NEEDS AND CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION AND PROTECTION (IPP) IN PROTECTED CULTIVATION IN MOROCCO

In trying to address the problems of pest control in Morocco we have therefore had to meet a number of novel challenges. We have to start from the assumption that the growers are interested in changing their current practices for some reason. The standard IPM approach pursued by many producers is based on the control of individual pests. In contrast, we are developing programmes based on the concept of Integrated Production and Protection Management, where we look not only at the pest and disease complex affecting a crop and identify the best available means of control for each component within that complex, but also at commonly used cultural practices that could benefit to the control of the pest and diseases.

After two years of trials in this difficult environment, we have succeeded in identifying the most successful pest management tools and the available chemicals which are most suited to incorporate into programmes. We have also discovered that some beneficials imported from Europe for use in plastic houses has singularly failed to live up to our expectations.

We have now put in place an IPM network, which advises the farmers on how to monitor and manage their pest and disease problems in tomato greenhouses based on the information we have gathered. The initial results from this network indicate a good degree of success. As a result of this we have launched a similar project with 25 citrus growers in the Tadla Valley of Morocco with high success in 1997 and this network is expanding its action to over 100 farms in the 1998 project.

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