The purpose of this document is to consolidate current Ohio information on integrated approaches to pest management. One of the intended results is to form a general working definition (practices) of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) on specific crops. Secondly, to develop a system of assessing how far along the IPM continuum growers are, and if their operation has adopted enough core practices to qualify them as IPM practitioners under these guidelines.

Growers should use this document and its six sub headings (Educational, Pre-plant, At-plant, In-season, Harvest, & Post-harvest) as a checklist of possible IPM practices. There is a point value associated with every IPM practice; the higher the number the more important the practice. Growers should only count the points of activities they perform on a crop. The goal is to accumulate 80% of the points in each of the six areas and / or 80% of the total points available, which is simply the sum of the scores from each section (comprehensive).

This document is intended to help growers identify areas in their production system that possess strong IPM qualities and also point out areas for improvement. Growers should attempt to incorporate the majority of these specific techniques into their usual production practices, especially in areas where they fall short of the 80% goal.

Major Pests of Carrots - Primary concerns are diseases, insects, and weeds

Diseases	Insects	Weeds
Damping off	Aster leafhopper	Annual grasses
Nematodes	Aphids	Annual broadleaf weeds
Cercospora	Carrot weevil	Perennial weeds
Alternaria leaf spot	Carrot rust fly
Aster yellows

Educational IPM Considerations

Education	Activity	Points
	Join local or state grower associations that handle this commodity.	5
	Attend the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress annually to meet and exchange information with other growers. Attend current pest management informational / research presentations.	10
	Obtain the latest Ohio Vegetable Production Guide and other commodity specific reports / production guides.	10
	Gain access to e-mail or fax for weekly VegNet newsletter updates on disease, insect, and weed development, plus management options during the growing season.	10
	Implement an IPM practice currently not used on your farm on limited acreage and gauge its success.	10
	Research alternative markets that may encourage less pesticide use either through specific use reduction requirements such as baby carrots (organic, eco-, IPM labels) or simply by permitting more insect feeding, etc.	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			44 pts Goal		55 pts

Pre-plant IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Fertility	Soil test; amend soil with fertilizer according to guidelines. Desired soil pH is 6.0 - 6.8.	15
Site	Select a deep porous field or use raised beds.	15
	Maintain accurate records of planting dates, field locations, varieties, fertilizer and spray applications.	10
Seed & Hybrid	Use fungicide treated seed to protect against Pythium.	15
	Select hybrids well adapted for your growing area with good disease tolerance or resistance.	15
Weed	Practice weed seed exclusion tactics such as high pressure washing machinery shared between farms.	15
	Buy certified seed and weed free soil mixtures; determine weed seed content of all seed and do not plant seed contaminated with weed seed not known to occur on your farm.	15
	Use site free of perennials such as quack grass, Johnson grass, Yellow nutsedge, or Canada thistle if possible.	15
	Use a combination of fall/spring tillage and fall/spring application of a broad spectrum herbicide to control established perennials or rotate with a herbicide resistant crop on which a broad spectrum herbicide was used.	15
	Apply pre-plant herbicides to control seedling broad leaf weeds and annual grasses if necessary.	10
Equipment	Calibrate sprayer; check flow rates and nozzles for both herbicide and insecticide use. Select drift guard nozzles.	15
Disease	Select properly rotated site - 2-3 years away from carrots and parsnips.	15
Insect	Rotate away from last years carrots to delay infestation by carrot weevil	15
	Rotate to adjacent field	5
	Rotate to field > 0.1 & < 0.25 miles away	10
	Rotate to field > 0.25 miles away	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			172 pts Goal		215 pts

At-planting IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Weed	Apply pre-emerge herbicide for control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds.	10
Insect	Use an in-furrow insecticide if carrot rust fly has been a problem.	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			16 pts Goal		20 pts

In-season IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Weed	Control nearby weeds that may harbor virus potentially vectored to crop by insects.	10
	Use cultivation as primary weed control tool when practical.	10
	Apply post emergence herbicide to control grasses and broadleaf weeds.	10
	Update field weed maps, use to make treatment decisions next season.	15
	Watch for weeds that are not common or are new to the field, consider adopting a zero threshold for these weeds and physically remove them in order to prevent seed production.	15
Insect	Monitor insect activity and apply controls only if thresholds are exceeded.	15
Disease	Scout for Aster leafhopper. Once detected, collect a few specimens and send to Plant Pathology at Wooster, OARDC, to be bioassayed for presence of Aster yellows. If Aster yellows is found, treat leafhoppers with insecticide during the immigration period.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			72 pts Goal		90 pts

Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
	None described

Post-Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Storage	Top carrots prior to storage unless specified by market, store near 32 F, but not in high humidity conditions or with apples and pears.	10
Site	Plow down residue as soon as possible after harvest to reduce weed residue, fungal inoculum, and insect over wintering locations.	15
Crop	Evaluate and identify successful practices, incorporate them into next years crop	10
Weed	Update field weed maps, use to make treatment decisions next season.	15
	Spot spray persistent perennial weeds.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			52 pts Goal		65 pts

Comprehensive IPM Score
(Add scores of previous 6 sections)

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			356 pts Goal		445 pts

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