General principles for integrated Mana­ge­ment of pests

Author(s): БАБХ, Българска агенция по безопасност на храните
Date: 24.01.2014      3505

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Principles of Integrated Pest Management in Agricultural Crops

According to Art. 14 of Directive 2009/128/EC and Art. 55 of EC Regulation No 1107/2009, compliance with the general principles for integrated pest management in agricultural crops becomes a mandatory requirement from 2014


MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

BULGARIAN FOOD SAFETY AGENCY



GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR INTEGRATED

PEST MANAGEMENT


  1. Protection of agricultural crops from pests through:

● crop rotation

● implementation of appropriate agrotechnical measures

● use of suitable resistant/tolerant plant varieties and standard/certified seeds and planting material

● application of balanced fertilization, liming, practices for irrigation and drainage

● prevention of the spread of harmful organisms by applying sanitary measures - regular cleaning of machines, equipment, etc.

● preservation and maintenance of beneficial organisms in and outside cultivated areas


  1. Monitoring of pests with appropriate methods and means:

● scientifically sound systems for warning, forecasting and early diagnosis

● use of professional consultations


  1. Application of plant protection measures based on:

● monitoring results

● established economic damage thresholds

● specific areas, crops and climatic conditions


  1. Priority to sustainable biological, physical, and other non-chemical methods over chemical ones, when they provide a satisfactory level of pest control.

  1. Application of target-specific pesticides with minimal side effects on human health, beneficial organisms, and the environment.

  1. Limiting the use of pesticides and other forms of intervention to the necessary extent.

  1. Prevention of resistance to applied pesticides:

● rotation of pesticides with different mechanisms of action

● application of other available strategies against the development of resistance

  1. Verification of the results of applied plant protection measures based on data for:

● used pesticides

● pest monitoring


SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

are applied on a voluntary basis by farmers


For Bulgaria, the specific guidelines for integrated pest management for certain crops or sectors are defined in the developed Handbooks for Integrated Pest Management.

The handbooks include the general principles for integrated pest management and define the specific principles for integrated pest management for each crop.

Handbooks for 47 types of agricultural crops have been developed and printed

(7 crop groups). They are published on the website of the Bulgarian Agency

for Food Safety in the section "Good practices and guidelines"

INTEGRATED PRODUCTION OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS REPRESENTS THE APPLICATION OF THE SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN THE PROTECTION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS

GOAL

Reducing the impact of the use of plant protection products on human health, animal health, and the environment.

SCOPE

● priority application of biological, physical, and non-chemical methods, means, and plant protection products with low risk to human health, animal health, and the environment

● replacement of plant protection products with natural regulation mechanisms for economically important pests in agricultural crops

Integrated production of plants and plant products can be carried out by farmers:

● registered for integrated production in the Regional Food Safety Directorates

● who have provided a person who has completed a course for integrated plant production

and plant products or has a higher education in the field of agricultural sciences

● use consulting services of persons registered in the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency's register

● who have approved an integrated production plan according to the requirements

The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency creates and maintains public registers of:

● Persons who are registered and can provide consulting services for integrated pest management

● Persons who are registered and can carry out integrated production of plants and plant products


A label with a sign containing the words "INTEGRATED PRODUCTION"

may be carried only by a product produced in compliance with the principles of integrated production


EXPECTED RESULTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

● Reducing the risks and impact of pesticide use on human health and the environment, by achieving a balance between ecological and economic

needs in the use of plant protection products

● Production and marketing of safe and high-quality plant products

● Limiting the use of plant protection products to the necessary minimum

and the application of alternative approaches or methods for plant protection

● Increasing and maintaining the interest of farmers in integrated production of plants and plant products and transitioning to organic farming

● Preventing the emergence of pest resistance to plant protection products

● Reducing farmers' costs for plant protection products

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