Integrated pest management (IPM) is an ecologically based approach for modifying the impact of pests to tolerable levels. Thresholds are based on the concept of economic injury level (EIL), which includes economic, management effectiveness, pest biology, and host stress considerations.
Economic Thresholds for Integrated Pest Management draws on scientific advances in entomology, plant pathology, and weed science. The book discusses the history of decision making in IPM, EILs, and approaches to developing economic thresholds. The seventeen contributors stress the importance of understanding the pest-host relationship and of taking into account such factors as environmental risk, pesticide resistance, and delayed and cumulative effects. With pressing challenges in pest science, including new pests, new governmental policies, and growing demands on agriculture, the need for better understanding of thresholds has never been greater.
