IPMnet - an initiative from ADAS

Adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices is growing in all agricultural sectors to fulfil environmental aims, by reducing the risks associated with use of plant protection products (PPPs) while maintaining effective crop protection. The IPMNET Bulletin series supports UK farmers and agronomists to access and benefit from various IPM tools and resources.

Each bulletin focuses on a different aspect of IPM and provide links to relevant resources, such as training videos and decision support systems. The scope of the bulletin covers all UK cropping systems.

IPMNET

IPMNET is an open network, freely available to anyone wishing to share and learn about integrated pest management. The network has been initiated as part of a Defra funded IPMNET Pilot project, and as part of an EU funded project AdvisoryNetPEST.

Resources for advancing IPM

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a coordinated and planned strategy for the prevention, detection and control of pests, weeds, and diseases. Implementation of IPM on farm requires two stages:

  1. Selection of appropriate pest management tactics, and
  2. Integration of these tactics into an overall IPM Strategy

Some tactics may be highly compatible with one another, while other tactics may conflict. Creation of an effective IPM strategy therefore requires a constant cycle of planning, implementation, adaptation and review, balancing selection of a variety of novel and established approaches.

IPMNET Bulletins from January - August 2025 have been combined, and are availalbe below. 

IPMNET Bulletin September - March 2025-26:

September 2025:

October 2025: 

November 2025: 

  • Highlights from a recent workshop on Agricultural Systems and pest management
  • AdvisoryNetPEST Summary of six novel approaches for pest management
  • AHDB Resistance Management Hub

December 2025:

  • December Special… IPM in Christmas Trees! The major pest and disease challenges and solutions in festive firs.

16 January 2026: 

  • Holistic IPM: Definitions and examples
  • Early signs of SDHI fungicide resistance identified

30 January 2026:

  • An introduction to the IOBC and some free resources they provide on biocontrol and IPM.
  • Companion cropping in WOSR and its role in reducing pest and weed pressure.
  • A reminder to destroy brassica trap crops by the end of February.
  • Tools and guides available for pest, weed and disease identification.

16 February 2026:

  • Spotlinght on Pesticide Resistance Management; A summary of the AHDB Resistance Roadshow 2026
  • A round up of resistance management resources

Related Organisations

Connected Content

ADAS provides ideas, specialist knowledge and solutions to secure our food and enhance the environment. We understand food production and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations operating in the natural environment

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is based on a diversity of pest management measures (prevention, non-chemical control, best practices for optimizing pesticide efficiency, etc.). These are combined at the farm level to enable reduced reliance on pesticides, and therefore a decrease in the exposure of the environment and people to pesticides.

The IPMNET (Integrated Pest Management Network) initiative aims to improve the practical understanding and application of IPM (for pests, weeds and diseases) for farmers,  and inform policy design promoting IPM strategies. 

An EU-wide network to support and promote solutions for alternative weed control.  

Crop protection refers to practices and measures employed in agriculture to safeguard crops from both biotic (pests, diseases and weeds) and abiotic (environmental factors) stresses. They key goal of crop production is to maintain crop productivity, health and quality whilst minimising yield losses.

The IPMNET Conference took place on Thursday 13 February 2025 at the KingsGate Conference Centre, Peterborough Keynote speaker: Sean Sparling, AICC  

Integrated Pest Management focusing on disease control in cereals Link to video series playlist on YouTube

The IPM Decisions project created an online platform that is easy to use for the monitoring and management of pests. Access the platform now at https://platform.ipmdecisions.net/ Co-funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union Under grant agreement No 817617 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdFMIupmFOA

An EU-Wide Farm Network Demonstrating and promoting cost-effective IPM Strategies.

AdvisoryNetPEST - A new UK and EU-wide project aiming to increase the sharing of knowledge and the adoption of innovative solutions to reduce the use and risks of pesticides through a network of advisors.   

Crop physiology is the study of how plants function and respond to their environment. It involves understanding the factors that affect crop growth and development, such as light, temperature, water, and nutrients, and the physiological mechanisms that plants use to adapt to their environment, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration.