Integrated Pest Management: A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Agriculture and Ecosystem Health

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a sustainable approach of pest control that integrates several effective control strategies, such as cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, regulatory and chemical strategies for pest management. The ecological and socioeconomic effects of the injudicious use of agrochemicals underscore the importance of threshold-based interventions and prevention over the regular use of agrochemicals. This review summarises the historical development and fundamental concepts of IPM, which integrates ecological theory, pest population dynamics, and socioeconomic decision-making criteria. Integrated pest management tactics integrate the use of biological control agents, host plant resistance, precision-based chemical and some recent technologies such as artificial intelligence-driven decision tools, disease forecasting models, digital surveillance and climate-smart pest management. IPM promotes sustainable approaches by lowering the dependence on pesticides, helps in preserving biodiversity and boosts the resilience of the agroecosystem. For the effective adoption of IPM, technological integration and interdisciplinary collaboration and farmer-centred approaches need to be incorporated.