History and ecological basis for areawide pest management

Authors: Elliott, Norman - Norm; ONSTAD, DAVID - UNIV OF ILLINOIS; BREWER, MICHAEL - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2007
Publication Date: 3/1/2008
Citation: Elliott, N.C., Onstad, D.W., Brewer, M.J. 2008. History and ecological basis for areawide pest management. In: Koul, O., Cuperus, G.W., and Elliott, N.C., editors. Areawide Pest Management: Theory and Implementation. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. p. 15-33.

Interpretive Summary: The traditional approach to pest management is to treat the crop or commodity in a particular management unit before an economically significant infestation of the pest has developed. Determining the need to take corrective action is based on the economic threshold concept, which forms the basis of most integrated pest management programs. Areawide pest management (AWPM) can be contrasted with traditional pest management in that pest management tactics are used over a broad spatial area, often treating the whole area simultaneously, to maintain the pest below economic levels or in some cases completely eradicate it. AWPM has potential advantages over the traditional approach. Suppression across a broad area may result in reduced re-infestation by migration from nearby unmanaged areas and the pest management tactics employed may be more effective, particularly ecologically-based tactics, when applied areawide. A diversity of approaches exists for AWPM. The strategies used in programs obviously must be based on the particular species that is the target of the management effort. Detailed understanding of the pest’s biology and ecology, the ecological system as a whole, and the pest management tactic(s) available for deployment will provide insight into the most promising avenues for effective suppression over a broad spatial area. This chapter focuses on the history of AWPM and lays out an ecological foundation for its use. The significance of the work is that, as far as we know, it is a first attempt to lay a general theoretical foundation for the use of the AWPM concept.

Technical Abstract: The traditional approach to pest management is to treat the crop or commodity in a particular management unit before an economically significant infestation of the pest has developed. Determining the need to take corrective action is based on the economic threshold concept, which forms the basis of most integrated pest management programs. Areawide pest management (AWPM) can be contrasted with traditional pest management in that pest management tactics are used over a broad spatial area, often treating the whole area simultaneously, to maintain the pest below economic levels or in some cases completely eradicate it. AWPM has potential advantages over the traditional approach. Suppression across a broad area may result in reduced re-infestation by migration from nearby unmanaged areas and the pest management tactics employed may be more effective, particularly ecologically-based tactics, when applied areawide. A diversity of approaches exists for AWPM. The strategies used in programs obviously must be based on the particular species that is the target of the management effort. Detailed understanding of the pest's biology and ecology, the ecological system as a whole, and the pest management tactic(s) available for deployment will provide insight into the most promising avenues for effective suppression over a broad spatial area. This chapter focuses on the history of AWPM and lays out an ecological foundation for its use.