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 Peppers - Primary concerns are insects, diseases, and weeds

Insects	Diseases	Weeds
European corn borer	Damping off	Annual grasses
Cutworms	Viruses: CMV, TMV,TSWV	Annual broadleaf weeds
Aphids	Bacterial spot	Perennial weeds
Fall armyworm	Phytophthora blight
Hornworms	Anthracnose
Mites	Early blight
Whitefly	Phomopsis blight
Flea beetles	Nematodes

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 (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. Minimum desired soil pH is 6.0 - 6.8.	15
	Apply 2/3 of the fertilizer pre-plant, high phosphorus is very important to early flowering and yield.	10
Site	Select a well drained, friable, warm non-acidic site.	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
	Treat seed with Clorox for control of bacterial diseases.	10
	Select hybrids well adapted for your growing area with good tolerance or resistance to viruses, such as CMV, TMV, TSWV.	15
	If using transplants, be sure they are certified disease free from inspected fields or greenhouse.	15
	Select transplants grown in isolation from ornamental crops to avoid TSWV.	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.	15
	Use stale seed bed technique.	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 vine and solanaceous crops for added Phytophthora control.	15
	Select properly rotated site - 4 years away from vine and solanaceous crops for added Anthracnose, early blight, and Phomopsis control.	15
	Use drip tape and plastic mulch for weed control, disease control, and irrigation.	15

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			212 pts Goal		265 pts

At-planting IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Weed	Apply pre-emerge herbicide after planting for control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds.	10
Insect	Apply soil insecticide to control various soil borne pests only if known to be 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 such as pokeweed, diseased perennials, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and melons that may harbor virus potentially vectored to crop by either aphids or thrips.	10
	Control Horsenettle for pepper maggot.	5
	Cultivate weeds if necessary.	10
	Apply post emerge products, using directed or shielded sprays to control remaining 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	Control of thrips in field and greenhouse essential to slow spread of TSWV.	15
	Set up ECB pheromone traps and check twice per week; if fruit are present begin protective sprays when trap catches begin to increase until trap activity declines to <1 moth per night.	15
	Set up pheromone traps for CEW and FAW. Spray insecticides if these pests are active and field not already on schedule for ECB.	15
	Scout for aphids and other misc. pests particularly in first half of season where ECB not a problem.	15
	Use selective insecticides to conserve natural enemies.	5

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			104 pts Goal		130 pts

Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
None described

Post-Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
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			44 pts Goal		55 pts

Comprehensive IPM Score
(Add scores of previous 6 sections)

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			420 pts Goal		525 pts

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