Bekah's Permaculture Assignment #7

1 1. In your own words what is “IPM”? IPM stands for integrated pest management. This is a term used to describe an approach that deals with pests (in gardens, fields, on plants, etc.). It is called integrative because it utilizes multiple approaches and techniques to deal with pest populations. This helps to make this approach more sustainable that traditional pesticides that the vast majority of people use. 2. Give 5 specific examples of IPM. There are several types of IPM. Here are just a few of them: 1) Increasing predator populations (such as attracting birds, bats, praying mantis, and other predatory creatures that help to control and reduce pest population) 2) Polyculture/crop combining (this means to plant a wide variety of things because certain pests tend to like certain plants and so the more variety there is, the more likely you will be able to control and limit pests) 3) Delaying (this means that you delay planting your crops/plants so that you avoid the peak season of the particular pest you are trying to avoid) 4) Planting flowers (this helps to attract predatory things such as bees and wasps and it can cause confusion amongst pests due to the color and smell of flowers) 5) Natural pesticides (this refers to making natural sprays, such as from crushed up pests, to spray on the plants to repel the pests) 3. Why don’t most people practice IPM? Most people don’t practice IPM because it takes more effort than simply spraying on pesticides. Also, many people don’t know about IPM and so they can’t practice what they don’t know. 4. How can you attract the following: lizard, bat, predatory wasps? Lizards: ponds, rocks, rotting wood Bats: trees, bat houses Predatory wasps: trees, flowers, vine plants, small trees, wasps 5. In what instance would you use a pesticide? When doing so, what things should be kept in mind? A person might consider using a pesticide after multiple other methods of IPM have been used to no success and there is a real pest problem that needs to be taken care of. When using a pesticide, it is important to look at the ingredients that are in the pesticide and the potential negative impacts it may have (such as if you spray it on your vegetables, is it harmful to ingest). It’s also important to keep in mind what all the pesticide can kill as you don’t want to kill off good predatory insects. 2 6. Take three different plants located on your design and create a 4-step IPM plan for each. Dill Zucchini Tomato Observe the patterns of the Determine what sort of pest Observe the pests that tend to Japanese beetles that tend to might be causing the frequent eat the tomato plant leaves. multiply and take over the dill. mold and chewed leaves on the Determine what pest they are. (For example, when do they start plant. (suspect = squash bug?) (suspect = aphids and whiteflies) to come) Spray plants with neem oil spray. Plant marigolds around zucchini Plant flowers around tomato plants. plants to attract predatory insects to feed on suspected aphids. If neem oil doesn’t take care of Manually remove suspected Spray neem oil on tomato plants the Japanese beetles, then squash bugs from plants. to reduce suspected aphids manual removal of them into a bucket with soapy water in the morning will be done. Weekly assessment of plants to If bugs still persist, spray Once pest has been officially determine the population of zucchini plants with neem oil determined, research into other Japanese beetles. Continue spray. Continue to observe IPM methods to reduce spraying and manual removal if pests. population and continue to necessary. observe pests. 7. What is marcotting, ground layering, and air layering? Why would you want to do this? Explain why this would be beneficial in an IPM strategy. Marcotting, ground layering, and air layering are all forms of plant propagation. Marcotting and air layering are very similar as they both try to produce roots from a cut into a healthy tree (and you place peat moss around the cut to help roots grow) while ground layering a stem is bent down and buried in the soil to produce roots. These methods are used when you have a really good tree that you want to duplicate. This is because these methods in essence clone the tree. This is a beneficial IPM strategy because it first of all is sustainable. You don’t have to go out and buy more plants. Second, if you have a tree that has been pest free for the most part, then replicating this tree will continue to produce trees that have limited pests. 8. What is the best way to remove fungal problems from trees? There are a few things to do to remove fungal problems from trees. You can prune back branches to let in sun and wind (this reduces a damp environment in which fungus thrives in). Observation of trees helps you to see what parts have fungus and need to be removed. You can also make a fungicide (from urine, sweet potato leaf, or papaya) to spray on trees. 3 9. When saving seeds, what are two different ways to prevent insect damage? 1) Stick the seed container outside (in cold environments) to freeze and kill insects. 2) Add a small amount of salt into the seeds to help prevent salt damage..

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