IPM Apples - Gala

The basic idea of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is to exhaust all pest prevention techniques before using pesticide. It is extremely difficult to grow organic tree fruit on the US east coast, which is why you see the majority of OG apples and other tree fruit coming from Washington and other west coast states. On the east coast, the pests can get so bad that farmers will lose their whole crop if they do not spray. But rather than just constant spraying, IPM farmers develop a specific plan for what steps to take if a pest inhabit their farm. They take exhaustive steps to try to mitigate damage before finally being forced to do limited spraying. See below are a few illustrations: