Using Insecticides For Pest Management

Presented to: Dr. Asif Aziz

Presenter: Ghulam Ahmad Khan Sumbal
15-Arid-4936
ENT-601
Integrated Pest Management
Department of Entomology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University,
Rawalpindi.
 Using Insecticides For Pest
Management
o Insecticides are some of the most potent, dependable substances that can
be employed to manage insect pests.
o Indeed, many of the world’s most serious insect problems can be contained
only by these important compounds.
o (a) Because of their broad-spectrum nature,
o however, they can be hazardous to humans and can cause undesirable
side effects, both in agricultural and non-agricultural ecosystems.
o Most often, the cause of undesirable side effects is the way insecticides are
used.
o How to minimize side effects ?
o (a) applying insecticides as effectively as possible and,
o (b) having utmost regard for human and environmental safety.
 Effective Use
 It begins with a proper strategy.
 With agricultural pests, insecticide use is a curative tactic that should be
applied only after pest status has been assessed.
 Assessment involves
A. accurate identifications of the pest species present and,
B. estimates of its population level.
 Moreover, information on other potential pests and natural enemies in the
agroecosystem should be a part of the overall assessment.
 If all other tactics fails then we should think about the appropriate
pesticide.
 Choosing an insecticide
 The choice of the most appropriate insecticide for a given pest situation
depends on several factors including
a) effectiveness,
b) cost,
c) formulations available and,
d) equipment required.
 When choosing an insecticide,
 a place to start is with recommendations published by the state
Cooperative Extension Service. They are usually updated frequently so that
users can take advantage of the latest knowledge and developments from
research.
 Cont…
 Often, several alternatives are presented in extension recommendations.
 The most appropriate is a particular equipment required for application.
 If ULV sprays are suggested and only low pressure, high volume sprays are
available, the ULV compound is obviously eliminated in the choice.
 In other instances, alternatives can be eliminated based on time remaining
until harvest. Some insecticides will be eliminated because unacceptable
residues would be present on the crop at the expected harvest time.
 Also, if several pests are present that require suppression, some insecticides
will not be effective against all. This requires cross referencing and
 alternatives which affects natural enemies and wildlife should be removed.
 The elimination process is continued until only one or few acceptable
choices are left.
 Final product acceptance can then be determined according to cost,
availability and convenience.
 Choosing a dose
 How to choose a proper dose ?
 Most insecticide recommendations list a dosage range for application, as
does the insecticide label.
 As a general rule in insect pest management, least is best.
 To avoid insecticide resistance and other population counter-responses in
agricultural applications, it is often best to reduce populations to
insignificant levels rather than trying to eliminate them completely.
 This can be achieved most easily by keeping dosage level as low as
possible.
 Remember that EPA regulations allow pesticides to be used at rates lower
than those stated on the label.
 Reducing dosage also cuts costs.
 Timing of applications
 No factor is more important in efficacy and environmental safety then
proper timing of insecticide applications.
 The timing of applications is determined from
a) characteristics and,
b) status of the target pest(s) and,
c) by conditions of the environment.
 Susceptible stages are usually targets of insecticide programs.
1) For instance, sprays timed to kill small grasshopper nymphs are usually more
effective than those applied against large nymphs and adults.
2) In other instance, insecticide applications against second generation
European corn borer on corn must be timed to expose the peak
occurrence of small larvae before they bore into the stalk.
A typical sprayer
system
A typical spraying system and common types of
equipment for applying liquid formulations of pesticides.

sprayer, with boom

 Cont…
 Another important aspect of timing is to expose the population to an
insecticide before significant injury has occurred.
 Usually, early surveillance and following recommended economic
threshold provide this proper timing information, which indicates estimates
within a time period, perhaps 3 or 4 days, when application should take
place.
 The weather and concern with other production activities probably will
determine when insecticides can be applied in this time period.
 To reduce drift and to concentrate most material in the target area,
applications should be made under calm conditions.
 Windy days should be avoided and, when possible, applications should be
made early in the morning before wind speed picks up.
 By avoiding periods from about 10 A.M. to 4 P.M, especially during hot
weather, both insecticide drift and evaporation can be reduced.
 Cont…
 Of course, if rain is occurring or imminent, additional limitations are placed
on the application time.
 In addition, attention to production activities like cultivating, calving, and
irrigating may take priority and further limit timing.
 Types of nozzles: Left to right regular fan,
even fan, flooding fan, hollow cone, solid
cone, broadcast nozzles.
 Coverage and confinement of
applications:
 Thorough coverage of the target area is another very important factor for
insecticide efficacy.
 Good coverage requires that the insecticide mixture be adequate to
reach all pest feeding sites,
1) In some instances, as with some foliage feeders, insects concentrate in the
sunny portions of the upper canopy. For these pests, airplane sprays with
low volumes (for example, 1 to 2 gallons per acre) may give adequate
coverage.
2) However, when insects pests are found throughout the plant canopy or
concentrate in lower strata, sprays of greater volume (for example, 20 or
more gallons per acre) applied with ground equipment may be required.
 Sometimes special sprayers are used to obtain effective coverage.
 An example is the Air blast sprayer. With this sprayer, a blast of air propels
the mixture, allowing it to penetrate dense tree canopies and reach leaf
and branch surfaces. Such sprayers have been used effectively in orchards
and for shade trees.
 Cont…
 Restricting the application to the target area is an important prerequisite to
good coverage.
 Good coverage cannot be achieved when significant drift occurs or when
residues are quickly washed off surfaces and carried away in runoff.
 Such actions reduce exposure levels for target insects and can cause
destruction of fish and wildlife populations in surrounding areas.
 Choosing certain formulations may help keep insecticides with in the target
area.
 For instance, granular formulations contain heavy particles that fall to the
surface and remain in an area. Conversely, dusts have small particle size
and do not adhere well, making applications difficult to contain in the
target area.
 Adding sticking agents or selecting formulations with stickers included in
them may also help keep an insecticide on target.
 For example carbaryl, on plant leaves.
 Choice of application equipment
 Choice of application equipment can also affect containment of
insecticides.
 In comparisons of airplane and ground sprays in cotton, high clearance
sprayers with three nozzles per row deposited an average 82 % of the spray
on target, versus only 54.5 % for aerial sprays.
 Problem factors for ground applications are:
1) wet fields,
2) canopy closure and,
3) problems of soil compaction
 Which may make ground applications impractical.