Course content:
Introduction to integrated pest management. Concepts and terminology. Pests and diseases economic importance. Risk assessment. Pests and diseases monitoring and sampling. Harmfulness factors. Economic thresholds and decision-making process. Pest and diseases control measures. Crop strategies: Key pests and diseases. Harmfulness factors evaluation. Economic thresholds and decision- making rules. Crop protection strategies. Control measures selection.
Learning outcomes:
- Know the concepts, principles underlying integrated pest management and its components
- Know the available control measures, its advantages and limitations
- Perform the risk assessment steps in a well-founded manner and apply the appropriate methodologies and techniques
- Develop skills that allow the establishment of the most appropriate strategies to protect crops in sustainable production systems
Objectives:
- To provide students with knowledge that enables them to understand the concepts, principles and components underlying the integrated pest management as well as their practical application under sustainable farming systems.
- To develop skills necessary to perform the pest risk assessment and to apply the appropriate methodologies and techniques.
- To know the available control measures, its advantages and limitations and to be able to define pest management strategies in organic farming based on the population ecology theories.
- To develop skills that allow them to establish the most appropriate crop protection strategies in organic and integrated production farms.
