Ipm For Gardeners: A Guide To Integrated Pest Management [Paperback]

Since the publication ofSilent Springin 1962, interest in alternative pest-management strategies has increased dramatically. As a way to reduce the use of pesticides and keep plants healthy, integrated pest management (IPM) has evolved to emphasize prevention, early diagnosis (or "scouting"), and long-term control strategies -- not quick fixes. Many nurseries, land-use agencies, and public gardens now require the use of IPM as an intelligent, real-world system to raise plants in an environmentally responsible manner. Authoritative and packed with case studies, this volume promises to change the way we see our gardens.

This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

Raymond A. Cloyd is assistant professor of Ornamental Entomology and Integrated Pest Management in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. His appointment combines research, teaching, and extension. Dr. Cloyd has held positions in private industry as a landscape maintenance supervisor and greenhouse manager. He earned his Ph.D. in Entomology from Purdue University.

As we all know, to maintain healthy landscape plants, it is important to manage pests. Equally true, however, is that effective pest management requires a healthy, vigorous plant. These two points cannot be separated, and both are intimately involved in landscape IPM. Before we can even attempt to manage plant pests, it is essential that we understand something about the needs of the host plant.

It is also important to consider the ultimate goal of pest management in a home landscape. Unlike an agricultural setting, where maximum growth rate and yield are the focus, landscapes are intended to be both useful (provide shade, function, added value) and aesthetically pleasing. The goal is not to obtain bigger and better plants as much as to maintain healthy, vigorous plants that are easy tolƒ.