One must look beyond just using insecticides and chemicals to solve plant health issues. A skilled arborist knows it is essential to consider many factors, not just quick fixes.
Understanding what causes infestations, insect damage, diseases, and plant health problems can lead to better solutions. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) combines different areas of knowledge to create a complete approach to plant health care.
What Is IPM?
Integrated Pest Management uses several different methods to manage pests and care for plants. It gathers information about the environment, how plants grow, and insect life cycles to find the best solutions for plant health issues.
The IPM process includes these steps:
- Identify/Monitor: figure out what is causing the plant health care (PHC) issue. Is it due to insects, diseases, environmental factors, or improper planting?
- Evaluate: decide on the best next steps and treatments needed
- Prevent: look for non-chemical solutions like insect traps, replanting, or fixing environmental issues
- Action: use tools or treatments to solve the problem.
- Monitor: regularly check to see if more treatment is needed
IPM focuses on observing plants and their surroundings to gather as much information as possible before taking action. While different sources may share slightly different steps, the primary process remains the same.
How IPM Can Help You
IPM provides greater confidence that the products and actions chosen will work effectively. It can also save money by allowing the use of the right treatments, which may avoid chemical solutions altogether.
Learning about the local environment and pests makes you a better resource for customers and can help expand services offered. Understanding how plants, insects, and environmental factors work together and identifying different PHC problems will improve your effectiveness as a PHC provider.
Regular monitoring and follow-up will make you a more proactive PHC provider and help improve service quality.
IPM In Practice
IPM is effective for addressing many common plant health issues. For example, consider the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The first step in managing EAB is identifying ash trees, recognizing signs of EAB damage, and looking for general signs of ash tree decline. If a client’s ash tree is unhealthy, determine whether EAB is the problem or something else is causing the issue.
Once you know the cause, you can develop a treatment plan that may include applying appropriate insecticides and adding nutrients to help the tree recover. You should also plan regular check-ins to monitor the tree’s recovery and provide further treatments as necessary.
By learning more about plant health care and developing an IPM program, you can grow your business and improve services for clients. Regardless of the size of your operation, understanding Integrated Pest Management is a valuable skill in plant health care.