Fruit Growing
Home Orchards | Apple Cultivars | Apple Rootstocks | Pollination | Integrated Pest Management & Integrated Fruit Production | Orchard Pest Management Fact Sheets | Photo ID Sheets | Forms | Harvesting | Picker Contract | Farm Safety | On Farm Food Safety | Additional Reading Material| Best Management Practices for NS Apple Production
Orchardists in Nova Scotia follow a program known as IPM
or Integrated Pest Management. In this program,
insecticides
are used in the orchard only when it is known that it is necessary
to prevent crop loss. Most growers know the important insects
which attack
their fruit crops, and make a habit of checking for
those insects. Private and
company scouts are also employed
to do this service for growers.
In the IPM system, natural enemies
of pests are utilized to control them. However, if populations of these
beneficial insects are not sufficient to control the pest population, then a
control product must be applied. This is a responsible system which considers
both economics and the environment. It also helps to alleviate other problems
such as pesticide resistance and outbreaks of secondary pests.
IFP
- Integrated Fruit Production
A relatively new concept in the world of
fruit production is know as IFP or Integrated Fruit Production. At the heart of
this program is integrated pest management. However, IFP goes beyond that in
that it looks at the whole orchard system from the planting of trees through to
storage and packing of the harvested fruit.
In IFP, the whole fruit growing
system is considered. Cultural practices, environmental management, safety,
record keeping and education are all a part of integrated fruit production. As
a result of practicing IFP, the following goals can be achieved:
•
production of optimum yields of quality fruit
• achievement of a standard of
sustainable food production
• production of a safe, high quality food product
for consumers
The end result is an economic and environmentally sustainable food production system.
