The main thrust of the article is to present the historical development of the idea of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) from the heyday of “pestophobia” (the insistence of elimination of any vestige of insect interference with the cosmetic appearance of our crops), which leads to the misuse and abuse of insecticides, to the era of employing IPM concepts, which leads to pest interventions which are necessarily knowledge-intensive. Illustrations are given using ICIPE's research experience in developing an IPM approach to the control of Chilo through adaptation of relevant intercropping patterns, plant resistant cultivars and biological control agents. In this task, the IPM specialist needs to have three assets to be successful in the tropics: he needs to be a first-class natural historian; he requires to build his new knowledge on the traditional knowledge of the rural farmer, and to rationalize it scientifically, and he needs to be able to manipulate new innovations—both technical and social.
