Trap Cropping in Vegetable Production: An IPM Approach to Managing Pests

Trap cropping is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technique that uses plants attractive to insect pests to lure them away from the cash crop. Trap cropping, while not a silver bullet solution to all pest problems, can be an effective IPM tool against insect pests when farmers take the time to research and implement the required steps.

This bulletin showcases Southern SARE-funded research studies that have explored trap cropping and its effectiveness in controlling a variety of pests in some of the more popular vegetable crops grown in the Southern region.