A flexible approach to pest management that draws upon a range of methods to produce a result that combines the greatest value to the farmer with environmentally acceptable and sustainable outcomes.
A holistic (system) approach utilized by farmers to try to control agricultural pests (e.g., tobacco budworm, European com borer, soybean cyst nematode, etc.) which was initially developed as a methodology by Ray Smith and Perry Adkisson. IPM also helps to control plant diseases. For example, farmers can plant buckwheat near their cornfields in order to help control European com borer (ECB), a serious pest of com (maize) Zea mays L. Lacewing beetles, which prey on European com borers, are attracted by the buckwheat and consume ECB in the com while they live in the buckwheat areas. Because European com borer is a vector (carrier) of disease microorganisms like Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium, this lacewing beetle (IPM) control of ECB also helps reduce those diseases.