Page 13 2026 Spring Home and Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS April 2026 the Illinois Master Gardeners host a free help desk to answer a variety of garden questions. IPM uses four management strategies: cultural, physical/mechanical, biological, and chemical. It is possible to effectively use the first three strategies, so that no chemicals are necessary. Cultural Management. With cultural management the goal is optimal plant health so that it can withstand pressure from pests or diseases. The Master Gardener mantra is ‘the right plant in the right place at the right time.’ This means that we want healthy, fertile soil, disease-resistant plant cultivars, and to plant according to the best timing for that cultivar. Plants should have proper spacing and be pruned appropriately. Plants need ventilation and consistent moisture. Mulching can help maintain moisture and reduce weed pressure. Gardeners should also practice crop rotation as far as is possible to help prevent soil diseases from establishing. Crops should be rotated among plant families, not just individual species, at least every three years. The Solanaceous family of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes are similar enough– with similar pests– that these should not be rotated with one another. The same applies to the Brassica family of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc., which are all variations of the same species, and therefore, attract the same pests and draw the same nutrients from the soil. Gardeners can easily find information about which vegetables are part of which family. Another form of cultural management includes trap cropping. Trap cropping is basically planting a “sacrificial plant” to attract insects away from the desired plants. This means the pests must be managed or destroyed on the trap crop. For example, squash bugs love Blue Hubbard squash, so planting Blue Hubbard as a decoy and managing bugs there may relieve squash bug pressure on your zucchini and other squash plants. Physical/Mechanical Management. The goal of physical/mechanical management is to physically eliminate plants and pests. This can include cultivating around established plants to remove weeds. It can mean hand-picking insects and destroying or drowning them in soapy water. Pruning for good air circulation can promote plant health. Pulling weeds and removing diseased plants also relieve pressure on desired plants. Physical barriers, such as grow tunnels, screens, and garden cloth can prevent insects from damaging vegetables.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzExODA=