Stored-Product IPM: from theory to practice – Ερευνητική ομάδα Καθηγητή ΧΡΗΣΤΟΥ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ

Integrated pest management (IPM) is being more widely used for managing stored product insects and in some cases may be easier for stored products than for crops or orchards. However, the development of a new method, improving existing methods and basic research on insect pests and their natural enemies that facilitate better eﬃcacy and pest management decisions have dominated research on managing stored product insect pests. Recent editorial review criticized IPM for focusing on the discovery of new pest management methods without much regard for making decisions about how to use them. Insect pest management can be also improved by making better decisions about when and where pest management is needed or which control method to use. Many industry practices can inﬂuence the eﬃcacy of pest management program for raw and processed commodities and must be considered when designing a pest management program. Encouraging end-users to use a new method or to use existing methods better also improves pest management. A recent paper on aerosols is an example of a paper with improvements that can be immediately adopted by the aerosol applicators.