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 Wheat - Primary concerns are insects, diseases, weeds

Insects	Diseases	Weeds
Aphids	Powdery mildew	Canada thistle
Cereal leaf beetle	Septoria tritici leaf blotch	Annual broadleaf weeds
Common army worm	Septoria nodorum leaf and glume blotch	Perennial weeds
Hessian fly	Leaf rust	Yellow nutsedge
	Head scab	Wild garlic
	Bunt or stinking smut	Canada thistle
	Loose smut	Winter annual broadleaf weeds
	Wheat yellow mosaic	Summer annual broadleaf weeds
	Barley yellow dwarf
	Cephalosporium
	Take-all root rot
	Sharp eyespot

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
	Producer reads 'Guidelines for Improved Wheat Yields in Ohio' on Ohioline	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			32 pts Goal		40 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
	No more than 20 pounds of nitrogen are applied in the fall.	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	Maintain accurate records of planting dates, field locations, varieties, fertilizer and spray applications.	5
Disease	Select high yielding varieties with good straw strength, winter hardiness and resistance to the important diseases in your area.	15
	Use crop rotation; never plant wheat after wheat or spelt. A 2 to 3 year rotation away from wheat is recommended.	15
	Use a well-balanced fertility program based on a soil test. Spring top dressing of nitrogen should be applied as required to achieve the yield potential desired.	10
Insect	Plant Hessian fly resistant varieties.	15
	Plant after Hessian fly safe date for your county.	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
	Rotation of herbicide mode of action over years and crops is practiced to minimize the risk of development of herbicide-resistant weed populations.	15
	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			144 pts Goal		180 pts

At-planting IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Disease	Plant well-cleaned, disease-free seed, treated with a fungicide that controls seedling blights, bunt and loose smut.	15
	Plant in a well-prepared seed bed, after the Hessian fly safe date for you county.	15
Weed	Plant into a weed-free seedbed; use glyphosate or paraquat as necessary to control emerged weeds at time of planting.	10

Marginal adoption					Full adoption
0 pts			32 pts Goal		40 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.	15
Insect	Scout for insects in the fall and spring.	10
	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.	15
Disease	Apply fungicides only if warranted. Scout fields from flag leaf emergence through flowering for powdery mildew, leaf rust, Stagonospora nodorum leaf and glume blotch.	15
Weed	A healthy competitive crop is maintained through use of the appropriate tillage, fertility, and other cultural and pest management practices.	15
	Amount of herbicide applied is minimized through better timing of application (when weeds are small and actively growing).	15
	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			112 pts Goal		140 pts

Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
	None described	0

Post-Harvest IPM Considerations

Management	Activity	Points
Disease	Plow down residues from heavily diseases fields, especially those affected by Cephalosporium stripe or take all.	15
	Control weed grasses. Destroying volunteer wheat, quackgrass, and other weed grasses to reduce inoculum of pathogens in wheat fields.	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			364 pts Goal		455 pts

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