The main focus of organic farming is to reduce the negative impact on the environment. For this organic farming should implement natural and eco-friendly pest control methods. But do you know how pest control is done in organic farming?
Organic farmers use a variety of eco-friendly strategies, to manage pests. Instead of relying on synthetic pesticides, they basically use cultural, mechanical, and biological pest control methods.
In this article, we will explain all the popular strategies, methods, and practices used in organic farming for pest control. Let’s explore them below!
Basic Steps of Pest Control in Organic Farming
Pest control in organic farming is done by following the Integrated Pest Management. In this way, pest control in organic farming is basically done in six steps –
Step 1: Gather knowledge about plant life cycle and biology.
Step 2: Monitor and locate the damage.
Step 3: Identify responsible pests and gather samples for the pest population.
Step 4: Calculate the extent of damage.
Step 5: Choose the appropriate pest management technique.
Step 6: Evaluate results.
Methods of Pest Control Used in Organic Farming
Unlike conventional farming, synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides are not permitted for organic farming. Organic farmers are only allowed to choose less toxic pesticides and natural pest control methods.
There are four tactical categories of pest control methods for organic farming –
- Cultural
- Mechanical & Physical
- Biological
- Chemical
These pest control methods can be both preventative and reactive. Let’s explore all these methods below.
1. Cultural Pest Control
There are some traditional cultural practices that are done to protect crops from pests. There are several cultural methods available for organic pest control and the two most popular methods are Crop Rotation and Intercropping.
Crop Rotation
In this method, alternative species of crops are cultivated each year. It potentially prevents pests from getting used to any single type of plant. While it decreases the attack of pests, it also increases the fertility of the soil.
Intercropping
Intercropping refers to the cultivation of two or more different species of crops simultaneously. In this method, the crops are planted alternatively at the same time. For this, the distance between the same species of crops isn’t the same and as a result, it prevents attracting pests away from their target host plant.
2. Mechanical or Physical Pest Control
Mechanical or physical pest control is one of the simplest methods of pest control. In this method, organic farmers use cutting, mulching, tillage, and mowing techniques and also use organic soil coverage and barriers to prevent pests from attacking.
Many simple tools and techniques are used in this method. It includes –
- Hand-packing insects
- Hand-pulling weeds.
- Row covers.
- Protective nets.
- Insect vacuums.
- Water spray.
- Sticky traps.
- Light traps, etc.
3. Biological Pest Control
In the biological pest control method, microorganisms are sent to the farm to reduce pests. There are 3 ways to control pests in this biological method –
- Release Predators
In this way, the natural enemies of pests are released on the farm. They eat only pests without harming the plants.
- Conserve Predators
If the natural enemies of pests already exist on the farm, then take the necessary steps for the conservation.
- Boosting
Boosting refers to the increase of the population of beneficial microorganisms that are the enemies of pests.
- Bio-Pesticides
There is another method of biological pest control which is using bio-pesticides. It includes neem oil that can be sprayed on crops to protect them from pests. These bio-pesticides basically do not have any bad impact on the environment.
4. Chemical Pest Control
In some cases, less toxic and naturally occurring substances like pyrethrin and rotenone are used to prevent pests in organic farms. Although organic farmers do not use synthetic chemicals, some synthetic substances are allowed in organic farming.
Here are all the chemicals that are used in organic farming and their purposes:
| Name of product | Purpose and specifications of use |
| Azadirachtin from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) | |
| Beeswax | Prevent bacteria or fungus from attacking the cuts and wounds after pruning. |
| Plant oils | Prevents thrips, aphids, and whiteflies |
| Laminarin or brown algae seaweed | Protect plants against fungi and bacteria. |
| Pheromones | Used only in traps and dispensers |
| Pyrethrins | Used as insecticide |
| Pyrethroids (only deltamethrin or lambda cyhalothrin) | Used only in traps with attractants or pheromones |
| Quassia | Used as insecticide and repellent |
| Microorganisms, e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis, Beauveria bassiana, and Metarhizium anisopliae | Origin should not be GMOs |
| Spinosad from the soil bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa | Used as insecticide |
| Ethylene | Used against fruit flies |
| Paraffin oil | Used as insecticide against small-bodied insects |
| Fatty acids (soft soaps) | Insecticide against mite, thrips, and aphids |
| Lime sulfur (mixture of calcium hydroxide and sulfur) | Used as fungicide |
| Kieselgur or chrysophytes | Used as a mechanical insecticide |
| Aluminium silicate (kaolin) | Used as insect repellent against a wide range of insects at a rate of 50 kg/ha |
| Calcium hydroxide | Used as fungicide |
| Sodium hypochlorite | Used in seed treatment as viricide and bactericide |
| Sulfur | Used as broad-spectrum inorganic contact fungicide and acaricide |
| Copper compounds such as copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride, copper oxide, tribasic copper sulfate, and Bordeaux mixture (copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide) | Used as fungicide and bactericide maximum of 6 kg copper per ha annually |
| Sheep fat with water | A repellent by smell against vertebrate pests such as deer and other game animals. |
| Quartz sand | Used as repellent against vertebrate pests |
Conclusion
The primary concern of organic farming is producing organic food without having a bad impact on nature. As synthetic pesticides are toxic, organic farmers prefer environment-friendly solutions to fight pests. For this, some organic pest control methods are used in organic farming. Hopefully, now you have understood how pest control is done in organic farming after reading this article. If you still have anything to ask regarding this topic, feel free to tell us in our comment section below. Happy Farming…!!
