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Organic Integrated Pest Management

How to Avoid Problems
Good Pest Management is Based on Healthy Soils
Healthy soils contain many different organisms that compete with pest organisms, keeping them in check Having a variety of flowering plants on the farm provides food pollen & nectar and refuge for numerous beneficial insects.
Healthy soil 7 protects and feeds plant roots. The plant on the left grew in better soil.

Healthy soils contain many organisms that feed & protect plants.

Maintain the Diversity and Fertility of the Soil

By using compost By planting cover crops and green manures By rotating crops in the field

Its Important to Care for the Beneficial Organisms Both Above and Below the Soil Surface.
Tachinid parasitic fly on California buckwheat
3 4

Keep a diversity of plants in the field to feed and shelter the beneficial organisms that help fight pests.
Ladybugs overwintering in deergrass Flowering annuals in crop rows
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First year perennial hedgerow

Perennial native hedgerow

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Providing Habitat for Beneficial Organisms

Keeping a diversity of plants on the farm helps with pest control
Flowering annual plants attract beneficial insects
Planted with the crops

Hedgerows and Plant Habitat Provide: Habitat for beneficial Food, fruit, nuts, & aromatic herbs organisms and wildlife Beautiful landscape Windbreaks to slow erosion Dust barriers Bats Eat Insect Pests Pesticide barriers between conventional and organic fields Protection from soil loss by water erosion
2 7 3 Bats need spaces one-inch deep which can be created by simple modifications of walls or roofbeams of farm buildings 8 Perennial hedgerow

5 Or planted around a water source

Trees and bushes offer protection from the wind, and perches for birds that eat insect pests
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Bats are nocturnal, like the moths (armyworm and cutworm adults) that plague many crops. One colony of bats can consume as many as 100,000 insects such as cucumber beetles and moths in a single season.
9

11 10

Nest boxes can be made for owls. These night hunters eat many insects and rodents.
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Protect these Beneficial Insects that Eat Insect Pests!

Life Cycle of Lady Bugs
Eggs
1 4

3 3

Actual size

What do they eat?

Where do they live?

Adults Pupas Actual size

Larvae

Larvae & adults eat: In plants of Aphids the carrot family Mealy bugs fennel, dill, Mites Queen Annes lace. Soft scale Also yarrow and sunflowers. Eggs of insect pests. Deergrass and other clumping grasses are excellent habitats for overwintering ladybugs.
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Life Cycle of Lacewings

Eggs
8

Pupa

What do they eat?

The larvae eat softbodied insects including aphids, thrips, mealy bugs, soft scale, worms, and mites. The adults eat pollen & nectar.

Where do they live?

In plants of the carrot family fennel, dill, Queen Annes lace. Also yarrow, sunflowers, buckwheat, California buckwheat, corn, amaranth, holly leaf cherry, alyssum, coyote brush.

Larva emerging from egg

11 12 Adult Brown Lacewing

Larva devouring a Adult Green Lacewing worm

Actual size

ActualLARVA 10 size

Life Cycle of Syrphid Flies

14

Larvae

Actual size 13

What do they eat?

Pupa Actual size The larvae eat aphids. The adults eat pollen & nectar. Adult
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Where do they live?

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In plants of the carrot family fennel, dill, Queen Annes lace. Also yarrow, sunflower, buckwheat, alyssum, coyote brush, and other flowering plants.

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Protect these Beneficial Insects that Eat Insect Pests!

Life Cycle of Damsel Bugs
1

Eggs
4

Adult
2

Actual size

What do they eat?

Nymphs & adults eat: Aphids Mites Thrips Worms Lygus bugs Leafhoppers

Where do they live?

Yarrow Alfalfa Goldenrod Plants of the sunflower family.

Nymph

Adult devouring a Lygus Bug

Life Cycle of Big-Eyed Bugs

5

Nymph

What do they eat?

9

Where do they live?

Cool season cover crops (berseem clover & subterranean clover) and common knotweed

Adults
8

Actual size

Nymph

Nymphs & adults eat many insects including: Aphids Mites Thrips Worms Flea beetles Insect eggs

Tachinid Flies
Actual size
10

Adult

11

What do they eat?

Trichopode pennipes (Big Foot Fly), a parasite of squash bugs.

The larvae parasitize many worms, Japanese beetles, and some bugs. Adults eat pollen & nectar.

Adult

Actual size

In plants of the carrot family fennel, dill, Queen Annes lace. Also yarrow, sunflowers, buckwheat, alyssum, coyote brush.

Where do they live?

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Protect these Beneficial Insects that Eat Insect Pests!

Life Cycle of Pirate Bugs
Located on the central vein of the bottom leaf surface

Actual size

Adults

What do they eat?

Nymphs & adults eat: Thrips Mites Leafhoppers Small worms Insect eggs

Where do they live?

In plants of the carrot family fennel, dill, Queen Annes lace. Also yarrow, sunflowers, buckwheat, alyssum, coyote brush, alfalfa, corn, clover, & vetch.

Eggs

3 4

Nymphs

Life Cycle of Assassin Bugs

6

Nymph

Adult eating worm Actual size

What do they eat?

Nymphs & adults eat: Many insects including large insects and worms

Where do they live?

In permanent plantings such as hedgerows, which provide shelter and food.

Eggs
8

Adult

Jumping Spider

Spiders

11

Actual size
12

13

What do they eat?

Crab Spider

Where do they live?

One of the best ways to increase the number of spiders is to use straw mulch and maintain undisturbed habitat strips, such as hedgerows.

10

Actual size

14

Wolf Spider

Spiders eat a great variety of pests, including aphids, flea beetles, Ground cucumber beetles, Spider leafhoppers, & many others.

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Important de la Costa Central Insectos PlagasInsect Pests

Why Is It Important to Understand the Life Cycles of Pests?
2. To understand the various stages and forms that these insects take, and to manage the places they live whether on the undersides of leaves, in the soil, or other locationsto decrease their populations. 3. To manage the insects by varying planting dates, and using trap crops, and sticky traps.

1. To understand what these insects are like in all phases of their life cycles. Many juveniles do not look at all like the adults and can live in completely different kinds of places.

Cucumber Beetles (Diabrotica sp.)

Actual Size
1

Damage Caused by Cucumber Beetles

Larva

Damage from beetles eating leaves, flowers, fruit, and roots

Spotted
3

2 5 6 7 8 These beetles can transmit diseases such as bacterial wilt and mosaic virus of squash

4 Actual Size Larva

How to Manage Cucumber Beetles Striped

Set aside or create habitat for beneficial insects and bats. Delay planting to avoid the time when the beetles lay their eggs. (Beware: this could cause you to miss an early marketing window.) Use row covers or paper cones to protect the young plants. (Beware: this may interfere with weeding.) Thick mulch prevents pest insects from laying their eggs in the soil at the base of the stems. Trellis the plants to get them up off the ground. Cultivate and eliminate crop residues. Monitor the pest populations twice a week when the plants have less than five leaves: Check five plants in five different parts of the field. If you find more than five beetles per plant, some treatment is called for. Use trap crops, bait, and sticky traps. Consider using protective substances and organically approved insecticides. Be aware that the following varieties are extremely susceptible to damage: Zucchini: all varieties. Other squash: Cocozelle, Caserta. Butternut Squash: Early Butternut, Waltham. Buttercup: Honey Delight, Buttercup Burgess, Ambercup. Pumpkins: Happy Jack, Big Max, Baby Boo.

Preferred Hosts of Cucumber Beetles

Most Susceptible to Damage
Number one is highly susceptible and number seven is least susceptible. 1. Cucumber 2 2. Cantaloupe 3. Honeydew Melon 4. Casaba Melon 4 5. Winter Squash 6. Summer Squash 7. Watermelon 6 Also: Corn Potatoes Tomato Fruit Beans Cabbage Lettuce

Grow Crops These Beetles Dont Eat

Try to grow the varieties that are LEAST attractive to cucumber beetles: Summer Squash Yellow Squash: Sunbar, Slender Gold Straightneck: Seneca Prolific, Goldbar. Crookneck: Yellow Crookneck Scallop: Peter Pan Winter Squash Acorn: Table Ace, Carnival, Table King Pumpkins: Baby Pam, Munchkin

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Important Insect Pests

Lygus Bugs
Adult
1 2

Crops Affected by Lygus

Strawberries Green Beans Cotton Lettuce Dry Beans Alfalfa Fruit

Methods of Controlling Lygus

Create habitat for beneficial insects Eliminate weeds Monitor plantings for beneficial insects Plant trap crops (alfalfa & radish) Botanical pesticides as a last resort

Damage

Damage in strawberries 5 Damsel Bug 6 devouring Lygus

Beneficial Organisms that Attack Lygus

Fungus: Beauveris bassiana (MycotrolTM) The parasitic wasps Anaphes ioles & Peristenus sp. Damsel Bugs, Big-Eyed Bugs, Assassin Bugs, Lacewings, Spiders

Nymphs

Caterpillars of Moths & Butterflies

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Methods of Controlling Caterpillars

Pirate bug eating worm Create habitat for beneficial predators and parasites Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Botanical pesticides Pheromone trap Repellents: dilute garlic, 11 onion or chilis with water Pheromones
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Egg

Cutworm
9

Corn ear worm 10

Cabbage looper
13 Pupa

Cabbage

14

butterfly 16 Peach Twig Borer

17 18

Every night a 19 colony of bats will eat

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Parasitized caterpillar Wasp parasitizing an egg

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Cabbage worm

Codling moth worm

THOUSANDS of moths

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Aphids

Important Insect Pests

Aphids
2 3

Methods of Control
Root Aphids

Natural Enemies

Damage Damage

11

12

Aphids & Damage

Aphids & Damage

Predators Lacewing 4 such as Create habitat for larva Lacewings, beneficial insects Syrphid devouring Control ants Flies aphid Repellents: Dilute garlic, onion & Ladybugs 9 or chilies with water Parasites Insecticidal soaps Diseases Diatomaceous earth Tan aphids are 10 Vegetable oils infected by a Botanical Insecticides (Neem) fungus Aphid mummies, Physical (water sprays) showing exit holes of parasitic wasps Ant & Aphids 8 Actual Parasitic wasps size
Ants tend aphids, harvesting the juice they exude. 13 14

Leaf Miners
15 16

Actual size

Mines
17

Some Affected Crops

Methods of Control
Parasitic wasp (Diglyphus isaea) (Diglyphus Row covers Use sticky traps Dont plant next to infected crops Don Use botanical pesticides (on adults) Use Neem (for larvae) 22 Neem larvae) Sanitation Wasp parasite Mulches

Pupa Larva
18

Adult Mines
19

21

23

Wasp pupa

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Important Insect Pests

Mites
Mites & Eggs
1

9 Biological Control of Mites

Affected Plants
Eggs
2

More than 300 host plants 100s are cultivated crop plants Strawberries, cotton, peppers, chiles, tomatoes, tree fruit, & various ornamental plants
3

Predatory mites attacking spider mite

Beneficial Mites Predators: Pirate Bugs & Big-Eyed Bugs Lacewings Thrips Ladybugs
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Damage

Damage in beans

Other Controls for Mites

Sulfur Soaps Vegetable Oil Citric Acid or Lemon Juice Some Botanical Insecticides

Webs

Predatory mite attacking spider mite

Flea Beetles
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They jump like fleas and chew numerous holes in plant leaves. They can transmit diseases.

Cultural Controls for Mites

The most important practice: Eliminate dust by 9 Creating hedges and windbreaks between roads and fields Using cover crops or mulches and leaving crop residues after harvest 10 Wetting down roads Giving crops sufficient moisture Using sprinkler irrigation

Adult

Controls

Actual size

Row covers Beneficial nematodes Sticky traps located every 15 to 30 feet along the rows Repellents: Dilutions of garlic, Planting cover crops onion, or chilies with water Remember to apply only materials Botanical Insecticides
accepted by your certifier!
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Sprinker irrigation Watering the road