Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to pest control that combines
cultural, chemical, and biological control methods to keep pest populations
below economically damaging levels. Scouting is the foundation for an IPM program.
Complete this form once a year for all fields with this crop.
If selecting a pesticide for a pest management tool, be sure to read and
follow the pesticide label. Read the “Environmental Hazards” section for
specific concerns or restrictions.
The activities are organized by CROP STAGE. The checklist can be used to
plan the practices you use or would like to try. When you have completed an
activity, use the checklist to track the date completed.
Select the items to include in your plan, enter a date when completed.
"Save" when done.
Crop rotation for mint
Rotate mint with other crops. Before planting mint, make sure the field has not been planted to mint for at least three years, to help manage soil organisms such as weeds, diseases and nematodes.
A typical crop rotation is about 10 years including 3 to 4 years of mint followed by 4 to 6 years of rotation including beans, corn, onions, sugar beets, grains, and other crops. Mint offers more and different management opportunities for broadleaf weeds such as kochia (Kochia scoparia) which are difficult to control. Grains offer advantages in disease management and control of wind erosion. Verticillium wilt is an example of disease that is better managed with grains in the rotation. Corn (maize), potatoes, peas and onions in the rotation help control Verticillium wilt.
Plant a species to attract mint stem borers
A nearby planting of species attractive to mint stem borers, such as goldenrod or rabbitbrush can cause the insects to move and congregate and allow cultural or other controls to reduce the population.
Following harvest, mint stem borer adults become very active and begin searching for energy-rich resources, such as goldenrod and rabbitbrush. They move out of the mint field and feed on the pollen from these and other high pollen producing plants which bloom in late summer, building up energy reserves for overwintering. When pollen stores decline, mint stem borers move back into the mint field where they overwinter in ground debris. This behavior presents the opportunity for developing a trap crop strategy for attracting and controlling mint stem borer adults following harvest. The adults aggregate in very large numbers on pollen sources, rendering them quite vulnerable to chemical and/or cultural control methods. Because a trap crop (e.g. goldenrod) would not be intimately involved with the mint crop, various chemicals may be available for limited applications in these situations. This strategy would require consideration of bee activity on the pollen-rich trap crop. Alternatively, the cultural strategy of carefully removing and destroying the trap crop, without disturbing the mint stem borers, may be employed.