Resistance management and IPM

Definition

The strategic integration of pesticide resistance management into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, combining multiple control tactics—biological, cultural, mechanical, and chemical—to delay or prevent the evolution of resistance in pest populations while maintaining effective, sustainable control. This approach treats resistance as a population-genetics problem managed through dose optimization, refuge strategies, rotation of modes of action, and preservation of susceptible genotypes through non-chemical control measures.

Etymology

Example

In Bt cotton IPM programs, farmers plant non-Bt refuge areas to maintain susceptible pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) genotypes, combining this with biological control and limited use of non-pyrethroid insecticides to manage resistance across multiple selection pressures.

Synonyms

• IRM-IPM integration
• resistance-aware pest management

Related Terms

• Integrated Pest Management
• pesticide resistance
• refuge strategy
• mode of action rotation
• dose optimization
• population genetics
• selection pressure
• susceptibility monitoring
• Bt crops
• evolutionary toxicology

Usage Notes

The conjunction 'and' signals that resistance management is not merely an add-on to IPM but a co-equal framework requiring simultaneous optimization. Specialists distinguish this from 'resistance management' alone (often chemical-focused) and from IPM without explicit resistance considerations. The term implies active monitoring of resistance allele frequencies and adaptive management responses. In practice, tension exists between short-term economic thresholds and long-term resistance preservation; this term emphasizes resolving that tension through diversified tactics rather than maximal pesticide efficacy alone.