attacks, reducing pest control needs.

2. Employ crop rotation practices to avoid depleting the soil and prevent soil-borne pest insects from becoming established. Plan crop rotation so that each successive generation of plants draws on the nutrients the previous generation has left behind. For example, grow peas and beans in plots previously occupied by potatoes, tomatoes and zucchinis.

3. Improve soil health through the addition of natural amendments that help microorganisms grow and flourish, keeping the soil healthy. Chemical amendments may provide short term boosts to agricultural production, but they will harm the delicate microorganisms in the soil. Healthy soil helps plants resist pests and disease, reducing pest control costs and activities.

4. Plant cover crops to replenish nutrients in the soil and prepare for next season's crops. Cover crops provide nectar, pollen and a place for beneficial insects to live as they search for and feed on pest insects.

References

• Direct.gov.uk: Encouraging Wildlife in Your Garden
• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: Alternative Soil Amendments
• "The Henry Doubleday Research Association Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening;" Pauline Pears (Ed.); 2001

Resources

• Washington State University Whatcom County Extension: Trichogramma Wasps
• Cornell University: Guide to Natural Enemies in North America