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Changes
underway for MSU IPM Program
Change is
the obvious caption to use to frame the IPM Program during 2002 and 2003.
Working with change in 2003 to continue to enhance our efforts is our
goal. In this IPM Report our staff and affiliated MSUE field staff provide
highlights of their activities. All activities are fundamentally supportive
of our program mission: protecting Michigan’s agricultural production
and environmental health by emphasizing use of Integrated Pest Management.
In support of this mission, the MSU IPM Program emphasizes partnerships
with campus departments and Extension personnel, governmental agencies,
and plant-based industries. The CAT Alert newsletters, the pocket guide
series, and participation in Extension programming all reflect our desire
to team up with our colleagues and friends to promote IPM.
Changes in 2002 include
myself, Mike Brewer; I started in July as Coordinator. I am proud to join
the program and hope to further stimulate team building with our department,
Extension, and industry colleagues. Simply, this approach is vital to
our continued success. As of February 2003, the IPM Program will be more
formally linked to two MSU departments: our administration will flow through
the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology. We aim to provide a
streamlined process of connecting the strengths of the IPM Program with
the pest and crop management specialists of these and other academic departments
and MSUE units throughout Michigan. Our continued affiliation with MSUE
Integrated Crop Management (ICM) field staff reflects this approach to
connect with partners.
Also, the latest version
of the Farm Bill appeared on the scene. The 2002 Farm Bill authorized
increased funding of USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
programs to provide producers incentive payments for implementing land
management practices such as IPM that address environmental concerns.
With new funding, NRCS program participation by producers with interest
in pest management should increase. The IPM Program, with great assistance
from members of several MSUE Area of Expertise teams, provided NRCS information
on costs associated with paying for pest monitoring services, a key cost
in implementing IPM. There are recommendations for several-fold increases
in these incentives that await final approval in the state NRCS office.
Specific information will be provided to MSUE AoE teams and printed in
the CAT Alerts newsletters. The NRCS staff has been very welcoming to
our participation.
In working with AoE
teams, department faculty, industry, and our government partners, the
common theme of promoting IPM and providing timely information to Michigan’s
plant-based industries is clear. My emphasis for 2003 and onward is that
teamwork will be essential to increase implementation of IPM while maintaining
environmental health. Paraphrasing the 2002 Farm Bill, farm health and
environmental health are compatible goals that need our support. 
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Project
for new training and development of scouting services for tree fruit farms
There is a significant need for well-trained IPM scouts to
work with Michigan’s tree fruit growers. At a time when tree fruit
pest management is moving toward more information-intensive programs using
novel technologies and pesticides, the available pool of capable scouts
and consultants has been shrinking, hampering the ability of growers to
implement new pest management systems. With funding from Project GREEEN,
a team of MSU Extension specialists, which includes David Epstein from
the IPM Program and John Wise from the Department of Entomology, is addressing
this situation by pro-viding scout training and by establishing with growers
and industry the necessary infrastructure to keep these individuals working.
Scout
training program
The project team is developing a training curriculum with classroom and
hands-on field/laboratory training. Classroom sessions will begin March
4 at the Clarksville Horticultural
Experiment Station, followed by field training in the laboratory and
orchards at the Trevor Nichols Research Complex (TNRC) in Fennville. The
ultimate goal is to have the classroom-training curriculum offered in
all of Michigan’s fruit growing regions with the summer field sessions
remaining at the TNRC.
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| Anne
Hanley hosts a booth describing the new training program. |
Apprenticeships
to build skills
Students who complete classroom and field training will qualify to be
apprenticed with certified crop consultants to further develop the experience
necessary to be employed as scouts or consultants. The apprenticeship
program will also be extended to interested growers, a family member,
or a full-time farm employee to receive on-farm scout training. This is
an audience that is often difficult to attract to classroom training.
The on-farm training will allow growers to take ownership of their pest
management programs, fostering greater IPM adoption and implementation.
The grower may still choose to employ a consultant, but will have a greater
knowledge base for ultimate decision-making.
The apprentice program
has been designed so that it can serve as an internship for MSU students.
Through a special arrangement with the Agricultural Technology Program,
students who have begun classroom training can apply for a summer internship
with agriculture-based companies that provide scouting services.
Organizing
scouting needs
The project team is also working with growers whose farms are closely
located to pool resources to procure scouting/consulting services for
their farms. This arrangement is attractive to both the scout/consultant,
who can serve a number of farms with minimal travel costs, and to the
grower collective, who can combine their buying power to lower overall
costs to individuals.
A program of regular
orchard scouting is the cornerstone of pest management decision-making
in any sustainable fruit production system. This project is helping build
a scouting industry for Michigan fruit growers that can consistently and
effectively provide high-quality scouting. Although we are initially focusing
on tree fruits, the projects’ strategies will provide a foundation
for developing similar scout training programs for other Michigan crops.
For more information contact Anne Hanley at: Trevor
Nichols Research Complex, (269) 561-5040, hanleyan@msu.edu
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Tart
cherry pest guide developed
Cherry
growers must control many insect and disease pests every year in order
to produce a high quality cherry crop acceptable to processors and consumers.
When are the best times to set out traps for a variety of insect pests?
When is the critical time to monitor for and take control measures for
a given disease? Growers needed a resource to let them quickly look at
the array of pests and make timely pest management decisions. With this
in mind Dave Epstein, IPM Program, Gary Thornton, IPM Agent located at
the Northwest Station, and Larry Gut, Department of Entomology, set out
to develop the Tart Cherry Pest Guide.
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The
Tart Cherry Pest Guide is a one-page chart that allows at-a-glance
viewing of information on average pest phenology (biological activity
over time in relation to climatic conditions) and the corresponding average
accumulated degree-days for that date for the Northwest Horticultural
Research Station. Growers can quickly see the proper timing for monitoring
activities, critical times to apply control measures, and what pests are
most likely to be emerging for the current degree days accumulation.
The
Tart Cherry Pest Guide will be available as a colorful laminated
poster and in the annual Michigan Fruit Management Guide (MSU Extension
publication E-154).
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Field
Crop AoE On-Farm Research/Demonstration publication
Field Crop Area of Expertise On-Farm
Research/Demonstration
is a new 48-page publication about 43 research or demonstration
projects. Sixteen counties are represented throughout the Upper and Lower
Peninsula. Twelve MSUE agents and three MSUE specialists conducted projects
this year.
For
the last five years, Dale Mutch,
District Field Crop IPM Agent located at the Kellogg
Biological Station has been the chair of the On-Farm Research/Demonstration
Bulletin. He secures funding and coordinates publication production.
Funding
for the 2002 publication was provided by the Corn Marketing Program of
Michigan and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. The publication
has been distributed to the Field Crop AoE team members and will be on-line
in the future at: http://www.canr.msu.edu/fldcrp/
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Adjusting
to the phase-out of methyl bromide
The impending
loss of methyl bromide in 2005 will impact many sectors of agriculture,
including the nursery industry. Preparing for the loss of methyl bromide
has taken several avenues, including the establishment of a methyl bromide
alternatives task force (MBATF). The task force includes industry and
university representatives with common goals -- to maintain the use of
methyl bromide where there are no alternatives, to help educate industry
about alternatives to methyl bromide, and to research and develop satisfactory
alternatives.
The
Nursery and Landscape Integrator of the IPM Program, Diane Brown-Rytlewski,
has been a part of the task force since its inception. In August and September,
she worked with Robin Rosenbaum, Michigan Department of Agriculture, to
put together a Critical Use Exemption proposal (CUE) for the Michigan
Seedling Growers. The critical use exemption proposal provides an avenue
for growers to request methyl bromide beyond the 2005 phase-out date for
uses where no feasible alternatives exist, while alternatives are being
researched. In fall of 2002, Diane also served as a member of an EPA review
panel for evaluating CUE proposals.
The
task force has also provided opportunities for members to view research
sites. Members have toured herbicide evaluation plots and alternative
fumigant plots.
Research
explores alternatives
The states of Michigan, New York, and Rhode Island were awarded over $231,000
to evaluate methyl bromide alternatives. Work on the project began in
2002 and is scheduled to run until 2004. Research taking place in Michigan
includes: evaluation of cover crops and compost to manage weeds, assessment
of herbicide carry-over impact on nursery production systems, and nematode
population densities and plant quality indices using alternate fumigant
materials. Michigan State University project members include: Dr. George
Bird, Professor of Nematology; Dr. Bernard Zandstra, Professor of Weed
Science; Dr. Haddish Melakeberhan, Associate Professor of Nematology;
Diane Brown-Rytlewski, Nursery and Landscape Integrator; and Thomas Dudek,
District Extension Agent.
Project
GREEEN and the Michigan Nursery and
Landscape Association (MNLA) provided additional funding for herbicide
evaluation in nursery crops.
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Book
emphasizes ecological management of fruit crops
Michigan State University
Extension has published a new book for fruit growers that responds to
the increasing number of regulatory and environmental restraints on fruit
production systems. To help fruit growers and consultants transition to
more sustainable practices, MSU specialists collaborated with them to
produce this publication explaining how ecology works within fruit production
systems. The book explores how a farm is an ecosystem where organisms
form an integrated web that allows farms to function. With knowledge of
these interactions, growers can effectively modify their own production
system.
The 104-page book is entitled Fruit
Crop Ecology and Management. It includes many color photos and
illustrations along with on-farm examples. The book is a collaboration
of 20 authors from ten disciplines, and over 25 reviewers from several
states and the Netherlands. It includes information for tree fruit and
small fruit grown in the Great Lakes states with principles that can extend
beyond that region.
Joy Landis, communications manager
for the IPM Program, served as editor and project co-ordinator for the
book. It sells for $16 and can be ordered with the on-line
form or by calling the MSU Bulletin office at (517) 355-0240.
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Two
new pocket IPM guides available
MSU has two new pocket IPM scouting guides published in December 2002.
View descriptions of content, sample pages, and an order form at these
links:
A Pocket IPM
Scouting Guide for Woody Landscape Plants
A Pocket Guide for
IPM Scouting Stone Fruits
A similar guide for
scouting grapes in the North Central States is due to be published this
spring.
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Updated
2/28/03. Contact J.N. Landis
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