Plant Protection - Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

In the EU, one of the key elements of Integrated Production (IP), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), is mandatory for professional users since 2014.

The Sustainable Use Directive 2009/128 defines IPM as “careful consideration of all available plant protection methods and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of populations of harmful organisms and keep the use of plant protection products and other forms of intervention to levels that are economically and ecologically justified and reduce or minimise risks to human health and the environment. ‘Integrated pest management’ emphasises the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms”.

For regulatory product performance and efficacy testing and evaluation, several IPM tools are already implemented, such as the required inclusion of Forecast Models and Decision support systems (DSS) for certain pests and diseases into product application schedules and trial conduct and the compatibility information of a product with IPM to be provided in the Biological Assessment Dossier (BAD).

While National Action Plans and national guidance do not consider IPM sufficiently, the new EU Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Action Plans call for an EU-harmonised approach for the implementation of IPM. The already implemented Harmonised Risk Indicators for plant protection products and active substances are only a tiny part of this, having little impact on the product performance and efficacy evaluation until now.

To fulfil the requirements for a more thorough implementation of IPM in the agricultural practise, IPM methods have to be integrated in product performance and efficacy testing and evaluation. This is often possible without increasing the costs for product testing using “statistical spare treatments” for testing of IPM strategies.