Amanda Williams contributed an interesting piece on Integrated Pest Management to the Growspan blog. In the article, she explains how the concept of IPM rests largely upon tenets of agroecology. "Agroecology is concerned with the ecological impact of industrial agricultural practices. It integrates a sustainable approach to agriculture and addresses farmed areas as ecosystems. Sustainable and regenerative agricultural systems are needed to challenge the economic and environmental costs of high external inputs and create diversity in a growing world."
Agroecological IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on low-input, long-term prevention of pests and disease through a combination of techniques, such as diversification, biological control, habitat manipulation, modifying cultural practices and use of resistant varieties that challenge conventional systems.
Building synergistic relationships between plants and animals allows optimal recycling of nutrients and organic matter. IPM helps to go beyond input substitution and creates a sustainable agroecosystem with little need for external resource input. By biologically structuring an operation, a farmer sponsors the functioning of the system at a higher level."