Agriculture Topic
Pest Control Methods
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Study focus - 3 things
- Pest control methods include chemical, mechanical, biological, and cultural control
- Each method has advantages and disadvantages
- Good control protects crops while reducing harm to people, helpful organisms, and the environment
Section 1Chemical control
Chemical control uses pesticides to kill or reduce pests. It can work quickly, but it may be expensive, dangerous if misused, and harmful to beneficial insects or water sources. Watch out: always follow label instructions and safety rules.
Section 2Mechanical control
Mechanical control uses physical action or tools to remove or block pests. Examples include handpicking caterpillars, using traps, netting crops, or removing infected plant parts. It is often safer, but it can take more time and labour.
Section 3Biological control
Biological control uses natural enemies of pests, such as predators, parasites, or diseases. Ladybirds eating aphids is a simple example. Here's the trick: biological control can reduce chemical use, but it must be managed carefully.
Section 4Cultural control
Cultural control changes farm practices to make pests less successful. Examples include crop rotation, clean cultivation, correct spacing, proper planting time, resistant varieties, and mulching. In plain words, it prevents problems by farming smart.
Examples
A farmer handpicks beetles from young plants each morning. Which pest control method is this?
This is mechanical control because the farmer is physically removing the pest.
A farmer near the Rio Cobre wants to avoid pesticide runoff into water. Which two methods could reduce chemical use?
The farmer could use biological control, such as encouraging natural enemies, and cultural control, such as crop rotation or mulching.
Now let's water it
Session runs notes to flashcards to quiz back-to-back.