Which practice helps in maintaining low pest populations in IPM?

Maintaining low pest populations is crucial in Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and one effective practice in achieving this is crop rotation and diversity. This approach disrupts the life cycles of pests that are specialized to certain crops, making it harder for them to establish and thrive. By alternating the types of crops grown in a particular area, the habitat and food sources for pests are also altered, reducing their populations.

Additionally, promoting crop diversity can attract natural predators and parasitoids, which play a key role in managing pest populations naturally. Diverse cropping systems can also enhance soil health and plant resilience, further contributing to reduced pest pressure. In contrast, practices like ignoring pest activity, concentrating on a single crop type, or avoiding pest inspections do not address pest issues effectively and can lead to increased pest populations and subsequent crop damage. Thus, the adoption of crop rotation and diversity is a fundamental principle of IPM that assists in sustainable pest management.