What Seasoned Gardeners have known all along
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, has been around since the late 1950s and gained popularity in the 1960s. In other words, it is not a new idea. It is simply the formal name for something seasoned gardeners have understood all along: chemical control was never intended to be the first step in managing insect pests.
For decades, pest control often meant reaching straight for those synthetic sprays. IPM flips that script. It emphasizes observation as the first step in identifying the pest, understanding its life cycle, and deciding whether intervention is even necessary. When action is needed, IPM prioritizes cultural, mechanical, and biological controls before chemicals ever enter the picture.
This approach is not just catching on in backyards. Since 2024, 84% of greenhouse growers have had an IPM plan in place. As a greenhouse grower for two decades, I have seen firsthand how industry is broadening its response to insect pressure. Monitoring, beneficial insects, environmental controls, and targeted treatments are now standard tools, not just afterthoughts.
Globally, producers are moving away from relying solely on chemical controls. The global IPM market reached $26.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit $37.3 billion by 2030. The fastest-growing segment? Biological control.
Biopesticides alone totaled $6.72 billion in 2025 and are expected to reach $11.41 billion by 2030. Since 2020, the EPA has registered 390 biopesticide active ingredients. These products are derived from natural sources such as plants, bacteria, fungi, minerals, or animals – think neem oil or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for caterpillars, rather than synthetic chemistry.
What is driving this shift? A mix of environmental regulations, sustainable agriculture practices, food safety concerns, pesticide resistance, and export requirements.
And here is where the year 2030 keeps coming up: biopesticides are growing 2.5 times faster than traditional chemical controls. By 2030, we are projected to hit a 50/50 crossover point, where biological and chemical strategies are used equally worldwide.
Public and private investment is following suit. In 2023, USDA-NIFA invested $19.6 million in IPM research through its Crop Protection and Pest Management Program, while USDA-APHIS provides up to $63 million annually for plant pest and disease management.
So, if you have ever wondered whether your “civilian” sustainable gardening practices were just a local trend, think again. Gardeners have been ahead of the curve the whole time and the rest of the world is finally catching up!
Holly Dobbs is a Extension Educator, Horticulture/4-H Youth Development at OSU Extension-Rogers County
