Experiences with Implementation and Adoption of Integrated Plant Protection (IPP) in Germany

In Germany, the European legal requirements concerning plant protection are supplemented by exhaustive national regulations on the use of plant protection products and a national action plan for sustainable use of plant protection products since 2008. Those provisions ensure the achievement of the key target of risk reduction arising from use of plant protection products, provide a high level of security and protection of human health and environment, and support the implementation of integrated plant protection in all sectors. Important elements to achieve the risk reduction goal are applied research in integrated plant protection and plant breeding mainly based on federal programs, growing resistant cultivars, the use of biological and biotechnical measures, the use of decision support systems supported by a dense network of weather stations, applying damage thresholds, use of certified application equipment, training of farmers, use of inspection systems, support by incentives and maintaining efficient advisory services. The national network of reference farms and the set up of demonstration farms across several sectors are recognised as valuable sources to obtain robust data about plant protection in Germany. Furthermore, integrated plant protection is strongly driven by crop- or sector-specific guidelines which are mainly developed, implemented and controlled by producer associations.