Fall 2001
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Fall 2001
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Inside Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program Highlights from States in the Northeast
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Welcome Welcome to the first issue of Northeast IPM News. Previous regional reports offered longer collections of articles documenting the successes and impacts of integrated pest management (IPM) programs in the region. From now on, Northeast IPM News will be the primary printed forum for IPM news of Northeast. We hope this more succinct and frequent publication will strengthen the region's IPM network by providing interesting, informative, and timely information. IPM is a concept that touches many. Anyone trying to control pests benefits from effective management approaches. Those concerned about our environment value IPM's ability to minimize or avoid environmental degradation. And anyone concerned about farm profitability appreciates IPM's attention to the bottom line. Your state's IPM program works not only for the benefit of IPM users (farmers, park superintendents, school grounds managers, homeowners, and many others) but for the benefit of society. We hope this newsletter helps to bring those benefits to light. In this issue, we highlight six projects funded through the regional IPM grants program in 2001. These projects represent only a portion of the IPM work carried out in the Northeast--each state has its own IPM program with many expert researchers and educators who continually help IPM users accomplish better pest control, improve environmental stewardship, and enhance profitability. Future issues of Northeast IPM News will focus on the challenges and successes of some of these efforts. | |
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Highlights from the Regional Grants Program Published | ||
| In September, we released a review
of projects that the Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program has funded in
recent years. The report highlights 45 innovative research and education
projects funded from 1995 to 2001. Leaders of these projects respond to the real world needs of growers, consumers, and communities by reducing risks associated with pesticide use in rural and urban areas, producing healthy plants, providing safe food, and making farms more profitable. Each review provides a brief explanation of the project, the project leaders and cooperators, the states involved, and most important, who can benefit from this work. View the report online
(pdf), or contact NE IPM Facilitator Jim
VanKirk for copies (315.787.2378; jrv1@cornell.edu) |
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The ABCs of Funding Deciding how Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program funds
are spent is an annual process involving individuals from the entire Northeast
region. The decision-making process begins shortly after proposals are
received. |
Northeast IPM Funds Six Projects in 2001 | |
| The Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program,
supported by USDA's Cooperative State Research Extension and Education Service
(CSREES), targets important research, extension, and education challenges
identified and prioritized by stakeholders throughout the region. The program
funded six projects this year--four research projects, one extension project,
and one effort that combines research and extension. One of the 2001 research projects is a collaboration between William Turecheck of Cornell University and Alan Biggs of West Virginia University. The project, Reduced Antibiotic Use on Apples with Revised MARYBLYT Forecasting, will improve the management of fire blight, a devastating disease of apples. Leaders will refine a predictive computer model to account for varietal susceptibility, orchard age, and inoculum potential, and will also develop a more user-friendly interface for the model.
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| At the University of Massachusetts,
Roy Van Driesche is investigating biological control to manage the most
important pest in greenhouse bedding plants, the western flower thrips.
The results of this research project, called Phytoseids and Spinsad for
Thrips in IPM Greenhouses: Efficacy and Compatibility, will be used throughout
the region's bedding plant industry, which generates over $300 million in
the Northeast. Sridhar Polavarapu of Rutgers University has launched a research project called Development of IPM Methods for Oriental Beetle Management in Multiple Crops. Oriental beetle has a wide geographic range and is a major pest of turfgrass, nursery stock, greenhouse ornamentals, and blueberries, so this work will be valuable thoughout the region. The fourth research project, titled Inoculative Releases of Trichogramma ostriniae for Control of European Corn Borer (ECB) in Field Corn, is a cooperative effort among New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. Previous research has shown that ECB can be successfully controlled in sweet corn by establishing populations of the tiny predatory wasp T. ostriniae. Project leader John Losey of Cornell University is applying the same methods in field corn, which may significantly improve profitability by protecting the corn without resorting to insecticides. The extension project, called Improving the Environmental Impact Quotient: Evaluating Pesticides for Their Impact on Beneficial Organisms, is led by Cornell University's Curt Petzoldt. This effort is aimed at improving the usefulness of a formula used to compare environmental and safety parameters for most commonly used pesticides. The project will provide data about the effects of pesticides on several beneficial species. Incorporating Bt-Corn Hybrids into Field Crop IPM Programs is the combined research and extension project. Dennis Calvin at the Pennsylvania State University is working in partnership with the University of Maryland and Cornell University to compare the economic benefits of using Bt-corn hybrids with those of using conventional hybrids to control European corn borer in field corn. Results will help growers make more informed planting decisions. John Ayers, |
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NATIONAL NEWSFLASH! |
| In the States.... |
 Regional Updates |
| Maryland An Advanced Landscape Plant IPM Plant Health Care Short Course will be held at the University of Maryland in College Park, January 7-11, 2002. The course, which has both lecture and lab components, will emphasize the principles and practices of IPM in landscape plantings based on sound pest identification and life history information. Topics will include IPM and plant health care principles and practices, program implementation, monitoring technology, soil program diagnosis, biological control, biorational pesticides, adult insect identification, immature insect identification, disease management, and business aspects of IPM. De-tails and registration information are available online at www.entm.umd.edu/ events/lan_info.pdf (pdf file). The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) Plant Diagnostic Website (http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/hgic/home.html) now offers an electronic question-and-answer service for northeastern gardeners (just click on the "e-mail questions" button). You can also check out their plant problem-solving section by clicking oin the "plant diagnostics" button. Massachusetts Ron Prokopy reports good progress on developing traps for monitoring plum curculio and refining placement of traps for controlling apple maggot flies. New Hampshire Dr. William MacHardy has retired from his position with the Department of Plant Biology at the University of New Hampshire, where he taught courses on plant pathology and IPM. Dr. MacHardy was a charter member of the Northeast Research, Extension and Academic Program Committee. He will be settling into the role of professor emeritus, and we hope he will stay in-volved in the world of IPM! New Jersey In July, the state's legislature approved an appropriation earmarked for IPM. These annual funds will be used to support ongoing programs and develop new ones in certain areas, such as nurseries, greenhouses, and schools. Rutgers University extension specialist Peter Shearer is leading a six-state cooperative effort to reduce risks associated with pest management of Eastern tree fruits. The project is funded by the USDA's Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP). New Jersey researchers have also obtained two EPA grants--a Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) grant for research on peaches, and a Region II grant for a demonstration of IPM in pumpkins. New York Vegetable IPM Coordinator Dr. Curt Petzoldt is leading a three-state effort, recently funded by RAMP, to develop reduced risk pest management strategies for cucurbits. Dr. Jana Lamboy has been named coordinator for the Ornamentals IPM program area, leading efforts in ornamentals and turfgrass production. Dr. Jennifer Grant has been named coordinator for the Community IPM program area, leading IPM efforts related to schools, homes, landscapes, turfgrass maintenance, and municipalities. |
The Northeast
region's IPM website has a new address:
http://northeastipm.org. The site is an excellent IPM resource, with regional
and national IPM news, information about funding opportunities, research,
jobs, upcoming events, and links to other IPM websites. Don't forget to
update your bookmarks! The 2002 Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program request for proposals has been released. Letters of intent (required) were due November 7, and full proposals are due December 7. For more information, visit our website. The next Northeast Research, Extension, and Academic Program Committee (NEREAP) IPM annual meeting is scheduled for February 26-28 in Rhode Island. We'll provide more details to members via e-mail and the Northeast IPM website as the time approaches, so stay tuned. If you'd like to refresh your memory about last year's meeting, you can find the report online at northeastipm.org/nereap/2001albany. |
| IPM in Your Area | IPM Coordinators in the Northeast | |
| IPM works for everyone, whether they grow
crops for a living or occasionally deal with ants in the kitchen. But
how do you quickly get access to the information you need to use IPM? Most counties in the United States have a Cooperative Extension office that can provide the information you need very quickly. Look in your phone book under "Cooperative Extension" or online at www.ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/countyext.htm. Each state has an IPM coordinator who can direct you to IPM "how to" advice (see box at right). These coordinators, associated with the state land grant universities, also have information about IPM research and education pro-grams in their states. You can also access state IPM web pages from the regional IPM site, northeastipm.org--just click on the appropriate state abbreviation at the top of the page. |
Connecticut Richard Ashley, Univ. of Connecticut www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/ipmprog.htm Delaware Maine Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire |
New Jersey George Hamilton, Rutgers Univ. www.pestmanagement.rutgers.edu New York Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont West Virginia |