Implementation of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the asparagus crop in the Chavimochic Irrigation Project – Peru

Asparagus cultivation was developed in the Chavimochic Irrigation Project - La Libertad, located in a desert area with a drip irrigation system. Thanks to the climate, both white and green asparagus of the UC 157 F1 variety are produced there over two seasons. The Chavimochic Farmers, Agro-exporters, and Landowners Association (APTCH) implemented an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program and created a Plant Health Committee in 2000 to control Bemisia tabaci. Since then, the Health Committee has brought farmers together to address the control of Prodiplosis longifila, Spodoptera frugiperda, Elasmopalpus lignosellus, Stemphylium vesicarium, and the Meloidogyne incognita-Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. asparagi complex, organizing research, site visits, and analyses of field problems. The study encompasses the development and implementation of Integrated Pest Management components over two decades, including weed identification and its relationship to pests, the establishment of biological corridors, pest assessment, and the establishment of the Relative Action Threshold. Twenty-six IPM components were implemented, focused on the prevention, control, and monitoring of pests, diseases, and weeds. These components addressed the management of adults, larvae, eggs, conidia, and nematodes, either across different growing seasons or at specific phenological stages. Control methods included cultural, mechanical, physical, behavioral, biological, chemical, and non-chemical approaches.