Crop Health · By the UpyaChat team · June 29, 2026 · 7 min read

Push-pull pest management: how the system works in the field

Push-pull is an integrated pest management strategy that combines a repellent intercrop with an attractive trap crop. It can reduce pressure from specific pests while also supporting soil cover, fodder, and farm diversification when the design fits the local system.

Understand what push-pull is designed to do

Push-pull is a behavior-based pest management system. The push component is usually an intercrop or companion plant that makes the main crop less attractive or harder for the target pest to use. The pull component is a border or strategically placed trap crop that is more attractive and draws the pest away from the main crop.

The method is most useful when the target pest has predictable host preferences and when both components can be managed as part of the farm system. It is not a universal recipe for every insect, disease, or weed problem.

Identify the target pest and its host-seeking, feeding, and egg-laying behavior first.
Define the main outcome: less crop damage, fewer pesticide treatments, better fodder, or several benefits together.
Choose plant species that are adapted to the local climate, soil, and crop calendar.
Treat push-pull as one part of IPM, alongside scouting, crop health, sanitation, and thresholds.

The push component: make the main crop less attractive

The push crop is placed within or alongside the main crop. Its smell, structure, canopy, or volatile compounds may interfere with pest orientation or reduce the attractiveness of the main crop. In some systems, the companion crop also provides ground cover, fodder, nitrogen, or additional soil protection.

The push component must be established early and densely enough to influence the crop environment without becoming a stronger competitor for light, water, nutrients, or labor. A weak or poorly timed intercrop may provide little pest effect while still consuming farm resources.

Select a companion species with evidence of an effect on the target pest in a similar production context.
Establish it early enough to be present when the pest begins searching for the main crop.
Set row spacing and density so the companion crop affects pest behavior without suppressing the cash crop.
Manage weeds and gaps because an uneven push component creates uneven protection.
Check water and nutrient competition during the most sensitive stages of the main crop.

The pull component: attract the pest to a managed area

The pull crop is positioned where it can attract the pest away from the main crop, often around the field edge or in defined strips. The trap is useful only if it is more attractive at the relevant pest stage and if the farmer has a plan for what happens after the pest arrives.

A trap crop that simply concentrates pests and is left unmanaged can increase local pressure or allow the pest population to complete its life cycle. The pull component therefore needs inspection, a control or harvest plan, and safe placement.

Place the trap crop where it intercepts likely pest movement without blocking drainage or field access.
Make sure it is attractive during the pest’s egg-laying or feeding period, not only later in the season.
Scout the trap crop more frequently than the main crop once pest activity begins.
Remove, harvest, graze, destroy, or treat the infested material before the pest can multiply and return.
Keep the trap crop from becoming a permanent reservoir when the target pest is not being managed.

Design the field layout around the pest and the farm

Push-pull performance depends on space and timing. The arrangement must match how the pest enters and moves through the field, how the wind carries plant odors, and how the farmer plants, weeds, sprays, harvests, and feeds livestock. A layout that works in a small plot may need adjustment in a large field.

Use a simple map before planting. Mark prevailing winds, neighboring host crops, field borders, drainage, access routes, and the location where the trap crop can be inspected and managed.

Use border rows or strips when the pest pressure mainly arrives from outside the field.
Use an intercrop pattern when the pest searches within the crop canopy.
Keep enough access for scouting, harvest, and management of the pull area.
Avoid placing dense vegetation where it will hold water, obstruct drainage, or create a new disease risk.
Start with a test block and compare it with a nearby area managed without push-pull.

Use the additional agronomic benefits carefully

A well-chosen push crop can add ground cover, forage, nitrogen fixation, or organic residues. A suitable pull crop may provide fodder, reduce wind exposure, or protect a field boundary. These additional outputs can make the system more attractive than a pest-control intervention alone.

They also create trade-offs. A fodder crop may be harvested at the moment when it is most useful as a trap. A vigorous legume may compete for water. A border crop may shelter rodents or make machinery access harder. These effects need to be included in the design from the beginning.

Value fodder, soil cover, and nitrogen benefits only if they fit the farm calendar.
Check whether cutting or grazing changes the pest-control function of the system.
Protect young intercrops and trap crops from livestock until they are established.
Monitor shade, water use, nutrient competition, and disease movement.
Avoid species that are invasive, difficult to control, or unsuitable for the next rotation.

Monitor the system and adapt the management

Push-pull should be evaluated by comparing pest pressure and crop damage, not by assuming that the presence of companion plants proves success. Scout the main crop, the push component, and the pull component on the same schedule, and record when the pest appears in each zone.

If the system fails, check the most likely reasons: the wrong target pest, poor establishment, incorrect timing, insufficient trap attractiveness, unmanaged pests in the pull crop, drought stress, or a layout that does not match pest movement. Adjust one factor at a time where possible so the result can be understood.

Record pest counts, damaged plants, crop stage, weather, and the condition of both companion crops.
Compare the field with a reference strip or previous season under similar conditions.
Measure the extra seed, labor, fodder, and management costs alongside yield and damage.
Keep scouting even when the system appears to work because pest pressure can change.
Combine push-pull with resistant varieties, sanitation, biological control, and targeted treatment when thresholds are reached.

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