North Central IPM Center FY11 Funded Working Groups Abstracts
Bed Bug Working Group
Stephen Kells, University of Minnesota
The multi‐State working group’s goal is to address research and information needs associated with the growing epidemic of bed bugs. Research and Extension personnel from the North Central Region and other States will collaborate to deal with bed bugs as a societal pest. This working group will prepare a report pertaining to knowledge gaps that currently exist, and prioritize research and education needs to meet these deficiencies. The completed report will aid proposal teams to initiate further work addressing these priorities. This proposal is the first phase a four phase project to address the systemic movement of bed bug infestations; to evaluate IPM measures associated with preventing societal spread, and to produce educational events that promote effective bed bug control and prevention. Effective IPM programs will end the epidemic, reduce the need for pesticide applications and their associated costs, and improve quality of life for those affected. Assembly of the working group constitutes the first phase in a four phase plan to systematically and strategically reduce/eliminate bed bugs in Society. During the first phase, the working group will be initiated and a document of knowledge gaps and proposed approaches will be developed. This first phase will provide the roadmap for further phases in obtaining an improved IPM program against bed bugs in Society. A second phase will be set up to collect data of risk factors within the systems described in Phase 1. Using the established risk‐factors data, Phase 3 will evaluate how IPM measures, focused in transitional and reservoir sites, impact the input of bed bugs into other societal sites or residences. During Phase 4, we will put these findings into educational events to provide a habitat‐specific understanding of how to prevent bed bugs and the required pest management standards (service and pesticide applications) for control of this pest.
North Central Region Weather Working Group
Mark L. Gleason and Forrest W. Nutter, Jr., Iowa State University
The North Central Region Weather Working Group will foster region-wide and nationwide communication on weather-based IPM tools among agricultural meteorologists, plant pathologists, entomologists, and IPM stakeholders that leads to new collaborations and breakthroughs in research and outreach.
NRCS and IPM Working Group: Grower Incentives for IPM
Thomas A. Green, IPM Institute of America
The Natural Resources Conservation Service supports farmer adoption of conservation measures, including IPM with technical and financial assistance. Yet, less than 1% of $1.3 billion in annual NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds are spent on IPM (Brewer et al. 2009). We have expanded into a national working group and will work to strengthen incentives for IPM in EQIP, CAPs and CSP programs in all states, facilitate training and information exchanges to support collaborations with a national audience of NRCS personnel, conservation professionals and growers.
Our renewal proposal addresses this scope of work for North Central states, the goals and priorities identified by the North Central IPM Center and National IPM Roadmap including: improve cost benefit analysis of IPM adoption, increase communication and efficiency with information exchanges among federal and non-federal IPM practitioners and service providers and address key impediments to IPM adoption.
North Central Region School IPM Working Group
Thomas A. Green, IPM Institute of America
IPM in schools reduces pesticide use, residues, toxicity and pest-related asthmagens. We have grown from 11 to 55 members from every state in our region and all stakeholder groups. If funded, we will: 1. Continue monthly conference calls and annual meetings to update priorities, develop and advance our work-plans. 2. Support existing demonstrations in Brookings and Flandreau SD; Westville IL; Pike Township IN; Centralia MO; Lincoln and Omaha NE; and Westerville OH; reinvigorate and improve the visibility of model districts in states that have had active school IPM programs in the past (IA, MI, MN, WI); and create new demonstrations in the remaining states without current active high-profile models (KS, ND). 3. Support established coalitions in IL, IN, MO, NE and OH and establish new coalitions in the remaining states. 4. Update surveys. 5. Coordinate with the National School IPM Group and other school/urban IPM working groups to achieve high-level IPM in all schools by 2015.
Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group
Jim Jasinski, The Ohio State University
The Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group (GLVWG) has a mission to facilitate communication between vegetable production specialists and address priority issues in vegetable production in IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA, WI and Ontario, Canada. The GLVWG members are connected via an electronic listserv that currently contains about 150 vegetable related specialists (researchers and Extension agents) and other stakeholders (industry, grower & commodity associations) throughout the region. The listserv allows the posting of real time questions, responses and observations for the benefit of all subscribers (specialists & stakeholders) in the group. A web page for GLVWG has been developed (http://glvwg.ag.ohio-state.edu/) to display annual meeting information, research presentations, Project Committee updates, discussion forums, member profiles, calendar dates, and stakeholder information. For the past six year, 30-40 members from the working group have attended a 1.5 day annual conference to promote information and program exchange among specialists across state lines, and to set current priorities in the vegetable industry. Several key priorities are agreed upon by the working group and are addressed in the following year by the formation and leadership of Project Committees. GLVWG members have decided to work in the area of biocontrol in vegetables in 2011.
Great Lakes Fruit IPM Working Group
Greg Lang Michigan State University; Patricia McManus, University of Wisconsin; Art Agnello, Cornell University; and Margaret Appleby, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
The GL Fruit IPM WG was formed in 2006 to build upon a smaller group from MI, NY and Ontario, which met annually to discuss common management issues and train fruit extension workers. The WG expanded since 2006 to include extension specialists, educators and independent crop consultants from an additional five states: WI, OH, IL, IN, and PA with three main objectives: organize and conduct an annual WG conference, update and maintain the WG website; and update and maintain the WG listserv. Fruit IPM Priority lists for research, extension and regulatory affairs have been developed in concert with NC-IPM Center goals, regional priorities, and the National IPM Roadmap. A regional IPM practices survey was developed and shared with growers. The Fruit WG also addresses IPM Center goals of collaborative development of grants and educational materials, identifying resource and information needs and quantifying grower adoption of IPM. The IPM Priorities lists developed through the WG were consequently used in writing the MI Apple and Cherry PMSP’s.
Consumer Horticulture Working Group
Mary H. Meyer, University of Minnesota; Rhonda Burrows, South Dakota State University; and Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin
Consumer horticulture specialists will work to improve communications, determine Integrated Pest Management (IPM) needs and priorities, and to develop these priorities for the North Central region in 2008. Consumers and residential homeowners are a huge population using pesticides that have a significant environmental impact. The goal of this project is the same as one of the goals of the NCIPM Center: to reduce the environmental and human health risks associated with managing pests in residential areas. University Extension consumer horticulture specialists are uniquely situated to offer educational expertise in IPM. Thorough the network of Extension offices and Master Gardeners, we have the resources to impact a large number of consumers.
North Central Extension Entomologists Working Group, with Emphasis on Developing an Extension Journal of Integrated Pest Management
Marlin E. Rice, Iowa State University; Kevin L. Steffey, University of Illinois; and John VanDyk, Iowa State University
Extension Entomologists working in the North Central region on field crops share many of the same insect pest management issues. However, declining extension faculty positions focused on field crops in many states highlights the need to share expertise among states to efficiently address common problems. Before the start of the North Central Extension Entomologists Working Group there was not a good mechanism to accomplish regional communication. Our Working Group has established several mechanisms to share information and expertise among the participating states, including an annual meeting, periodic teleconferences during the growing season, an email listserv, and a web site to share documents. One of our goals has been to develop high quality, publically accessible extension publications with authors from multiple states that address priority needs for insect management on field crops. We recently have received acceptance from the Entomological Society of America of a proposal to publish an open-access, on-line, refereed journal for extension articles, the Journal of Integrated Pest Management. Our Working Group has identified priority topics to be addressed, and have outlined authors from multiple states who will write articles to be published in 2010-2011.
Our Working Group addresses the goals of the NC IPM Center by identifying IPM strategies for field crop insects in the North Central region that increase the economic benefits and reduce the environmental and human health risks associated with managing pests. Through our activities we share our regional expertise and apply it to develop high quality extension and applied research programs in our states, and to develop high quality, peer-reviewed extension publications through the Journal of Integrated Pest Management.
Pulse Crops Working Group
Rubella S. Goswami and Samuel G. Markell, North Dakota State University
The Pulse Crops Working Group aims at addressing IPM issues associated with pulse production in the Great Plains. The primary work will focus on trying to find methods to manage root rots and to reduce chances of development of fungicide resistance in pathogens causing Ascochyta blight in pulse crops, two critical issues that need to be addressed through IPM options. It will facilitate communication and collaboration among pulse researchers within and outside the North Central region. It will also help in improving detection methods, developing new methods and assessing available disease management strategies under growing conditions in this region, developing educational publications and maintaining the “Pulse-info” web-site. The group will address information needs identified in the US Pulse Crop PMSP. North Dakota will serve as the lead state in this project, with strong multi-state collaboration and support of industry organizations in the region. Grower and IPM Roadmap priorities and NCIPMC goals of improving the economic benefits of the adoption of IPM and reducing the impact of pests in crop production will be addressed.
The Northern Great Plains IPM Working Group
Kelley J. Tilmon, Sue Blodgett and Darrell Deneke, South Dakota State University; Janet Knodel and Samuel Markell, North Dakota State University; and Ian MacRae and Bruce Potter, University of Minnesota.
We request funding for the Northern Plains IPM Guide Working Group. Our focus is on IPM challenges relevant to priority production crops in ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, and IA. Membership includes Land Grant entomology and plant pathology faculty from six states. Our objectives are to (1) increase the dissemination of research-based information from IPM specialists to Practitioners (Northern Plains IPM Guide), (2) solicit stakeholder input on the IPM Guide during its formation, and (3) Increase communication and research/outreach collaboration among Northern Plains IPM research and Extension personnel. The primary project of our Working Group is to compile the online Northern Plains IPM Guide. The guide will provide information on pests, diseases and agricultural practices important to this particular part of the Midwest. Dr. Buyung Hadi was hired as an Extension postdoc to oversee Guide production, with Working Group members providing steering, content, editing and peer review. Guide construction has been underway for eight months, during which we have developed technical infrastructure, outlined form and content, and developed the Guide shell. We’ve compiled 24 pest profile pages and work on this aspect of the Guide will continue for the next 16 months. We plan to open the website to the public this fall with the information pages already completed, as additional pages continue to be added, and conduct a stakeholder focus group to evaluate the beta version. North Central IPM Center priorities addressed by this proposal include IPM outreach in production agriculture and the IPM Center National Roadmap goals to enhance the ability of land-grant system to provide information in its various guises that ultimately enhances IPM adoption.