Approach of an Extension Organization for the Establishment and Dissemination of an IPM Program Using Natural Enemies in Japanese Agriculture

Since 2006, we have worked on the establishment and dissemination of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM)program in cooperation with agricultural extension officers, related research organizations, and IPM product companies in Japan. Today, 12 years have passed, and the use of IPM with biological control agents(BCA)has spread to many agricultural production sites. Dissemination and extension activities of IPM were promoted not only in the greenhouse cultivation of tomatoes, strawberries, sweet peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, melons, watermelons, ornamentals, and citruses, but also spreading to eggplants in the open field from 2015. As a result, in strawberries, sweet peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and citruses grown in greenhouse, IPMs, which are mainly used by natural enemies as the main BCA, are considered to have increased dramatically due to the following three major contributions. 1)For a stable and successful IPM program, it was important to let the natural enemy density grow before increasing pest insects by using generalist predatory mites, such as Neoseiulus californicus and Amblyseius swirskii. 2)Demonstration tests were conducted in which extension officers planned, verified, and evaluated with the growers, which led to an improvement in their knowledge and skills. 3)As we conducted multifaceted demonstration tests in Japan, the sharing of information on the techniques of using IPM programs has progressed in a short period of time. However, for tomatoes, ornamentals, melons, and watermelons, a lack of solution tools against disease control and the cost performance of control programs have been issues, and the use of IPM programs is becoming less popular. In order to establish IPM techniques, we think it is important to conduct dissemination activities for showing the benefits of IPM leading to problem-solving for each region and grower, and for growers to recognize the merit of selecting IPM.