Integrated Pest Management is a practical, eco friendly approach that reduces crop loss while protecting soil, water, and biodiversity. This article explains the Top 10 Integrated Pest Management Practices in India with clear steps farmers can apply across regions and crops. You will learn how to prevent outbreaks, monitor pest pressure, and choose the safest control at the right time. Each practice connects low cost techniques with proven science to improve yield and quality. Written in simple language, it supports beginners and advanced learners. Use these insights to plan, act, and measure results during the season for sustainable gains.
#1 Resistant seeds and healthy planting material
Start with prevention by selecting pest resistant or tolerant varieties released by agricultural universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Choose certified, disease free seed or seedlings from trusted sources and treat seed with approved bio inoculants like Trichoderma and Pseudomonas to suppress soil borne pathogens. Prefer timely sowing that matches local advisories, because avoiding peak pest flights lowers pressure. Maintain recommended spacing and balanced nutrition, especially nitrogen management, to avoid lush growth that attracts sap feeders. Healthy starts reduce pesticide need later, save costs, and stabilise yields across seasons and weather swings. Consult local Krishi Vigyan Kendra lists before purchase.
#2 Field sanitation and cultural hygiene
Lower pest carryover by removing volunteer plants, ratoons, and alternate hosts along bunds, canals, and field edges. Uproot and destroy infested residues after harvest, compost safely, and solarise nursery beds to reduce eggs, pupae, and spores. Irrigate and drain properly so that waterlogging or drought stress does not predispose crops to borers, wilts, and sucking pests. Use clean tools and footbaths between plots to avoid spreading bacterial blights and viral vectors. Adopt border crops and trap crops thoughtfully, and synchronise sowing with neighbours to disrupt pest life cycles and even out pressure. Manage off season weeds with mulching or timely stale seedbed tillage.
#3 Crop rotation and diversification
Rotate with non host or poor host crops to break pest and disease cycles, especially for stem borers, root knot nematodes, and cereal rusts. Incorporate legumes like cowpea or chickpea to enhance soil biology and nitrogen, which improves plant vigor and tolerance. Intercrop with marigold against nematodes, or with coriander and mustard to distract aphids and diamondback moth. Plan rotations over two to three years, mapping kharif, rabi, and summer windows to avoid repeating the same family. Diversified systems spread risk, support natural enemies, and buffer market swings while keeping pesticide reliance low. Local experiences from farmer groups can refine workable sequences for each block.
#4 Habitat management and ecological engineering
Design fields to welcome natural enemies that hunt pests. Create flowering strips using buckwheat, sesame, sunhemp, dill, and native wildflowers to provide nectar and shelter for parasitoids and predators like ladybird beetles, lacewings, hoverflies, and spiders. Retain hedgerows and small water bodies to stabilise microclimate and alternative prey. Reduce broad spectrum sprays that harm beneficials and select selective options if control is needed. Use straw mulches and live mulches to moderate temperature and humidity, making fields less suitable for thrips and mites. Together, these choices build resilient farm ecology that keeps pests below damaging levels.
#5 Monitoring, thresholds, and early warning
Scout fields weekly using a fixed pattern and record numbers of eggs, nymphs, larvae, and damaged leaves per plant. Install yellow and blue sticky cards for aphids, whiteflies, and thrips, and place pheromone traps for bollworm, fall armyworm, and fruit fly. Compare observations with university threshold charts to decide the right moment for action rather than calendar spraying. Consult district agromet advisories to anticipate weather that triggers outbreaks and move interventions earlier. Good monitoring prevents surprises, reduces unnecessary sprays, and improves timing so that each control delivers strong, measurable impact on yield and quality. Train a family member to assist with independent counts for accuracy.
#6 Mechanical and physical controls
Use hand picking, rogueing, and destruction of egg masses, webbed leaves, and infested shoots during early stages when populations are patchy. Set up light traps and pheromone lure bucket traps at recommended densities to mass capture moths and guide timing for other controls. Apply fine mesh netting in nurseries, use reflective mulches against aphids, and install bird perches to invite mynas that feed on caterpillars. Deploy water jets to dislodge mites and thrips on small plots. These low cost methods are labour intensive but create immediate relief, slow spread, and buy time for biological and botanical measures to work.
#7 Biological control with predators and parasitoids
Amplify nature by conserving and releasing beneficial organisms that target key pests. Release Trichogramma cards against borers, and Bracon or Chelonus parasitoids where available. Encourage coccinellids, chrysopids, and syrphids through floral resources and reduced insecticide toxicity. Apply entomopathogenic fungi like Beauveria and Metarhizium against sucking pests and caterpillars under humid conditions, and use Bacillus thuringiensis for young larvae. Source agents from credible producers, transport cool, and apply in evening for better survival. Biological control works best within a diversified system and can deliver durable suppression with minimal residue and strong consumer trust. Repeat releases at short intervals when trap catches indicate rising pressure.
#8 Botanicals and biorational products
Prioritise low risk inputs like neem based formulations containing azadirachtin for sucking pests and early stage caterpillars. Use plant extracts such as karanj, garlic chilli mixtures, and commercial biorational oils or soaps that disrupt feeding and egg laying. Integrate nucleopolyhedrovirus for Helicoverpa and Spodoptera, applied in the late afternoon with jaggery and a sticker to enhance ingestion. Rotate modes of action and maintain correct spray volume, nozzle, and coverage to reach the underside of leaves. These options protect beneficial insects, lower residues, and fit organic certification while delivering practical control when used preventively. Always verify product labels and state registration before procurement and use.
#9 Judicious chemical control as a last choice
When economic threshold is crossed and softer options cannot hold pests, select the least hazardous insecticide that targets the pest stage precisely. Follow resistance management by rotating different IRAC groups, avoid tank mixes without guidance, and keep dose within label. Use spot sprays rather than blanket coverage when infestations are localised. Observe pre harvest intervals, protect pollinators by spraying at dusk, and avoid flowering crops whenever possible. Wear protection, calibrate sprayers, and triple rinse containers for safe disposal. Thoughtful chemical use restores balance quickly while preserving long term tool effectiveness for the farm and community.
#10 Records, learning, and decision tools
Keep simple field notebooks that capture sowing dates, weather, trap catches, scouting counts, interventions, and yield. Use the data to compare seasons, refine thresholds, and choose what to scale next year. Join local farmer producer organisations and WhatsApp groups moderated by extension officers for timely pest alerts and solutions validated by trials. Explore mobile apps and decision support tools that combine satellite data, degree days, and forecasts to schedule actions precisely. Continuous learning builds confidence, reduces waste, and strengthens returns from every acre while protecting soil and biodiversity for future generations. Invite school or college interns to assist with mapping and analytics.