In-Season Decisions
last updated
September 30, 2011
The life-cycle and growing season of crop plants utilizes all available
management strategies, including cultural, pest management, physical,
biological and chemical options to prevent economically damaging pest
outbreaks and to reduce risks to human health and the environment.
Plants are subjected to a combination of stresses. Stresses are
researched intensely individually; combinations are less so. Examples of
abiotic stress include: cool wet soils, chilling,
freezing, heat, water (flood and drought), wind, hail, nutrients, ozone,
ultra-violet radiation, and salinity. Biotic factors
include: neighbor competition for resources (inter- and intra-plant
competition), diseases, insects, weeds, nematodes, etc. In a field, even
more combinations of stresses can be occurring due to "patchiness" of
abiotic and biotic stresses interacting with soil and micr-climate.
In-season management decisions are a continuum of management practices
that range from simple field scouting to biointensive, integrated
approaches which utilize a systems approach to crop and pest management.
Action thresholds have been incorporated into many programs to assist
with the decision making process. Economic thresholds have been
developed for crops where yield is the primary concern. For pests, the
economic threshold is that pest level at which control
practices must be implemented to prevent economic damage
(i.e. cost of control is less than expected damage). For abiotic
factors, similar damage estimates have been estimated to determine
impacts on yield .
We cannot control everything. Our focus needs to be on management
through hybrid/variety selection, pest management options, tillage,
irrigation, and fertilizer application. Consideration must be given to
how one management practice impacts other components of the system.