INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT
The most common pests and diseases
Identification of pests and diseases Proper identification of pests and diseases is important. Whether the pest is an insect, rodent, phytopathogenic fungus, or other organism, correct identification makes controlling it easier and more effective. A mistake in identification can lead to improper control tactics that cost time and money. It may also lead to unnecessary risks to people, to the fish, or to the environment. To identify a potential disease, one should follow the steps described in Figure 5 and 6.
· Aqu@teachThe concept of integrated pest management (IPM)
Many national and intergovernmental bodies have firmly decided that the officially endorsed paradigm for crop protection is ‘integrated pest management’ (IPM). For example, a European Union (EU) Directive (The European Parliament and the Council of Europe 2009) has obliged all professional plant growers within the Union to apply the general principles of IPM since 2014. IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on the long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and the use of resistant varieties (Tang et al.
· Aqu@teachPrevention methods in integrated pest management
Good plant health is not only the absence of diseases and pests. Good cultivation techniques with adequate nutrition, water quality, climate conditions and production hygiene are required for healthy growth. To achieve sustainable plant protection management, it is essential to understand how to minimize the risk of plant diseases and pests. Prevention is the most important part of integrated pest management (Table 2). Table 2: Plant disease prevention measures in aquaponics
· Aqu@teachBiological pest control
The terms ‘biological control’ and its abbreviated synonym ‘biocontrol’ have been used in different fields of biology, most notably entomology and plant pathology. In entomology, it has been used to describe the use of live predatory insects, entomopathogenic nematodes, or microbial pathogens to suppress populations of different insect pests. In plant pathology, the term applies to the use of microbial antagonists to suppress diseases as well as the use of host-specific pathogens to control weed populations.
· Aqu@teach