Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an ecologically based pest control strategy that utilizes multiple control methods (cultural, biological, physical, and chemical) to keep pest populations below the Economic Injury Level (EIL).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate each of the given statements:
• Statement (A): Planning of agro-ecosystem: This is a core principle of IPM. It involves manipulating the crop environment (like row spacing, intercropping, or crop rotation) to favor natural enemies of pests and disadvantage the pests themselves. (Correct)
• Statement (B): Tolerance of pest damage: IPM recognizes that complete pest eradication is ecologically damaging and economically unnecessary. Crops can tolerate a certain level of pest damage before it affects yield enough to justify treatment costs. This point is defined by the Economic Threshold (ET). (Correct)
• Statement (C): Complete freedom from pests: This is not a principle of IPM. Attempting to completely eradicate a pest species is unfeasible, highly expensive, and leads to pest resistance and environmental damage. (Incorrect)
• Statement (D): Cost-benefit analysis: Pest control decisions in IPM are based on economic considerations, ensuring that the cost of intervention does not exceed the financial loss caused by the pest. (Correct)
Therefore, statements (A), (B), and (D) are principles of IPM, while (C) is excluded.
Step 3: Final Answer
The correct combination is (A), (B) and (D) only.