Farmers and ranchers producing food and fiber for society are in a constant battle against living

enemies that are able to make the crop unsuitable for human use. These enemies include insect
pests, nematodes (microscopic round worms that live in the soil), weeds, diseases, and various
animals (e.g. birds). In the 20th century, a large crop protection industry developed. By and large
the tool of choice produced by this industry has been agrichemicals. Used properly these
chemicals have proven themselves to be powerful tools for defending crops against the
previously mentioned enemies. The result has been an abundant, relatively inexpensive food
supply that is produced by a small percentage of our population.

Despite the "success" story of agrichemicals, there are a number of serious risks or disadvantages
in the use of these materials (see section 6). In addition to the well publicized environmental and
health risks, the use of synthetic or manufactured agrichemicals requires large amounts of fossil
fuels in both production and application. This dependence on nonrenewable resources works
against sustainable forage production. In response to all of the aforementioned concerns,
agricultural scientists are developing production systems that require less use of manufactured
agrichemicals. The use of a combination of production practices to combat the enemies of crop
production with minimal use of agrichemicals has come to be known as Integrated Pest
Management or IPM.

In recent decades there has been an increasing use of IPM in the control of crop pests of all
kinds. In its broadest sense, IPM is a pest control program that employs an integrated
combination of techniques to reduce pest populations to acceptable levels. The techniques used
include crop rotation, trap cropping (discussed below), tillage, burning, and biological control
(discussed below). In the definition of IPM given above, the term pest has a very broad meaning.
It can refer to insect pests, weed pests, disease problems, or even animal pests. The goal of IPM
is usually not the eradication of a pest, but instead the reduction of the pest population to a
tolerable level. Finally it should be noted that the adoption of IPM does not exclude the use of
agrichemicals. It simply means that the use of agrichemicals is minimized or avoided entirely if
possible.

How is the concept of IPM applied in making forage production more sustainable? In general,
the adoption of an IPM approach to pest control in forages reduces the dependence on fossil fuels
and on purchased agrichemicals, both of which are considered nonrenewable resources (see
section 2). More specifically the application of IPM techniques to forage production involves the
use of techniques such as crop rotation, trap cropping, and biological control of insects.

Rotating crops, planting a sequence of different crops in the same field, helps to disrupt the
seasonal growth of weeds and insect pests. This tends to reduce their populations over time.
Using legume crops in rotations (see BNF lecture) may also improve soil fertility. Trap cropping
is a technique in which a secondary crop that is attractive to insect pests is planted around the
main crop in the form of a border. Ideally the insect pests that would normally invade the main
crop will remain in the trap crop. At the end of the season the trap crop is destroyed (e.g. plowed
under) and the main crop is harvested. Biological control of insects involves using natural
enemies of insects (usually other insects) to reduce the population of the pest insect to an
acceptable level. Used properly these techniques represent a use of renewable resources, they
may help gradually improve soil fertility, and they may increase biodiversity in plants and
insects. All three of these properties are characteristics of a sustainable production system.

IPM can be an important part of a sustainable forage system. A forage producer should carefully
examine a pasture, forage crop, or range area to determine whether or not the degree of pest
infestation is serious enough to require human intervention. For example, the presence of some
weeds in a pasture may be acceptable. Some weeds may be reasonably nutritious to livestock. As
long as a weed is not seriously threatening the main forage crop and is not poisonous to
livestock, it may be acceptable to tolerate a certain level of the weed. Similarly, some level of an
insect pest may be tolerable as long as it does not pose a health risk to animals or humans. This
approach to weed and insect pest control encourages less frequent use of agrichemicals and
enhances overall sustainability of the system. By gradually adopting an IPM approach to pest
management, farmers and ranchers can produce forages in a more sustainable fashion.
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Oregon State University
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Corallis, OR 97331-3002
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