Project Outcomes

Chandi Witharana, Ana Legrand, and Shuresh Ghimire with the University of Connecticut. The goal of this project is to develop an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for early detection of potato leafhopper damage in potato.

The four specific objectives are to: 1) Identify specific and sensitive spectral wavelengths to leafhopper damage and to soil nitrogen. 2) Model the relationship between the leafhopper damage and spectral responses. 3) Investigate the applicability of UAS spectroscopy to detect leafhopper damage and characterize the level of severity. 4) Develop and implement an extension program for early detection of potato leafhopper damage using unmanned aerial systems.

David Owens and Sally Taylor with the University of Delaware.

Objectives: 1) Develop a degree day model to predict slug egg hatch. 2) Study slug-parasitizing nematode range and activity in the mid-Atlantic.

Changlu Wang and Salehe Abbar with Rutgers University.

Objectives: 1) Develop an English and a Spanish short video demonstrating the bed bug biology, prevention, inspection, proper use of non-chemical control tools. 2) Develop English and Spanish brochures on bed bug prevention and control for health care providers. 3) Partner with health care industry to educate health care providers on bed bug prevention and control using the new videos and brochures.

Amara Dunn with Cornell University.

Objectives: 1) Improve the usefulness and usability of the existing Biological Control website while migrating it to the NYS IPM website. 2) Create and add new content to the Biological Control website, including information on biopesticides and new arthropod biocontrol agents, and short videos that explain basic biocontrol concepts.

Sonja Birthisel with the University of Maine.

Objectives: 1) Compile knowledge on the benefits and risks of tarping and soil solarization in the Northeast region. 2) Evaluate how widely used these practices are currently and identify barriers to further adoption. 3) Establish key questions and priorities for future research and extension efforts. 4) Collect preliminary data on IPM efficacy and environmental impacts at existing field sites across the region. 5) Develop multi-state proposals to address regional priorities as identified in Objective 3.

Margarita Lopez-Uribe and Robyn Underwood of Penn State are developing a decision-making guide in the form of a web application for beekeepers. Despite intensive management efforts, beekeepers lose 40 percent of honey bee colonies on average in the U.S. The losses are increasing due to a number of factors, and a science-based decision-making tool can help inform more suitable IPM practices for staving off losses due to pests, pathogens, and parasites.

The Northeast School IPM Working Group first received a Partnership Grant in 2013 to develop a website on best practices in school IPM. While the site has successfully reached a large audience, both it and the group’s own website are in need of comprehensive updates—incorporating stakeholder feedback—to remain timely and relevant.

Ellen Mallory and Eric Gallandt of the University of Maine are partnering with organic grain farmers to evaluate new IPM tools for controlling spring annual weeds, which have posed significant challenges to organic growers. The tools—automated camera-guided cultivation and selective weed cutting—will be examined alone and in combination with existing IPM strategies, with results slated to be incorporated into a factsheet and two webinars.

Quan Zeng and Neil Schultes of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station are seeking to improve disease-prediction models for fire blight, a bacterial pathogen that poses a significant threat to apples. These models can help inform when to apply antibiotics to  greatest effect. Environmental factors play a role in the bacterium’s replication, and this project seeks to evaluate the role of water and humidity—and how best to incorporate such factors into the models.

Mengjun Hu of the University of Maryland is evaluating ways to take additional environmental factors into consideration when using the Strawberry Advisory System to inform responses to fungal pathogens threatening strawberry production. Existing models use data from on-farm weather stations, which can’t account for microclimatic variations experienced by plasticulture strawberries.

After receiving a 2013 Partnership Grant from the Northeastern IPM Center, Dion Lerman and Lyn Garling developed a task force to help communities deal with bed bugs.

Brian Wick, lead project director for the 2013 IPM Partnership Grant Increasing Use and Reporting of IPM Practices with Mobile Technology and BOGS Tools, has developed a smartphone interface for the entire BOGS Online Grower System.

Ninety-three percent of participants in trainings and focus groups felt that the investment of time and training for IPM best management practices would be worth the effort for schools.

The Northeast School IPM Working Group met to strategize ways to increase engagement with school facilities managers and other school IPM implementers.

A team led by Nina Jenkins, Penn State, has found that the fungal biopesticide I93-825 spray is effective against bed bugs.

Gathered IPM stakeholders from multiple disciplines to share information about controlling and managing pests in small fruits.

Compiled existing IPM materials into an Environmental Management System (EMS) format to make it easier for school facilities to integrate IPM into their routine maintenance activities.

Studied the use of IPM practices to reduce the impact of internal parasites in small ruminants.