Integrated pest management

An approach to crop pest control combining various physical, chemical, and biological control tactics together to greatly reduce dependence on chemical pesticides, thus cutting harmful residues in crops and in environmental pollution. Tactics actually employed in practice include classical biological control, conventional breeding or genetic engineering for improved crop resistance, agricultural practices that lessen pest damage (such as mixed cropping and careful timing of planting), plus selective insecticide use only when careful monitoring shows pests have crossed economic thresholds. Residue testing then verifies that the reduced pesticide load translates into safer harvested food.