Effective IPM strategies are available for many important pests of common beans, including aphids, mites, maggots and cutworms, diseases like anthracnose, white mold and bacterial blight, and weeds like wild oats, sedges and pigweed. The principles of IPM can be implemented across different soil types and climatic conditions. Mechanical, physical and cultural techniques may match a very broad set of agronomic and environmental conditions, and can be easily modified to local contexts. Biological techniques suit a narrower range of geographies that is delimited by the physiological traits of beneficial organisms and the composition and management of native communities.

Release of beneficial control agents follows two basic approaches; ‘inoculative’ where a limited number of advantageous organisms are introduced and accumulate up over time, or ‘inundative’ where massive rearing leads to the dispersal of large numbers of organisms. The inoculative technique is suitable for long term interventions, whereas the inundative technique immediately results in suppression of pests that counteract severe outbreaks. Natural predators and enemies can be enhanced by providing alternative nesting and feeding sites. The sterile insect method effectively decreases reproduction rates of pests by releasing infertile males. The cultural practices for managing pests in common bean include use of early maturing and disease resistant bean varieties, clean seed and irrigation water that is free from insects, diseases and weed seeds, rotation with non-host crops, mulching, and adjusted row spacing and planting times. Increasing crop density and decreasing row spacing is effective to suppress the growth of weeds and their seed banks. IPM minimizes the application of chemical substances to control pests by methods like seed coating and pre-emergent herbicides.

Implementing IPM strategies begins with identifying the type and number of harmful and beneficial organisms on a farm, and establishing critical thresholds in the community structure when economic injury to common bean take place. Monitoring pests is performed using simple tools such as traps and handheld magnifying glasses, or with advanced high resolution cameras fitted onto drones that allow rapid surveillance of large areas. Inspections of weeds is performed between emergence and canopy closure, and again post-harvest to avoid carry-over. Insect and disease surveys are conducted simultaneously and must be repeated at different growth stage from emergence through early flowering and pod filling. Software tools and participation in specialized social media offer means to track and identify pests and natural enemies, and refine IPM strategies. Once the threshold population of harmful organisms is reached then prescribed actions are taken, a strategy very different than precautionary spraying with agro-chemicals.