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Impact Report

For plan Integrated Pest Management Systems
Date December 21, 2009, 10:49 pm
For Objective Short-term Show short-term objectives
Impact Report IMPACT REPORT FOR 2009 INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS DR. CAROL SUTHERLAND, EXTENSION ENTOMOLOGIST, NMSU & STATE ENTOMOLOGIST, NM DEPT. AGRICULTURE “Integrated pest management” ---as it pertains to entomology---is an appealing but challenging concept for Master Gardeners, Pesticide Applicators, farmers, ranchers and the general public throughout the state. New Mexico’s County Extension Agents and I address all of these audiences every year, some for the first time and others as a continuation of client training or recertification. I present some program material directly to county clientele at the request of the Agent; I provide some program material and training to agents so they can edit and present it to clientele in their own words. Some program material is delivered to clientele as a result of cooperative scheduling between another specialist and agents eager to provide a training site and opportunity for clients to be trained or recertified---as for Pesticide Applicator Training. For the general public, most people consider arthropods as general pests coming out of nowhere, causing damage to anything and everything and requiring immediate and complete control with the handiest pesticide. Educational programs I create for these audiences are aimed at demystifying insects, arachnids and their relatives, explaining their various roles in nature, damaging stages (if any), and interactions with other arthropods. Most audiences find these discussions interesting, finding several insects in the presentation that they have experienced. While they listen to the definition of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and concepts behind it, they still struggle with the difference between dynamic management of certain arthropod populations and eradicating them from the premises. Some members of the audience also seem to have unrealistic expectations of pesticides and their efficacy; some are certain that all pesticides are deadly dangerous and are highly detrimental to any living thing as well as the environment. At the other end of the spectrum are those that want information on just ‘organic’ or ‘just reduced risk’ pesticides that they are certain are just as effective as the products used in commercial agriculture but without the negative effects on non-target organisms and the environment. The truth is somewhere in between for insecticides and miticides. With the Master Gardener programs and those I do for general gardening/landscape audiences, I stress the importance of pest identification as a necessary means of accessing more information about an organism, its host range, season of activity, damaging stage(s), damage potential, impacts of various biotic and abiotic factors on that pest population, and---lastly---what some appropriate and registered ‘last ditch’ pest control products could be considered. In 2008-2009, I presented basic entomology and IPM classes plus displays of specimens to over 400 Master Gardener interns in 16 classes in 14 counties (including the Tri-State Navajo project) with shorter versions for 79 people in general gardening audiences in 4 counties. In each class, clientele self-reported that they learned to distinguish at least 10 common arthropods they could encounter in garden or landscape situations plus assorted details on life cycles, damaging stages or applicable plant management strategies, not just insecticides, that they could use to mitigate pest damage. At the end of each class, clientele frequently commented they were previously unaware of how interesting and complicated applied entomology could be; they appreciated the more in-depth discussion of arthropod control through IPM methodology. Follow-up classes on safe use of (all) pesticides by County agents taught clientele the advantages and disadvantages of using different categories of pesticides for managing their gardens and landscapes; reading the label before purchase or use is most important, providing the consumer with critical site/pest combinations, directions for mixing, application and storage plus safety precautions. The objective is to make people think through their pest management solution before jumping directly to pesticides, some of which may not be appropriate for the pest; some uses also may not be justified or even appropriately applied. Master Gardeners and gardening class clientele learn the same requirements for conventional synthetic pesticides also apply to “organic” or “reduced risk” products which are increasingly popular. The agents and I caution these audiences about the importance of reducing unnecessary toxicants in the environment. This specialist responded to over 1300 requests directly or indirectly through County Agents for insect (et al.) identification and control measures in 2008-09. Several agents guesstimated anywhere from 20-35% of the inquiries received in their offices this year involved questions about plant problems. For each inquiry I received, I provided biological information on each organism sent for identification and made control recommendations including non-insecticidal measures that might be used then or in the future. Pesticide suggestions were made for at least 75% of these inquiries after editing lists of appropriate, currently registered materials retrieved from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture; these lists record both synthetic and natural products since both must be registered by NM Department of Agriculture if pesticidal claims are made by the manufacturer or distributor. In 2008 one Bernalillo County agent was confident that most clientele (over 1000) were receptive to pest management information he provided; further, he was fairly certain that at least 80% used the information to control their particular pest situations. Although this is a densely populated, highly urban county, agent contacts, similar results are likely in other more rural parts of the state according to information provided by agents in Luna and Otero Counties. I invite all of the county agents to forward photographs and especially specimens to me for identification rather than have them spend extra time struggling with identifying the problem and researching management information from books or assorted web-sites; going to the wrong web-sites or dated reference books can produce incorrect or tainted results inappropriate for clients. Targeted, timely and accurate information associated with arthropod identification from this specialist and cooperating agents enhances the reputation of New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension system. While I routinely receive thanks from agents and clients alike for programs presented and information requested, The Otero County Agent commented in 2009 that ‘at no other place can a person walk in without an appointment with an insect,….have it identified and receive a virtual library of information for its management in their garden/landscape environment within minutes. With the growing interest in cultivating home gardens to stem the tide of a tenuous economy, the ready availability of the agricultural agent (…and Extension Specialists…) at the Cooperative Extension Office is invaluable.’ Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) classes are another category of audiences that I address annually about basic and applied entomology, IPM and pest control practices. However, pesticide applicators attend class and study educational manuals, some of which I wrote, because they need to be licensed or maintain their licenses to purchase and use restricted use pesticides in New Mexico as part of their jobs. In 2008-09, I trained or certified 370+ PAT students or licensed applicators in 6 workshops open to all New Mexicans. I also presented basic and applied information about insect and mite pests for 20 other pest-related conferences scattered around the state organized by County Agents and special interest groups, typically resulting in one more CEU for an estimated 400 pesticide licensees (Private, Public and Commercial categories) in various categories. If, as the Bernalillo County Agent guesstimated for his PAT programs’ impacts, each individual trained or recertified had an annual salary of $35,000, our cooperative efforts in scheduling PAT workshops resulted in an economic impact (employment dollars) of approximately $27 million. Introducing youth and the general public to arthropods continues with 8 displays and 42 presentations to audiences from K-12 (and associated adults) in 2008-09. For about half of these audiences, these programs were their first opportunities to view insects “up close,” to hear more about unique arthropods in the displays and to host an entomologist or science specialist from an out-of-town university, NMSU. In addition, I prepared two large (26+ drawers) displays at the Southern New Mexico and Southwestern New Mexico Fairs for an estimated 6500 viewers over 6 days. Additional outreach efforts were to under-served (in terms of NMSU campus faculty visits) and rural counties, including two counties with only Navajo clientele. 4H programs have adopted both the “100 Common Insects of New Mexico” and the Curriculum (“Insects Rule the Earth”) written by Dr. David Richman and Carol Sutherland while Future Farmers of America have adopted “100 Common Insects…” and a machine-graded answer sheet tailored to the arthropod identification quiz given by us at their State convention and competition. In 2008-09, 142 youth (middle school or high school) participated in statewide 4H and FFA entomology competitions. I use both of these manuals plus a DVD that we produced originally in 1985 to teach two classes annually of NMSU’s AXED 485 class (18 students in 2008-09) for future teachers of agriculture and county agents. Outreach efforts like these and the competitions are used to interest students in arthropods, the sciences and, potentially, to become students at New Mexico State University.