| January
2004 |
New Research Holds Promise for Improving IPM Tactics
| One of the greatest strengths of integrated pest management is its use of innovative, science-based strategies for reducing risk while maintaining the cost effectiveness and efficacy of pest control. The Northeast Regional IPM Grants Program supports new research and extension efforts that hold the promise of improving or expanding our toolbox of IPM tactics. Last year, this USDA-supported grants program funded four projects that address problems in various areas of agriculture. |
 European honey bee with a varroa mite on its back. Photo by Scott Bauer, ARS. |
Potatoes are one of the most important horticultural crops in the Northeast. Growers often rely primarily on the insecticide imidocloprid to protect their crops, applying it to the whole field at planting. They want to reduce input costs for economic reasons, and they face substantial public pressure to reduce chemical use. In addition, overreliance on insecticides can hasten the development of insect resistance to the chemicals.
Andrei Alyokhin, a biologist at the University of Maine, Orono, is leading a research project to improve the management of Colorado potato beetle (CPB), the most important insect defoliator of potatoes. Using substances called kairomones, synthetic blends based on the volatiles produced by potato plants, the researchers are attracting beetles and drawing them to insecticide-treated areas within a field. By replacing uniform insecticide applications with the treatment of selected areas of the field, they may be able to decrease the amount of insecticides required for successful pest control. They are evaluating the efficiency and economic feasibility of combining the reduced-area-treatment approach with the use of kairomone attractants, and will also explore the possible effects of the attractants on other pests and beneficial insects. If successful, this project could significantly reduce the amount of insecticide applied to potato crops while slowing the development of CPB resistance.
Honey Bee Pests
Honey bees are essential to the production of more than 90 fruit and vegetable crops worldwide. But honey bee populations are threatened by an invertebrate pest called the varroa mite, the major killer of all bee colonies. Currently there are two pesticides that can be used to control the mites, but beekeepers are increasingly concerned about the rapid development of resistance to these materials. Chemical contamination of honey, bees, and wax is also a concern.
Nancy Ostiguy, an entomologist at Penn State, leads a multistate project (PA, MD, and DE) to test some nonpesticidal alternatives for varroa control. One approach is interrupting bee reproduction to reduce levels of the varroa mites, which require bee brood for reproduction. The researchers can accomplish this by temporarily removing or isolating honey bee queens from the rest of the colony. They’re also exploring the use of screens at the bottom of hives to decrease the number of mites in a colony, because mites who have fallen to the bottom of a cage are prevented from reattaching to bees if a screen separates them from the bees. The two tactics, in combination with each other, could lower mite levels in a colony enough to make pesticide applications unnecessary. Results will be disseminated through extension publications, presentations, and possibly a video.
Apple Pests
Ron Prokopy, at the University of Massachusetts, leads a multistate effort (MA, RI, CT, ME, NY, NH, and VT) to improve the biologically based management of two key insect pests of apple: the apple maggot and the plum curculio. Apples are grown in all northeastern states, with recent estimates showing the region’s annual production at over $225 million. Apple maggot and plum curculio damage a majority of apples on unmanaged trees, and most growers apply a total of six insecticide sprays throughout the growing season to control these pests.
Prokopy and colleagues are refining simple, effective, low-risk approaches to managing these pests. For apple maggot, they lure and intercept adults flying into the orchard using spherical odor-baited traps that mimic apples, completely eliminating the need for sprays to control the pest. Odor-baited sentinel trees are used to monitor plum curculio activity, and monitoring information is then used to determine the need for sprays. Results for 2003 are extremely encouraging. In 2004-5, the researchers will demonstrate in commercial orchards the economic and environmental value of these IPM tools.
Weeds
Weed management is a top concern for organic and diversified vegetable growers in the Northeast, as well as for grain crop and forage producers. Eric Gallandt, a weed ecologist at the University of Maine, is leading a multistate project (ME and PA) to evaluate the use of cover crops to both enhance soil quality and simultaneously suppress weeds.
To minimize reliance on herbicides for managing weeds, growers must reduce the size of the germinable portion of the weed seed bank. The project aims to develop management strategies that will accomplish this goal by integrating tillage system and cover cropping practices. The researchers are using field experiments and case studies to evaluate the impact of increasing the intensity of the cover cropping system. They are also determining the effect of varying germinable seed bank densities on the efficacy of weed control and on yield loss in a subsequent test crop. In particular, they’re exploring the effects of green manures and cover crop residues on reducing weed establishment, managing weeds, and reducing soil and water loss. Results of the study will be distributed through Cooperative Extension channels and at field days. This systems approach promises an effective means for managing weed seed banks while maintaining or improving soil health.
New Research Holds Promise for Improving IPM Tactics
One-Stop Shopping for IPM Information
Northeastern IPM Center Launches IPM Partnership Grants Program
From the Directors of the Northeastern IPM Center
Meet Our Advisory Council
Our IPM Partners: Audubon International Inspires Responsible Decisions
In the States
A publication
of the
For more information on IPM in the Northeast or for printed copies of this newsletter, contact Jim VanKirk (315.787.2378; jrv1@cornell.edu) or information specialist Liz Thomas (315.787.2626; egt3@cornell.edu), NYS IPM Program Office, NYSAES, 630 W. North Street, Geneva, NY 14456. Writing and design by Elizabeth Myers (315-251-0713; ebm24@cornell.edu).
