North Central IPM Center

Current Projects

The North Central IPM Center funds Working Groups, Critical Issues, IPM Partnerships, and IPM mini-grant projects annually. Projects funded this year are described below, and a sample of past projects are listed at the bottom of the page.

Working Groups

The Signature Programs of the North Central IPM Center form the core focus of the Center and serve as the foundation for setting annual priorities. When seeking funding, working groups are required to align their proposals with at least one of these programs. This approach ensures that our mission to promote the advancement and implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is furthered through targeted initiatives.

Alfalfa flower in alfalfa field with blue sky backgroundAlfalfa is a vital forage crop, and maintaining its yield, quality, and stand longevity requires effective pest management. This project continues the work of the existing Alfalfa Pest Management Working Group, a multidisciplinary team of experts dedicated to addressing key disease and insect challenges. The project will focus on developing and disseminating comprehensive resources, including a long-form alfalfa pest management publication, an updated fungicide use efficacy guide, and a user-friendly fungicide return on investment calculator. These efforts aim to provide timely and practical information to alfalfa farmers, agricultural professionals, and extension workers, ultimately supporting more efficient and profitable alfalfa production.

Honeybee on white flower.The Managed Pollinator Protection Plans (MP3) Working Group was established to address the limited progress in pollinator health by furthering national collaboration among professionals. The group focuses on reducing pesticide exposure to pollinators through integrated pest management and preparing for emerging threats like the Tropilaelaps spp. mites, which are a growing concern for honey bees. They will achieve this by coordinating meetings, promoting educational materials, and developing crisis communication plans, ultimately aiming for greater IPM adoption and improved pollinator health.

Lawnmower.The Midwest Grows Green Lawn & Land Forum Working Group seeks to make sustainable landscaping the norm across the US. Their upcoming efforts focus on promoting recognition, providing resources, and driving adoption in the North Central region. They’ve already made progress with a dedicated website, workshops, technical assistance, and a certification program.

School classroom with teacher and students.The North Central School IPM Working Group aims to enhance environmental health and educational outcomes by expanding the adoption of IPM in schools. By providing access to IPM training, resources, and expertise, the group works to reduce pesticide use and minimize pest allergens, which in turn helps improve student attendance, especially for children with asthma. Their ongoing efforts include sustaining and expanding IPM resources, enhancing school IPM expertise, and integrating IPM principles into K-12 curricula.

Woman teaching youth about pollinators in a classroom setting.The Pollinator Education and Action for Youth working group aims to educate the public, especially youth, about the importance of pollinators. They develop educational programs, train educators, and provide resources to increase knowledge and awareness. Their achievements include establishing educational goals, aligning them with K-12 standards, and identifying resources for lesson plans.

Public garden with flowers and path.The Public Gardens as Sentinels Against Invasive Plants Working Group was formed to help public gardens track and address invasive plants escaping cultivation. They have developed a database and are working to engage more gardens and communicate effectively with the public.

Tick on leaf shown above unsuspecting human outside.The Public Tick IPM Working Group aims to reduce human and animal exposure to infected ticks by expanding the adoption of integrated tick management (ITM) strategies, particularly in the North Central region. They will achieve this by enhancing tick and tick-borne disease knowledge through webinars, a virtual Tick Academy, and developing resources like a pest alert for the Gulf Coast Tick. The group also actively supports institutions and tribal health services in implementing ITM programs and distributing educational materials.

The Ornamental Crop Production Working Group will create a comprehensive weed control guidebook for the North Central region’s ornamental industry. This guidebook will provide growers with information on both chemical and non-chemical weed control options, including management strategies for difficult-to-control weeds and herbicide resistance prevention. It will also address environmental concerns and best management practices for herbicide use.

Barley yellow dwarf virus on wheat
Photo credit: Nar Ranabhat, KSU, bugwood.org

Aphid- and mite-vectored viral diseases, such as wheat streak mosaic and barley yellow dwarf, pose a significant and costly threat to wheat production in the North Central U.S. This project proposes the formation of a Wheat Virus Working Group, bringing together plant pathologists, breeders, agronomists, entomologists, and producers. The group will formalize a collaborative effort to identify critical knowledge gaps and develop a coordinated action plan for IPM of these viruses. Key outcomes will include standardized diagnostic protocols, improved extension materials, and a workshop to enhance diagnostic capabilities, ultimately reducing yield losses and improving the resilience of wheat production.

Field of sunflowers.The Sunflower Pathology Working Group (SPWG) addresses the significant challenge of sunflower diseases in the North Central States, where most U.S. sunflower is grown. Their mission is to develop Extension materials and programs to help growers and stakeholders identify diseases and other pests, thereby facilitating the adoption of IPM practices. The SPWG aims to improve disease identification and management skills through collaborations, create diagnostic guides, and produce educational materials to shift disease management from a “spray and pray” approach to IPM.

Critical Issues

Critical issue projects support research that addresses critical pest concerns, aiming to improve understanding and management of pests that pose threats to crop productivity, human health, or safety, including diseases, weeds, and insects. Projects that received funding are listed below:

This project addresses critical challenges in managing alfalfa weevils, a significant pest of alfalfa crops in the central Midwest. Researchers will investigate whether these weevils have developed resistance to commonly used insecticides, particularly pyrethroids, a problem observed in western states. The project will also study changes in the weevil’s spring emergence patterns, likely influenced by warmer winters, which can complicate timely pest control. The findings will provide up-to-date information on weevil susceptibility to insecticides and their seasonal behavior, ultimately helping to improve integrated pest management strategies for alfalfa production.

This project focuses on improving the management of volunteer corn, a common and challenging weed in corn and soybean fields, especially those resistant to common herbicides like glyphosate and glufosinate. The research will evaluate the effectiveness of precision sprayers in accurately identifying and targeting volunteer corn within soybean crops, a unique challenge since the “weed” is the same plant as the crop. The project also aims to determine the potential for significant herbicide reduction by using these precision technologies compared to traditional broadcast spraying. Ultimately, the goal is to provide growers with evidence-based strategies for integrated volunteer corn management, leading to improved yields, reduced herbicide use, and increased profitability.

The recent emergence of the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) in the Midwest, an invasive species known to transmit severe corn stunt diseases, poses a significant threat to corn production. This project will utilize the existing American Midwest Suction Trap Network to monitor the leafhopper’s migratory patterns, distribution, and abundance across the region. Researchers will also screen trapped leafhoppers for the presence of corn stunt spiroplasma, a key pathogen. The project aims to provide crucial, real-time data to growers and extension agents, enabling better prediction of outbreaks and informing timely pest and disease management decisions. Additionally, the project will assess the susceptibility of these new corn leafhopper populations to insecticides, helping to tailor effective control strategies.

Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) is a major disease affecting sugarbeet production in the North Central U.S. and Great Lakes region, leading to significant yield losses and reliance on fungicides. This project aims to improve integrated pest management strategies for CLS by refining disease forecasting and enhancing fungicide resistance detection. Researchers will validate new models that predict disease risk based on airborne spore levels, leading to more precise fungicide application timing. A key focus will be developing better diagnostic tools to detect fungicide resistance, especially to DMI fungicides, ensuring that growers can make informed decisions about effective control measures and promote sustainable sugarbeet production.

IPM Partnerships

IPM Partnerships fund projects that focus on expanding knowledge and outreach to stakeholders to use IPM.

The project aims to address the plant disease challenges faced by Amish and Mennonite small-scale farmers in Missouri. By establishing on-site diagnostic booths and providing free plant diagnostic services, the project seeks to reduce reliance on chemical fungicides and herbicides. Through disease surveys and community outreach, the project aims to promote sustainable plant disease control methods, improve crop yield and quality, and foster a positive relationship between MU Extension and the surrounding communities.

The War Against Weeds podcast provides accessible and engaging information on integrated weed management to farmers and agricultural professionals. With over 100 episodes and 56,000 downloads, the podcast has proven highly effective in communicating vital information, with many listeners reporting changes in their weed management practices. This project aims to expand the podcast’s impact by creating short video summaries for each episode, developing an expanded website with a topic index and additional resources, and offering continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisors. These enhancements will further support informed decision-making and sustainable weed control practices in agriculture.

Check out the full list of episodes on the “War Against Weeds” website.

IPM Mini-Grants

Mini-grants provide funds to enable small-scale projects or activities in support of increasing IPM in the region.

  • Black Soldier Fly Competitive Exclusion of Pestiferous Flies from Breeding Habitats
  • Missouri Rice Verification Program
  • Investigating the Efficacy of a Water-Based Garlic Formulation for Pasture Fly Control on Cattle
  • Development of Integrated Pest Management in Swine Production Facilities
  • Midwest Fruit Worker Meeting
  • Enhancement of Western Bean Cutworm IPM Through a Trapping Network
  • Pollinator management guide for urban farmers
  • Effect of soil texture and soil organic matter content on herbicide potential of ionic thiocyanate
  • Development of a Field-Deployable Multiplex Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) Test for the Accurate Point-of-Care Detection of the Emerging Corn stunt Spiroplasma and its Vector, the Corn Leafhopper

Past Projects

Working Groups

Previously funded working groups are listed below. Click on the name of a group to view details.

The Agriculture and Wildlife Coexistence Working Group was created to help farmers with challenges associated with having wildlife near the farm, from crop damage to livestock disease. The goal was to list the problems, identify solutions and promote the solutions to growers.

This project is still active as the Crop Protection Network. It allows extension materials to be created once and then shared across programs in multiple states.

This working group is welcome to all Extension Entomologists with a few meetings a year and the opportunity to connect and ask questions through the team software called Basecamp.

This project seeks to unite agricultural stakeholders, from researchers to farmers to ag businesses and organizations so that good farming practices can be implemented with benefits to farmers, citizens and society. Learn more on the Farming and Food Narrative Project website.

From 2010 to 2020, hop production interests in regions like the Great Lakes, Northeast, and North Central grew significantly, with a 284 percent increase in acreage outside of the Pacific Northwest. Market support also surged, with 50 percent of brewers willing to pay a premium for locally grown hops. Despite the enthusiastic growth, re-emerging production regions face challenges due to limited resources and expertise. The Great Lakes Hop Working Group (GLHWG) successfully facilitates collaborative research and outreach efforts, resulting in achievements such as hop production tours, online courses, virus identification surveys, diagnostic tools, and an MSU Hop Podcast.

The Great Lakes Urban Agriculture IPM Working Group was established to provide research-based information on pest management to small-scale urban agriculture enterprises in the North Central region. They plan to organize networking meetings, conduct a survey, and create educational videos to address the unique needs of these operators.

Regional extension educators in the North Central region can improve their support for growers by establishing a strong network that spans state lines. The Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group (GLVWG) aims to facilitate this connection through winter meetings for Extension professionals, summer grower exchanges, and tours for early career individuals, fostering lasting relationships among vegetable growers across the Great Lakes region and beyond.

Learn more on the Great Lakes Vegetable website.

The Great Lakes Fruit Workers Working Group unites professionals across multiple fields, from researchers to extension specialists and consultants to improve information sharing related to pest management on fruit crops. More details are on the Great Lakes Fruit Workers website or in this summary of efforts.

The wheat stem sawfly (WSS) has become a significant pest of wheat, causing substantial yield losses and impacting dryland cropping systems in the Great Plains region. Despite the lack of widely adopted IPM tools for WSS management, the specific limitations to adoption are not well understood. The Great Plains Sawfly Survey Working Group aims to address this by identifying needs and pathways for IPM adoption, organizing a wheat IPM forum, and producing a white paper on the impact of WSS on U.S. agriculture.

The industrial hemp market in the Corn Belt grew significantly before 2020, but limited pest management resources for Midwest growers hinder its expansion. The Hemp IPM Working Group (HIPMWG) aims to bridge this gap by connecting experts and stakeholders nationwide to share knowledge and develop effective pest management strategies for North Central hemp producers.

The IPM4Bees Working Group promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing among researchers, extension professionals, and stakeholders in the field of honey bees, native bees, and bee-related integrated pest management (IPM). The group focuses on pollinator-friendly agricultural practices and IPM for honey bee pests. Their achievements include organizing symposiums, workshops, and virtual seminars, as well as creating extension videos on beekeeping and varroa mite checks. They also conducted an IPM for Bees Extension Exchange Seminar in 2022.

To streamline the process of identifying invasive plant species, the Invasive Species Working Group, comprising representatives from multiple Midwestern states, aimed to create a shared database of scientific references. By meeting monthly and pooling resources, the group was able to accelerate the assessment of invasive plants, preventing duplication of efforts and enabling quicker updates to state-based invasive plant lists. The project’s goals included proactively identifying invasive species and promoting efficient resource utilization among states.

The Iowa Pest Resistance Management Program is a collaborative effort including individuals and groups representing all parts of the Iowa community, including farmers and landowners, small and national businesses, scientists, researchers and state regulators. Together, these partners leverage resources, expertise and time to help inform the public about pest resistance, find new pest management strategies and encourage public support and adoption of these practices. Since the state plan was written, two separate community teams have taken the lead to bring attention to local pest threats, potential resistance issues, and effective management options that preserve available tools.

The nursery and greenhouse industry is the fastest-growing segment of U.S. agriculture, with steady growth in production facilities and cash receipts over the last two decades. In the North Central region, which has four states in the top 15 nationally, the industry contributes significantly to total national nursery and greenhouse sales. However, nurseries face various IPM and management challenges that can impact profit margins. To address these issues, the working group conducted annual meetings and developed crop profiles for nursery crops within the region.

Visit the Nursery IPM Facebook page for more information.

Locally produced specialty crops, such as vegetables, fruits, and wines, are rapidly growing sectors in U.S. agriculture. However, their continued growth is threatened by herbicide drift, particularly from dicamba and 2,4-D, which poses a high risk to specialty crop growers in the North Central region. To address this issue, a group of weed, agronomic, and horticulture crop specialists will evaluate and prioritize the challenges and develop resources for education and prevention to mitigate drift risks and support the long-term stability of these enterprises.

Learn more on the Herbicide-Drift Risk Management for Specialty Crops website.

The Pest Alert Network Working Group facilitated improved communication between stakeholders to address pest threats in crop production. They achieved this by creating a pest alert network, generating maps of insect sightings, and developing a Mesonet tool for monitoring predictions. Their efforts aimed to expand scouting and identification efforts, increase management options, and improve farm profitability.

Learn more by visiting the Pest Alert Network website.

The Pulse Crop IPM Working Group focuses on enhancing pulse crop production in the North Central region by addressing disease and pest challenges. They facilitate collaboration among stakeholders, organize meetings, and create educational resources like a podcast to support growers in implementing IPM practices.

The Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group promotes pollinator-friendly habitat conservation on energy and transportation landscapes. They engage with over 400 organizations and focus on information dissemination, collaboration, and tool development. In 2023, they will host webinars, discussions, and improve their website to address key issues and support participants.

The Tactile Toolbox Working Group will develop 3D printing models for crop diseases and insect damage to improve scouting accuracy. They will collaborate with experts from various fields and organize a workshop to promote the use of these training materials.
Register here to join the working group!

Critical Issues

Previously funded critical issue projects are listed below. Click on the name of a group to view details.

The Weed Emergence Scouting Tool (WEST) aims to address the challenge of herbicide-resistant weeds in corn and soybean production by providing real-time monitoring of weed emergence and supporting more effective weed management practices. This tool integrates weed emergence knowledge, weather details, and long-term weather records to inform timely application of soil residual herbicides and tillage measures.

The project addressed the spread of tar spot disease in corn by providing outreach and training on disease diagnostics, documenting disease severity in different growing conditions, and evaluating the genetic and morphological variety of the pathogen in the Great Plains region.

Soil health is crucial for food security, as a large percentage of the global food supply relies on soils. However, limited information is available on nematode community dynamics in the North Central region of the US, which can serve as bioindicators of soil health. To address this, the project aims to develop a baseline understanding of nematode communities through morphological characterization and DNA sequencing in undisturbed soils of different ecoregions in Missouri. This baseline data will facilitate future monitoring of nematode community shifts and comparison of undisturbed and disturbed soils to assess environmental and anthropogenic impacts on soil health in the North Central US.

Over the past decade, sociological efforts related to pest resistance management have centered on growers. One major finding is that there is a need for collaborative, community-based management to encourage the use of a wide range of pest management methods, or integrated pest management.
Fundamental to any collaborative management is the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. For pest resistance management, this includes growers as well as those who influence and advise them. To make progress, it is now necessary to understand the perspectives and practices of their influencers and advisors.

An exploratory attempt at understanding Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs) perspectives is currently underway, with the Weed Science Society of America facilitating a series of regional listening sessions with crop advisors over the winter of 2021/2022. This work will be expanded by conducting a representative survey of CCAs in the U.S. This would parallel a previous national survey of farmers completed in 2016, aiding in our understanding of how CCAs think, communicate, and contribute to on-farm pest resistance management decisions.

Spotted lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula, is a new invasive insect making headlines nationwide. Initially detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, SLF has swiftly moved through the Mid-Atlantic, with recent establishment in Ohio. SLF’s rapid expansion is owed to its broad host range of over 100 plant species, high fecundity, and inconspicuous life stages. Adult SLF can reach almost incomprehensible densities, often coating the surface of host plants.

SLF is a public nuisance, impacting urban landscaping and backyard trees. Large infestations can kill plants or weaken them to opportunistic pests and/or diseases. Further, SLF adults produce copious amounts of honeydew which can cover cars and backyards, as well as provide ample medium for plant diseases. Many common ornamental trees like maple, walnut, willow and birch are favored host plants of SLF, and SLF can also feed on many agricultural commodities including apple, cherry, hop, and grape. Notably, many of these commodities are major specialty crops within the Midwest.

The Asian longhorned tick (ALT, Haemaphysalis longicornis) from East Asia is a serious pest of livestock. Since its formal discovery in the United States in 2017, this tick has spread  to 16 US states, primarily because an adult female can lay more than 2,000 eggs via asexual reproduction, leading to rapidly growing populations and large infestations per host. The goal of this study was to employ Ohio as a model for the North Central region, to inform IPM programs and evaluate infestation risk to livestock through characterizing ALT ecology, including phenology, density, and preferences for wildlife host and habitat type. In addition, the team described the epidemiology of ALT-associated pathogens to assess risks to livestock health and occupational safety of producers, a workforce that has already been weakened by the current pandemic. An established high risk site within Ohio was monitored for six months.