Answer :
Final answer:
The threshold in pest management is the level at which pest populations or their damage become intolerable, prompting the need for control measures. Economic thresholds vary based on the crop and pest, with integrated pest management (IPM) favoring nonchemical methods first. Thresholds may not apply to some pests where preventive or immediate control is necessary.
Explanation:
When the pest reaches the threshold, pest management procedures need to be applied to prevent the pest from causing economically damaging populations. A pest threshold refers to a certain point at which the population size or the damage caused by the pest becomes intolerable, necessitating action. In the realm of integrated pest management (IPM), it is important to monitor pest populations and evaluate the damage they cause to determine if a pest's presence or activities surpass this critical threshold. While a single pest or low levels may not warrant concern, action is required when the damages or population exceed the established tolerable limit.
In agriculture, for instance, certain economic thresholds have been set that draw from monitoring data and are often crop-specific. For example, when dealing with codling moths in fruit trees, if trapping data shows more than five moths per trap per week, this indicates that the threshold has been exceeded and control strategies should be applied. While chemical controls can be fast and effective, IPM emphasizes considering nonchemical methods first. Other factors influencing threshold levels include potential economic, aesthetic, and health damages, as well as costs and efforts required for control measures.
Thresholds are less applicable or harder to determine for some pests, such as plant diseases, disease vectors like mosquitoes, or newly invasive species. In these cases, preventive or immediate control upon detection is often practiced. The fundamental concept of IPM is to keep pests at a level that is economically and ecologically tolerable rather than aiming for complete eradication, which may be unrealistic or cost-prohibitive.
