In IPM, what is the term for the pest population level at which control should be applied to prevent economic damage?

In IPM, what is the term for the pest population level at which control should be applied to prevent economic damage?

• A. Injury level
• B. Economic threshold
• C. Tolerance limit
• D. Action level

Answer: (B)

The main idea is to have a clear point at which you begin control actions before damage becomes costly. The term for the pest density at which you should start management to prevent economic losses is the economic threshold. It’s the trigger that says, “act now,” because at that level you expect that continuing to monitor and control will keep damage from reaching the economic injury level, where the cost of damage would equal the cost of control if you did nothing. The threshold is deliberately set below that tipping point to give time for the control to work and for pest populations to be reduced before economic losses occur. In practice, the threshold factors in crop value, market price, control costs and effectiveness, and the pest’s growth rate. Sometimes the same idea is referred to as an action threshold, but the precise term you’re looking for here is economic threshold. Injury level refers to the point of economic damage if no action is taken (the economic injury level), not the trigger to act.

The main idea is to have a clear point at which you begin control actions before damage becomes costly. The term for the pest density at which you should start management to prevent economic losses is the economic threshold. It’s the trigger that says, “act now,” because at that level you expect that continuing to monitor and control will keep damage from reaching the economic injury level, where the cost of damage would equal the cost of control if you did nothing. The threshold is deliberately set below that tipping point to give time for the control to work and for pest populations to be reduced before economic losses occur. In practice, the threshold factors in crop value, market price, control costs and effectiveness, and the pest’s growth rate.

Sometimes the same idea is referred to as an action threshold, but the precise term you’re looking for here is economic threshold. Injury level refers to the point of economic damage if no action is taken (the economic injury level), not the trigger to act.