Also known as Integrated Pest Control, it is a broadly-based approach that integrates various practices for economic control of pests (q.v.). Integrated pest management aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (i.e. to below the level that the costs of further control outweigh the benefits derived). It involves careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and then integration of appropriate measures to discourage development of pest populations while keeping pesticides and other interventions to economically justifiable levels with minimal risks to human health and the environment. Integrated pest management emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agroecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.