IPM for fresh‐market lettuce production in the desert southwest: the produce paradox

Abstract

In the 'Integrated Control Concept', Stern et al. emphasized that, although insecticides are necessary for agricultural production, they should only be used as a last resort and as a complement to biological control. They argued that selective insecticide use should only be attempted after it has been determined that insect control with naturally occurring biotic agents is not capable of preventing economic damage. However, they concluded their seminal paper by emphasizing that integrated control will not work where natural enemies are inadequate or where economic thresholds are too low to rely on biological control. Thus, it is no surprise that insect control in high-value, fresh-market lettuce crops grown in the desert southwest have relied almost exclusively on insecticides to control a complex of mobile, polyphagous pests. Because lettuce and leafy greens are short-season annual crops with little or no tolerance for insect damage or contamination, biological control is generally considered unacceptable. High expectations from consumers for aesthetically appealing produce free of pesticide residues further forces vegetable growers to use chemical control tactics that are not only effective but safe. Consequently, scientists have been developing integrated pest management (IPM) programs for lettuce that are aimed at reducing the economic, occupational and dietary risks associated with chemical controls of the past. Most of these programs have drawn upon the integrated control concept and promote the importance of understanding the agroecosystem, and the need to sample for pest status and use action thresholds for cost-effective insect control. More recently, pest management programs have implemented newly developed, reduced-risk chemistries that are selectively efficacious against key pests. This paper discusses the influence that the integrated control concept, relative to zero-tolerance market standards and other constraints, has had on the adoption of pest management in desert lettuce crops.

Concepts of Sustainability, Motivations for Pest Management Approaches, and Implications for Communicating Change

“…A few of the explanations found in the literature suggest IPM adoption decisions can be explained in part by farmers' personality traits (6), their goals and management disposition (4), and cultural factors (41). Economic factors influencing adoption may include economic lock-in (10), avoidance of risk (15,48), lack of efficacy to market demands (42), and more generally, a lack of fit to context (27,60). Other literature suggests that farmers' ideological motivations are the most important source of their decisions, with moderating effects imposed by economic and market-related factors, and social processes restricting or increasing information availability (1,7,8,10,12,14,22,29,37).…”

Effect of Aqueous Extract of Neem (Azadirachta Indicia) Leaves on Plant Development and Liver Enzymes in Rats.

“…Furthermore, it forces farmers and vegetable producers to execute chemical control tactics that are not just effective, but safe as well. Consequently, scientists have been researching and developing integrated pest management programs for lettuce that are help to reduce economic, occupational and dietary risks caused by chemical controls in past [21] .Proline contents significantly increased in fertilizer treated groups than in other treated groups. Its contents significantly reduced when compared with normal and fertilizer treated group.…”

Potential for biological control of the vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Australia with parasitoid wasps

“…), watermelon in Hawaii (Johnson , ; Johnson et al . ) and melon and lettuce in Arizona (Palumbo & Kerns ; Palumbo & Castle ). The foundations of these programs are to (1) reduce initial leafminer pressure by using uninfested transplants, destroying weeds and deep ploughing of senescent crops and avoiding planting new crops adjacent to old crops (Capinera ) and (2) conserve parasitoid wasps by avoiding broad‐spectrum insecticides (Johnson et al .…”

“…Successful field programs to manage a spectrum of insect pests including L. sativae and L. trifolii have been implemented for tomato and celery in California (Johnson et al 1980b(Johnson et al , 1980cTrumble 1985;Reitz et al 1999), watermelon in Hawaii (Johnson 1987(Johnson , 2005Johnson et al 1989) and melon and lettuce in Arizona (Palumbo & Kerns 1998;Palumbo & Castle 2009). The foundations of these programs are to (1) reduce initial leafminer pressure by using uninfested transplants, destroying weeds and deep ploughing of senescent crops and avoiding planting new crops adjacent to old crops (Capinera 2017) and (2) conserve parasitoid wasps by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides (Johnson et al 1980b;Trumble & Toscano 1983) and using economic thresholds to delay and reduce sprays to allow colonising parasitoid populations to build up.…”