Plant and Garden Reference Information

Pest and Disease Control

Pests and plant diseases are a natural part of gardening and range from herbivores, to insects, to parasites and weeds. For over 4500 years pest control has been used to keep crops and gardens healthy and productive. A pest or disease is anything that is considered detrimental to health, plants, or economics. For anyone growing commercial crops or getting the most out of their gardens individually pest and disease control is an essential part of the process. Pest and disease control can be broken down into a number of methods.

Standard Pest and Disease Control

Standard pest control relies on chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, plant growth regulators, and population control of herbivores. Pesticides include pyrethrum, derris, DDT, and herbicides among other chemicals.

Organic Pest and Disease Control

Organic pest control integrates crop rotation, companion planting, and biological pest control. The focus is to control pests and diseases with no use of chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or plant growth additives.

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management utilizes a number of methods to help reduce the overall use of pesticides and focuses on natural predators and parasites, biological insecticides, pest resistant plants, and other methods.