Pineapple integrated pest management in Hawaii

Environmental and food safety concerns have focused attention on integrated pest management (IPM). The concept of IPM is to employ several techniques simultaneously to solve specific pest and disease problems for the long term rather than the short term. Success relies on an in depth understanding of the pineapple production system and the ecology and biology of each pest or disease and associated organisms (e.g., vectors, natural enemies, etc.). In order to evaluate the importance of the pest or disease against yield or quality, efficient techniques are needed to monitor changes in populations of pests and levels of diseases or pathogen populations. An IPM verification program for pineapple in Hawaii has been established which was modeled on the U.S. National IPM protocol for potatoes. Multidisciplinary teams including members from industry, research and extension identified key pests and diseases and recommended IPM practices. IPM protocols were developed based on establishing the best management approaches. Verification of producer practices was done by farm visits and the review of records in order to assign points in relation to each IPM protocol. High scores allowed producers to use IPM as a marketing tool and to better educate consumers as to the value of products grown under IPM principles. Current and potential monitoring techniques are described along with management strategies.