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Supervised control programs were initiated by the Extension Service in the deciduous orchards of Upper Galilee and the Golan almost 20 years ago. The integrated pest management (IPM) project on fruit crops and vines, launched as a systematic state-wide program in 1991, covered 23% of the total acreage at the end of 1996. The program has reached a critical mass and generates a steady demand for this new kind of advisory service. The project has set the right pattern for intensive and continuous collaboration among research, extension and grower. The program has been successful in reaching out to growers with the help of a newly formed group of local and regional pest scouts; the field-level implementation is the responsibility of the extension system. A reduction of approximately 30% in the use of pesticides has been achieved. The project prepares the ground for environment-friendly and sustainable cropping systems, generating produce competitive on both the local as well as foreign markets. The program on indoor vegetables, flowers, herbs and spices initiated in 1992, had to address first the problem of the sweetpotato whitefly. The field program methodology relies on the establishment of model farms and plots. The model plots are used to examine supervised control scenarios which could, in turn, be diffused to all growers. A 30-50% reduction in the use of pesticides was achieved on the model farms. The program represents an integration of supervised control, fully fledged IPM, and biological control practices. The program on corn and cotton covers the entire acreage under these two crops. The cotton program is supported by an integrated resistance management component. Three area-wide pest management programs were initiated: in the Arava and Bet She’ an valleys, and in the Golan.

Protection of crop and ornamental plants from noxious organisms — insects, nematodes, mites, pathogens and weeds — is indispensable to modern agriculture. Despite intensive control efforts, about 50% of the world's crops are lost to these organisms, at an estimated annual cost of about 400 billion dollars. Ever since the advent of synthetic pesticides in the 1940s, modern crop protection has been largely based on chemical control. Pesticide expenditures are about 20% of total farming input costs, although this figure varies substantially according to crop and region. Mounting environmental concerns and pest control failures have made It increasingly clear that the use of toxic pesticides In agriculture should be drastically reduced all over the world.