Qualities of a Healthy Soil
A healthy soil:
- Accommodates active and diverse populations of beneficial organisms, with plant pest populations minimized by beneficials
- Contains high levels of relatively fresh residues that provide beneficials with food
- Includes high levels of decomposed organic matter, which help it retain both water and readily leachable nutrients
- Contains low levels of such toxic compounds as soluble aluminum and only low to moderate concentrations of salt
- Supports adequate levels of nutrients because excessive nutrients can make the crop more attractive to insect pests or can increase the threat of surface or subsurface water pollution
- Has a sufficiently porous surface, with many pores connected to subsoil to permit easy entry by rainfall or irrigation water
- Has good tilth that allows plant roots to easily penetrate large volumes of soil
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- How Ecologically Based Pest Management Works
- Principles of Ecologically Based Pest Management
- Managing Aboveground Habitat
- Strategies to Enhance Beneficials
- Innovative Tart Cherry Orchard Systems
- Farm Feature: No-Till Cover Crops Yield Soil and Pest Benefits
- Farm Feature: A Toast to Ecological Grape Production
- Sidebar: Reduce Mowing Frequency to Attract Beneficials
- Beetle Banks Boost Beneficials
- Surrounding Crops With Perimeter Fools Pests
- Table 1: Flowering Plants That Attract Natural Enemies
- Farm Feature: Resistant Fruit Varieties Reduce Risk
- Identification Key to Major Beneficials and Pests
- Managing Soils to Minimize Crop Pests
- Healthy Soils Produce Healthy Crops
- Qualities of a Healthy Soil
- Managing Pests With Healthy Soils
- Farm Feature: Triple Threat to Pests: Cover Crops, No-Till, Rotation
- Impacts of Fertilizers on Insect Pests
- Table 2. Pest Populations Increase With Excess Nitrogen Fertility
- Implications for Fertilizer Practices
- Beneficial Agents on the Farm
- Predators
- Table 3: Common Predators
- Principal Insect Predators
- Cover Crops Lure Beneficial Insects, Improve Bottom Line in Cotton
- Parasitoids
- Table 4: Common Parasitoids
- Principal Parasitoids
- Table 5: Major Groups of Dipteran (Fly) Parasitoids
- Cropping Systems Shape Parasitoid Diversity
- Principal Insect Pathogens
- Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)
- Putting it All Together
- Designing a Habitat Management Strategy
- Fine-Tuning Farm Management to Enhance Specific Beneficials
- Enhancing Biota and Improving Soil Health
- Strategies for Enhancing Plant Diversity
- Rolling Out Your Strategy
- Key Elements of Ecological Pest Management
- Farm Feature: Rotation, Rotation, Rotation: Alfalfa, Cover Crops Break Pest Cycles
- Universal Principles, Farm-Specific Strategies
- Guidelines for Designing Healthy and Pest-Resilient Farming Systems
- Recent Advances in Ecological Pest Management
- Resources: General Information