The effectiveness of implementing IPM tactics in cauliflower directed against mustard aphid (L. erysimi), and two fungi,
damping-off fungus (P. debaryanum) and Alternaria leaf spot (A. brassicicola), was demonstrated in this two-year study. The study compared production of the crop by farmers implementing a diverse set of IPM tactics with production by farmers using a nonIPM approach, based on pesticides. IPM tactics used against the fungi included the cultural tactics of healthy seed and appropriate establishment of solarized soil with raised beds; use of neem cake and as-needed applications of fungicides; use of the beneficial fungus, T. harzianum as soil, seed and seedling dip; and one foliar
spray of mancozeb. Aphid management included a combination of a mustard trap crop and seed treatments of imidacloprid 70 WS, plus one foliar spray each with imidacloprid and azadirachtin later in the season.
The use of IPM tactics resulted in the incidence of P. debaryanum and A. brassicicola in the IPM plots being less than half the levels seen in the non-IPM plots. Likewise, there were significantly fewer aphids (L. erysimi) found on the crop plant in the IPM plots than the non-IPM plots. Presence of mustard as a trap crop attracted the aphids, which were then treated on the trap crop. The result was fewer aphids on the cauliflower plants in the IPM treatment, the outcome of which were 50% fewer insecticide treatments and 63.8% less (a.i./ha) insecticide used, as well as replacement of toxic insecticides
with less-toxic biopesticides and lower-risk pesticides. Implementation of IPM reduced production costs by an average
of 83 USD/ha, due to lower costs of plant protection. Pest management as a percentage of the total cost of production was less in IPM plots (17.2%) than in non-IPM plots (27.6%). Net returns were greater for farmers using IPM than for farmers using the non-IPM approach. On average, farmers adopting IPM had a net return that was 24.5% more than the net returns for those farmers not using IPM. The lower costs demonstrated to farmers the economic advantage of using IPM, which contrasted with the preconceived idea, held by farmers that IPM tactics would be too expensive to implement. In addition, the variability of returns was much less in the IPM treatments, meaning reduced risk of adopting IPM. Benefit:
cost ratios over the two years averaged 3.6:1 for the growers using IPM, versus 2.9:1 for the non-IPM fields. Regardless of yields or crop prices, growers benefited by using IPM techniques; thus, our recommendation that cauliflower growers should replace the existing pesticide-based plant protection practices via adopting IPM practices.