Economic thresholds--levels of pest population which if left untreated would result in reductions in revenue that exceed treatment costs; the use of economic thresholds in making pesticide treatment decisions requires information on pest infestation levels from scouting.
Field mapping--drawing a map of a field indicating locations where specific weed species were present in the past; when preemergence herbicides are applied, farmers treat only the areas with infestation (spot treatment).
Band pesticide application--the spreading of pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides) over, or next to, each row of plants in a field; often requires row cultivation to control weeds in the row middles.
Broadcast pesticide application--the spreading of pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides) over the entire surface area of a field.
Pests--insects, diseases, or weeds (uncultivated plants which naturally exist in the environment) that cause damage to crops, resulting in reductions in yield, crop quality, or both.
Pest control--Conventional approach to pest control refers to eradication, completely eliminating an organism from the environment. Pest control in integrated pest management (IPM) is to limit the growth of pest populations to below economically damaging levels.
Preemergence herbicides--herbicides applied before weeds emerge, the foundation of row crop weed control for the past 30 years.
Postemergence herbicides--herbicides applied after weeds emerge, considered more environmentally sound than preemergence herbicides because they have little or no soil residual activity.
Scouting--inspecting fields for pests to determine whether pest populations have reached levels that warrant intervention, and to help determine the appropriate method of control.
Trap cropping--planting a small plot of a crop earlier than the rest of the crop in order to attract a particular crop pest; pesticides are used to kill the pest before the rest of the crop becomes susceptible to attack.
Reprinted from Agricultural Outlook/May 1994