Approaches in Plant Protection

Crop protection approaches reflect grower priorities, consumer concerns, labour availability, technological advances and environmental conditions, which in turn vary over time and among social, cultural and economic contexts. This chapter provides a historical overview of changing plant protection approaches over the last century in the USA, using the California strawberry industry to illustrate the importance of social influences on farmer decision making. We offer ecosystem‐based Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as a goal for future agriculture, and evaluate its progress and impact, both in California and more broadly. The IPM concept in the USA arose as a strategy to promote biological control of pests in response to environmental disruptions caused by insecticides, including the emergence of insecticide resistance and secondary pest outbreaks. However, IPM has become a malleable concept that, when operationalized, does not prioritize pesticide reduction or integrative control tactics. We suggest conceptual changes in policy and practice to reform IPM as part of a transformation in mainstream agriculture that will sustain the ecosystem services required for a resilient and equitable food system.