The Wenatchee Valley Pear IPM Project, 1999-2001: Lessons from Soft Pest Management Programs
Author: Ted Alway
Published: 2001
Summary: The Wenatchee Valley Pear IPM Project (WVPP) was created to investigate whether more cost-effective pear pest management programs could be implemented by increased use of biological control. Several factors encouraged the development of this project at that time. Pest control costs were rising steeply, and Wenatchee Valley growers were spending more than most of their western North American counterparts. Pest populations and damage were as serious as ever. Regulations were limiting or eliminating the use of many pesticides. At the same time, several new pesticides and pest control methods were becoming available but were almost untested in the area. Biological control was an important, and cost-saving, part of pest management programs in other western pear districts but was little used in the more pesticide-intensive programs of the Wenatchee Valley.
