IPM Planner Checklist - Mint

Pre-plant and Planting > Vegetative Growth > Post-harvest Vegetative Growth > Dormancy

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.


Pre-plant and Planting

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 disease free and resistant mint roots

Soil test for fertility, pH

Soil testing for mobile nutrients should be completed each year. Fertilizer should be applied based upon the results of the soil test and the potential year of the crop. One representative composite sample should be taken from different areas of the field. Bulletin 704 from UI Extension, Soil Sampling, describes soil testing and sampling methods and tools.

Soil test for nematodes

Submit soil samples to the UI nematode lab at the Parma Research and Extension Center for analysis. For more information, call 208-722-6701. Follow treatment recommendations from the lab analysis. Use this Nematode Lab Sample Submission form (also available as a fillable Word form).

Root-knot, Root-Lesion and Mint Nematodes cause severe damaged to mint stands throughout the mint producing region. Open patches of severely stunted, red-green plants with short, weak root systems in mint stands may have been caused by nematodes. Root-Lesion nematodes increase the incidence of Verticillium wilt. Nematodes feeding on plants create wounds which allow pathogens to enter into the plant. To reduce nematodes, use crop rotations and plant certified vigorous roots.

Calibrate chemical sprayer

Maintain and calibrate sprayer to obtain uniform application of chemicals for effective results and environmental protection.

Improperly calibrated pesticide equipment may cause either too little or too much pesticide to be applied. This can be averted with an organized approach to calibration that includes ample time, the correct tools, and a fundamental understanding of calibration.

Weekly Field Scouting for weeds, insects, nematodes, diseases

Scout field for wireworms before planting mint

Avoid planting mint into fields that are already infested with wireworms. Wireworms do not become a problem in well-managed and watered, established mint. Wireworms can be sampled using the shovel method or baiting (see "Wireworm Scouting" fact sheet from WSU Extension).

Scout for mint root borer (pre-plant)

Peppermint is the main host for mint root borer. It may be present in the spring if this is a subsequent year of peppermint. To monitor for mint root borer in the spring, collect soil samples throughout the field and screen the soil samples for mint root borer pupae. The best time to treat mint root borer is after harvest, when larvae are active in the soil.

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.

Improve or create beneficial organism habitat

Improve or create beneficial organism habitat through plant selection, plant establishment, and management. Conserve beneficials by protecting habitat at field edges, pivot corners, and drainages.

Manage weeds in mint using lower risk herbicides

Select herbicide with the least environmental impact. For repeated applications, try to alternate the use of herbicide families to help prevent development of weed resistance. The Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook has a list of recommended herbicides, with Mode of Action (or resistance group) noted.


Vegetative Growth

Keep fields vigorous and healthy with optimum water management

Water requirements greatly increase during the vegetative stage. Keeping soil water at optimum levels reduces stress and the incidence of disease and insect damage.

For more information, see Drip Irrigation on Peppermint, a "Crop Solutions" publication from the Toro Company, and Mint Irrigation Management, Drought Advisory pub. EM4827 from WSU Cooperative Extension

Weekly Field Scouting for weeds, insects, nematodes, diseases

Manage weeds in mint using lower risk herbicides

Select herbicide with the least environmental impact. For repeated applications, try to alternate the use of herbicide families to help prevent development of weed resistance. The Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook has a list of recommended herbicides, with Mode of Action (or resistance group) noted.


Post-harvest Vegetative Growth

Keep fields vigorous and healthy with optimum water management

Water requirements greatly increase during the vegetative stage. Keeping soil water at optimum levels reduces stress and the incidence of disease and insect damage.

For more information, see Drip Irrigation on Peppermint, a "Crop Solutions" publication from the Toro Company, and Mint Irrigation Management, Drought Advisory pub. EM4827 from WSU Cooperative Extension

Weekly Field Scouting for weeds, insects, nematodes, diseases

Manage weeds in mint using lower risk herbicides

Select herbicide with the least environmental impact. For repeated applications, try to alternate the use of herbicide families to help prevent development of weed resistance. The Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook has a list of recommended herbicides, with Mode of Action (or resistance group) noted.


Dormancy

Clean up corrugates if furrow irrigation is used

Weekly Field Scouting for weeds, insects, nematodes, diseases

Scout for mint root borer (dormancy)

Mint root borer can be sampled by taking soil samples in September-October. Soil samples can be screened in the field for larvae. Berlese funnels in the laboratory can also be used to find larvae from samples. Larvae numbers can be reduced with insecticide applications after harvest. Tillage is an effective method of control, but do not use tillage if Verticillium wilt is a problem in the field.

Manage weeds in mint using lower risk herbicides

Select herbicide with the least environmental impact. For repeated applications, try to alternate the use of herbicide families to help prevent development of weed resistance. The Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook has a list of recommended herbicides, with Mode of Action (or resistance group) noted.