PINEAPPLE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT - AN OVERVIEW

Consumers are very concerned about food safety and environmental protection as well. Such a situation imposes changes on conventional crop production. Regarding the pineapple crop, control of pests and diseases all over the world is based on calendar applications of pesticides. On the other hand, pineapple orchards conducted under integrated pest management strategies are in accordance with environmental and food safety concerns. The concept of integrated pest management (IPM) appeared in 1968 and by 1989 it was a common strategy all over the world. IPM implementation reduces the use of pesticides and promotes the use of pesticides approved by governmental agencies. Special measures are also applied to reduce pesticide applications such as: introduction of predatory agents, crop rotation to reduce soil pest populations, use of cover crops to attract beneficial insects, to contribute for weed management and soil preservation, monitoring pests and disease development, planting of disease-resistant cultivars and use of biological pesticides. Considering that the success of any integrated pest management program relies on a good understanding of the crop production system as well as of the ecology and biology of each pest or disease, pineapple growers should be continuously trained on integrated pest management procedures.