North Central IPM Center

February 2024 Central Issue

News stories shared in the February 2024 Central Issue appear below. Subscribe to receive the Central Issue newsletter monthly via email.

North Central IPM Center Updates

2024 NCIPMC Grant Awards

The North Central IPM Center is pleased to announce that over $358,000 is being awarded to thirteen Working Group projects in 2024. Of the funded proposals, nine of them will address protection of cropping systems, human and animal health, and environmental resources through the use of IPM, and three will  protect our pollinators, beneficial insects, and their habitats.

Congratulations to the 2024 award recipients!

Working Group Funded Projects
More detail about these working groups and their goals is available on the Center’s Working Group page.

Alfalfa Pest Management Working Group,
Project Director: Adam Sisson, Iowa State University
Great Lakes Urban Agriculture Working Group,
Project Director: Margaret Rivera, The Ohio State University
Managed Pollinator Protection Plans (MP3),
Project Director: Ana Heck, Michigan State University
Midwest Grows Green Lawn & Land Forum Working Group
Project Director: Ryan Anderson, IPM Institute of North America, Inc;
North Central School IPM Working Group,
Project Director: Ryan Anderson, IPM Institute of North America, Inc;
Ornamental Crop Production Working Group,
Project Director: Dr. Debalina Saha, Michigan State University
Pollinator Education and Action for Youth,
Project Director: Lynne Campbell, Iowa State University
Public Gardens as Sentinels Against Invasive Plants Working Group,
Project Director: Kurt Dreisilker, The Morton Arboretum
Public Tick IPM Working Group,
Project Director: Ryan Anderson, IPM Institute of North America
Pulse Crops Working Group,
Project Director: Malaika Ebert, North Dakota State University;
Rights-of-Way as Habitat,
Project Director: Caroline Hernandez, University of Illinois at Chicago
Sunflower Pathology,
Project Director: Samuel Markell, North Dakota State University
Tactile Toolbox Working Group,
Project Director: Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora, The Ohio State University

While some projects could not be funded, an effort is made to provide constructive feedback, and resubmission is encouraged. The Center’s next Working Group and Critical Issue RFA opportunity will open again in the fall.

March Webinar: Ecological Epidemiology of the Invasive Asian Longhorned Tick: Insights from Ohio

Adult longhorned tick
Asian longhorned tick adult. Photo by James Gathany.

Join Dr. Andreas Eleftheriou, a veterinary public health resident in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University, as he summarizes insights from a recent field study of Asian longhorned ticks in Ohio. In its native range, the Asian longhorned tick is a significant vector of human and livestock disease and can cause substantial economic losses. Ideally, this study of the Ohio Asian longhorned tick population will serve as a guide for states within the North Central region.

Register now to receive the webinar link. This webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 20 at 1:30 pm ET (12:30 pm CT). “Pests and Progress” webinars are free, and more details are on the North Central IPM Center website. You may also contact the North Central IPM Center to sign up as a speaker for a Pests and Progress fall 2024 webinar.

New Episodes—I See Dead Plants Podcasts

New Episodes—War Against Weeds Podcasts

  • Rewind and Fast Forward on the Farm
    Interviewees: Mike Langseth, farmer from North Dakota; Rick Clifton, farmer from Ohio; and Scott Gigstad, farmer from Kansas
  • The Silver Bullet That Wasn’t
    Interviewees: Marty Williams, ecologist for the USDA Agriculture Research Service, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and Christopher Landau, research agronomist and postdoc for the USDA University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
  • Isomers
    Interviewee: Mark Kitt, a Technical Product Lead with Syngenta
  • What About Safeners?
    Interviewee: Dr. Dean Riechers from Univeristy of Illinois
  • What’s in a Formulation?
    Interviewee: Dustyn Sawall, a principle chemist for Winfield United
  • Herbicide Burndown in No-Till
    Interviewee: Tommy Butts, Director Experiment Station as Associate Professor and Extension Weed Scientist, University of Arkansas

US Environmental Protection Agency Updates

EPA Provides Update on Over-the-Top Uses of Dicamba

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided new guidelines for the use of formerly-registered dicamba products. Limited sale and distribution is being allowed for dicamba products that are already in the possession of growers or are outside the control of pesticide companies. Complete details are available in “Existing Stocks Order for Dicamba Products Previously Registered for Over-the-Top Use on Dicamba-Tolerant Cotton and Soybean.”

EPA Requests Input on Pesticide Safety Education Program for Farmworkers

This is your chance to provide feedback on the creation of a new National Farmworker Training and Education Program on pesticide safety. The US EPA is designing this safety program and is interested to learn about specific training needs, successful outreach and delivery strategies and topics that should be prioritized for grant agreements.

IPM Highlights

Food Safety Education for Youth: Theme Park Kitchen Game is now Available!

Theme Park Kitchen logo“Theme Park Kitchen,” a new online game designed by The Learning Games Lab team at New Mexico State University, seeks to help youth learn about food safety with a fun, engaging format. Players learn to prepare and serve a variety of meals in several different kitchens.

The game is free, and instructions for how to teach the game are also available. Another purpose of this game is to measure the impact of game learning so if you are interested in partnering and having your youth group participate, contact Matheus Cezarotto.

IR-4 Project Research Symposium: Food Crops Tuesday

Save the date! The annual IR-4 Project Research Symposium: Food Crops will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, from 1-4 pm ET (12-3 pm CT).  Participants will hear about recent research on integrated solutions and product performance trials on food crops. Trial results help identify potential pest management solutions for specialty crops and help support product registrations.

Reframing the Concept of Pests: Pests are Thieves

When we talk about “pests,” there’s a chasm between what the non-farming public thinks and what growers experience to produce and sell a crop.

How about this metaphor: “Pests are thieves. Pests steal.” Read the full blog post from the Western IPM Center, and share your thoughts about whether this metaphor would be useful to help the public understand how pests affect all of us, from grower profits to food prices.

Preparing for Next Season

Flower Bud Galls on American Elderberry

Flower bud galls were common on American elderberry flowers in Missouri in 2023. The galls reduce yield by preventing pollination and fruit production on affected flowers. Midge larvae have been removed from these galls, but the exact species of midge affecting Missouri elderberries has not been confirmed.

Clusters of ripe elderberry fruit

 

South Dakota Virtual Vegetable Short Course Recordings

The 2024 South Dakota Virtual Vegetable Short Course recordings are now available. Check out the four topics:

How to Identify and Manage Nostoc in Nurseries and Greenhouses

Check out these two articles to learn about nostoc, a genus of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae that can colonize and spread in nurseries and greenhouses because frequent watering helps it thrive. It is also known as star jelly or witch’s butter.

This article covers the biology and identification of nostoc.

Effective control of nostoc depends on early detection. This article describes nonchemical and chemical management options.

Protecting Boxwoods Against Blight and the Box Tree Moth

Register for this free boxwood webinar hosted by the US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, March 5 from 2 to 3:30 pm ET (1 to 2:30 pm CT). Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that can affect all kinds of boxwoods. There is no cure so once a plant is infected, it must be destroyed. Boxwood moth is another pest of boxwoods, and strategies for controlling it and reducing spread will be shared.

Boxwood blight on boxwood branches.
Boxwood blight on boxwood branches. Photo by David L. Clement, University of Maryland, Bugwood.org.

Resources

Plum Curculio Updates: Insights from the Orchard

Learn about the plum curculio, which is showing up in apple fruits in Illinois. Plum curculio is a small weevil that lays eggs inside young fruits. Timing is important for using spray to manage plum curculio because it must target adult populations; once eggs are laid, there’s no way to treat infested fruits. Traps can be used to track adult populations, and removing fallen fruit prevents larva from completing the life cycle to affect crops next year.

Hemp Pests Documented in New Guide for Florida Growers

Since it became legal to grow hemp in the United States in 2018, it has been a challenge to document which pests affect hemp production and yields. Known hemp pests from around the world were compared to species present in Florida to identify 105 arthropods and mollusk species that may cause issues in hemp fields.

Pruning Like A Professional: Principles of Pruning Videos

Usually early spring is a great time for pruning trees. Whether you are new to pruning or just want a quick review before you head outside, check out these pruning videos:

IPM Toolbox Webinar: Kosher, Halal and Insects: How do they Relate?

Join in the IPM Toolbox webinar on March 25, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) to learn about kosher and halal food regulations and how they relate to insects in a food and feed context. Joe Regenstein, professor emeritus in food science and head of the Cornell University Kosher and Halal Food Initiative, will explain these dietary laws and then look specifically at how each religion views insects in the food and feed context.

Job Board

Hydroponic Research Operations Administrator, Purdue University

Director – University of Mass Cranberry Station