Pest Management
Organic farmers manage pests through a variety of means. Preventative strategies including sanitation, rotation, and variety selection are made well in advance to carefully avoid expected pests. In addition to avoiding pests, producers employ tactics to exaggerate naturally occurring control mechanisms, such as attracting beneficial insects. Although a number of natural pesticides are available for organic crops, producers are obligated to use all possible cultural and biological means of pest management first, before applying any pesticides.
Successful producers use many complimentary control strategies at once to provide strength and flexibility in their pest management plan.
For more information about pest management in organic crop production, please see the resources listed here or contact your local UF-IFAS County Extension office.
UF/IFAS Publications
- Management Overviews
- Farmers' Opinions about Bird Conservation and Pest Management on Organic and Conventional North Florida Farms
- Natural Enemies and Biological Control
- Insects and Mites
- Beneficial Insects and Mites
- Beneficial Insects Sheet 1
- Beneficial Insects Sheet 2
- Beneficial Insects Sheet 3
- Beneficial Insects Sheet 4
- Biology and Management of Aphids in Sustainable Field Production of Cucurbits
- Biology and Management of Whiteflies in Sustainable Field Production of Cucurbits
- Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) for Nematode Management
- Nematodes
- Nematode Management in Organic Agriculture
- Management of Nematodes and Soil Fertility with Sunn Hemp Cover Crop
- Management of Nematodes with Cowpea Cover Crops
- Nematode Management for Perennial Landscape Plants
- Nematode Management in Organic Agriculture
- Nematode Management Using Sorghum and Its Relatives
- Soil Organic Matter, Green Manures and Cover Crops For Nematode Management
- Diseases
- Diseases in Florida Vegetable Garden Beans
- Organic Management of Vegetable Diseases Part I: Soilborne Pathogens
- Organic Management of Vegetable Diseases Part II: Foliar Pathogens
- Weeds
- Geese for Water Hyacinth Control
- Weeds in Florida
- Inputs
- How are Organic Farming Inputs Evaluated?
- Diagnostic Resources
- The Florida Plant Diagnostic Network
- UF/IFAS Plant Disease Clinic Network
- Relevant Topics
- 50 Common Native Plants Important in Florida's Ethnobotanical History
- Coping with Deer Damage in Florida
- IPM Florida
- UF/IFAS Featured Creatures Website
Publications from Other Universities and Federal Agencies
- Management Overviews
- EPA: Inert Ingredients in Pesticide Products
- Insect Pest Management for Organic Crops, University of California
- Manage Insects on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological Strategies - SARE
- North Carolina Cooperative Extension Small Farms Guide to Organic Pest Management
- Plant Disease Management for Organic Crops, University of California
- Steel in the Field: A Farmer's Guide to Weed Management Tools -SARE
- USDA NRCS Florida State-Listed Noxious Weeds
- Weed Management for Organic Crops, University of California
- Databases and Resource Guides
- ATTRA's Publications on Organic Pest Control
- Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management - Cornell University
- Return to Organic Production
