science

Non-pesticide management

Non-pesticide management is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Non-pesticide management rather than just read about it. In short: Non-pesticidal Management (NPM) describes various pest-control techniques which do not rely on pesticides. It is used in organic production of foodstuff, as well as in other situations in which the introduction of toxins is undesirable.

Key takeaways

Non-pesticide management belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Non-pesticide management to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Non-pesticide management from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Non-pesticidal Management (NPM) describes various pest-control techniques which do not rely on pesticides. It is used in organic production of foodstuff, as well as in other situations in which the introduction of toxins is undesirable. Instead of the use of synthetic toxins, pest control is achieved by biological means. Some examples of Non-Pesticidal Management techniques include:

Introduction of natural predators. Use of naturally occurring insecticides, such as Neem tree products, Margosa, Tulsi / Basil Leaf, Citrus Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Onion, Garlic spray, Essential Oils. These also refer to as Organic Pesticides. Use of trap crops which attract the insects away from the fields. The trap crops are regularly checked and pests are manually removed. Pest larvae which were killed by viruses can be crushed and sprayed over fields, thus killing the remaining larvae. Field sanitation. Timely sowing. Nutrient management. Maintain proper plant population. Soil solarisation Deep summer ploughing. Over years insects have withstood natural calamities and survived successfully. They are able to develop resistance to chemical pesticides insecticides used by farmers. To be successful, farmers should be knowledgeable and able to identify various crop pests, and their natural enemies (farmer’s friendly insects). Farmers should recognize different stages of insects and their behavior. The efforts to minimize pests should aim at restoring the natural balance of insects in crop ecosystem but not elimination of the pest.

Principles of NPM

Encouraging natural process in environment Crop ecosystem should be diverse by growing inter crops, trap crops, border crops in place of mono cropping. Once the insecticide sprays stopped, natural enemies of crop pests gradually establish and exercise control of crop pests, which can be enhanced with botanical extracts like NSKE, chilli garlic extract, cattle dung urine decoction etc. Management skill Selecting crop based on soil, water resources, climate and local pest problems that occur regularly, crop rotation, adjustment of sowing dates to avoid endemic pests, setting up light and pheromone traps, keeping sticky traps and bird perches. Local resources Using locally available organic amendments for soil improvement and pest control. The extracts are prepared and used as prophylactic or curative measures aimed to restore the disturbed natural balance. Labor Shunning chemical inputs and out of shelf products farmer should invest his labor as main investment like regular monitoring of the crop and following methods like deep summer ploughing and shaking plants to dislodge pod borers in pigeonpea. Community approach Pest problem of a farmer not only depends on the crop and management practices of one farmer in isolation. To a large extent it depends on crops cultivated by neighboring farmers and measures taken by them. Hence, identification of activities that necessitate group action and implementing them would be most important aspect in NPM /sustainable agriculture.

References G.V. Ramanjaneyulu, Kavita Kuruganti, Zakir Hussain, and Venu Madhav. 2004. No Pesticides, No Pests. Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Secunderabad, India. No Bt cotton, no pests! : How cotton farmers are being fleeced

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Non-pesticide management

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Non-pesticide management claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Non-pesticide management before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Non-pesticide management ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Non-pesticide management

In research: Non-pesticide management appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Non-pesticide management in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Non-pesticide management is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Pesticides, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Non-pesticide management outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Non-pesticide management in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Non-pesticide management means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Non-pesticide management out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Non-pesticide management in simple terms?

Why does Non-pesticide management matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Non-pesticide management?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Non-pesticide management.