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 Ohio field corn - Primary concerns are insects, diseases, weeds

Insects	Diseases	Weeds
European corn borer	Seedling blights	Annual grasses
Cutworms, Stalk borer, Webworms	Northern corn leaf blight	Annual broadleaf weeds
Corn rootworms	Southern corn leaf blight	Perennial weeds
Corn flea beetle	Anthracnose leaf blight	Triazine resistant biotypes
Corn leaf aphid	Anthracnose stalk rot
	Virus - MDMV, MCDV
	Gray leaf spot
	Common Rust
	Northern corn leaf spot
	Gibberella ear and stalk rot
	Diplodia ear and stalk rot

Educational IPM Considerations

Education	Activity	Points
	Producer possesses a copy of OSU Extensions Weed Control Guide, Insect Control Guide, Disease Control Guide and Agronomy Guide.	10
	Producer attends one or more of the OSU Extension Regional Agronomy Meetings or a local county agronomy meeting.	10
	Producer receives a copy of the OSU Extension Crop Observation Reporting Network (C.O.R.N.) newletter or visits the (C.O.R.N) Website (http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~corn/agcrops.html) regularly.	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			24 pts Goal		30 pts

Pre-plant IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Fertility	Soil tests for nutrient concentrations, pH and lime requirement have been done on fields within the past 2- 3 years by a respected soil testing laboratory.	15
	Fertilizer is applied according to the soil test results and the yield of the crop.	10
	If compost or manure is applied, the nitrogen contribution is taken into account and the application of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is reduced accordingly.	10
	The application of nitrogen fertilizer is split by adding a portion of the required nitrogen as a pre-plant application ( or some in a starter application) and the remainder as a side-dress application where feasible. (Realizing that the quantity of nitrogen added with pre-plant and side-dress applications depends on rainfall, soil texture, temperature, drainage.)	15
	Conserve organic matter with no-tillage or minimum tillage where feasible. (Depends on soil texture, soil moisture and drainage, soil temperature and lay of the land)	10
Equipment	Pesticide application equipment is calibrated at the beginning of the season and the calibration information is recorded.	10
Site	Rotate to crops other than corn (soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, etc.).	15
	Maintain accurate records of planting dates, field locations, varieties, fertilizer and spray applications.	5
Insect	Use a soil insecticide on continuous corn if western and northern corn rootworm beetle counts were not made the previous year or beetle counts exceed Ohio State University Extension guidelines for beetles numbers to justify a chemical treatment for corn rootworms.	15
	Plant Bt corn if in an area that has a history of European corn borer.	10
Disease	Improve soil drainage in poorly drained soils. This reduces water stress and reduces losses from stalk and root rots.	15
Weed	Herbicide programs and rates are selected on a field-by-field basis, based on tillage, soil factors, and knowledge about weed populations (species composition and severity).	15
	When possible, cultural practices are manipulated to minimize weed populations and maximize competitiveness of the crop. Examples: narrow rows, delayed planting.	15
	Rotation of herbicide mode of action over years and crops is practiced to minimize the risk of development of herbicide-resistant weed populations.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			140 pts Goal		175 pts

At-planting IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Disease	Plant high-yielding hybrids with resistance to leaf blight and stalk rots.	15
	Plant high-quality seed, treated with a seed-protectant fungicide. Plant at populations recommended by the seed company.	10
	Balanced fertility is the key to vigorous, well-developed plants. High rates of nitrogen, especially when excess in relation to potassium, favor the development of stalk rot. Use recommended levels of N, P and K based on soil tests.	5
Weed	Spread of weeds is minimized through use of weed-free crop seed and cleaning of tillage, planting, and harvesting equipment between fields.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			36 pts Goal		45 pts

In-season IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Equipment	Calibration is checked at least once during the season and the equipment is re-calibrated if necessary.	15
	Spray nozzles that provide drift protection are used on the pesticide application equipment.	10
Site	Spray records including date, wind speed and direction, compound and formulation used, EPA registration number, amount of water used and rate applied per acre are recorded and filed for each field.	5
Insect	Scout fields several times during the season for pests.	15
	If in a first year corn rootworm suspect area, place sticky traps in soybeans and monitor those traps to determine if western corn rootworm beetle numbers are large enough to justify treatment the following year.	15
	Fields are not treated until they have been thoroughly scouted, pests have been identified and counted, and Ohio State University Extension insect recommendations have been consulted for the economic threshold for the pest.	10
Disease	Control insects and weeds in and around fields. Insects such as rootworm and stalk borer create wounds that serve as entry points for disease causing fungi. Some weeds act as reservoirs for overwintering of corn pathogens (i.e. johnson grass).	15
	Survey fields for damage from leaf blight disease at tasseling. Fungicide application may be justified only if suceptible hybrids are used and the lower leaves are infected before or very soon after tasseling.	10
	Survey fields in the fall prior to harvest to determine the incidence of stalk rot. Grasp the base of the stalk above the brace root and squeeze the stalk between the thumb and first two fingers. Stalks with significant rot will crush easily. Those fields with the greatest percentage of rotted stalks should be harvested first to avoid losses due to lodged corn.	10
Weed	Fields are scouted in mid to late season for weeds. The weed species, location of the weeds and severity of the weeds are recorded and used to make herbicide recommendations for the next year.	15
	Amount of herbicide used in postemergence programs is minimized through better timing of application (when weeds are small and actively growing).	15
	The need for spot or rescue herbicide treatments is based on available economic threshold and weed interference information.	10
	Patches of new or problem weeds are controlled through use of chemical or non-chemical means to prevent spreading or seed production.	15
	Weeds in alleyways, ditch banks and roadways are prevented from going to seed by chemical or non-chemical means.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			140 pts Goal		175pts

Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Disease	Proper adjustment and operations of the combine or picker will reduce harvesting losses in the field with stalk-rotted, lodged corn. Some equipment companies have attachments for the combine header to help pickup lodged corn.	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			8 pts Goal		10 pts

Post-Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Disease	Crop rotation and plowdown of infested corn residues effectively reduce the numbers of disease organisms surviving in the field.	15
	Dry shelled corn to 13 percent to 14 percent. Ear corn to be cribbed should be dried to 20 percent moisture. Maintain cool and dry storage conditions to prevent storage molds from developing.	15
Crop	Evaluate and identify successful practices, incorporate them into next years crop.	10
Weeds	Update field weed maps, use to make treatment decisions next season.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			44 pts Goal		55 pts

Comprehensive IPM Score
(Add scores of previous 6 sections)

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			392 pts Goal		490 pts

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