Integrated Pest Management Systems

Agent organized and taught a Public Applicators' CEU workshop for Bernalillo County Open Space maintenance crews, for their 3B (weed control) applicator's licenses. Twenty-seven applicators signed in for the four-hour class, which covered basic weed biology, weed identification, control options, pesticide safety, and sprayer calibration. All 27 attendees returned short evaluation forms to the agent. 100% reported learning new information and/or skills; 100% felt this new information/skill would be useful in their work. 15% reported the new information would be "somewhat" useful, 41% reported it would be "quite a bit" useful, and 44% reported it would be "very much" useful.

Although usually associated with commercial agriculture for the last 40 years, the basic concepts involved in “Integrated Pest Management” or “IPM” can have broader applications to everything from home vegetable gardens to structural pest control. People with pest problems as well as those whose jobs involve pest control need basic information to identify their pest problems, to determine the severity of damage, to be aware of their pest control options and to correct problems in legally, environmentally acceptable ways. County Extension Agents and this Extension Entomologist face these challenges daily as we deal with the general public on numerous issues, Master Gardeners, Pesticide Applicators, farmers, and ranchers.

The general public usually considers our diverse arthropod fauna as pests coming out of nowhere, causing damage to anything and everything and requiring immediate and complete control with the handiest pesticide. Accurate arthropod identification is the first step in assisting these clients and their County Agents. In this reporting period, I made nearly 1,000 identifications for Extension clients from specimens and sometimes photographs they or their agent submitted. While 60-70 of these identifications were made directly for ‘walk in’ clients conveniently in town, I provided the rest via email through the appropriate county agent to their clients, along with biological information, distributions, damage done (or not), management strategies and, if requested and appropriate, suggestions for currently registered insecticides. These are all ‘need to know’ questions generated by a concerned clientele expecting nothing more than a narrow ‘see and spray’ question/answer. More often than not, clients express gratitude for my attention to detail and explanations of what various arthropods do and their roles in the environment; I have become a dependable, reliable and quick source of information for clients and agents alike, frequently resulting in requests for presentations and displays at various Extension or university sponsored events. In this reporting period, I developed programs or presented material (verbally and with displays) for 14 youth oriented activities (nearly 14,000 people in these audiences) and 4 general gardening or outdoor events in addition to other programming requested by agents or departmental colleagues.

Clientele enroll in Master Gardener programs because of their skills and interests in becoming more knowledgeable about gardening or better at maintaining their gardens and landscapes. Entomology is a key part of the curriculum which many dread. Again, I try to demystify but also emphasize the common garden and landscape insects and their relatives during PowerPoint programs I have tailored to commonly grown vegetable, fruit and nut, ornamental and turf species in different parts of the state. I made 21 of these presentations for Master Gardeners and garden club audiences in this reporting period, speaking to nearly 750 people. According to comments received after these presentations, gardeners appreciated learning the names and some basic information on arthropods they had seen or experienced. At least 80% felt more ‘empowered’ to assess their pest problems and the need for control. The biggest struggle for many in the audience remains with insecticides which are, and should be, the ‘last ditch’ control option for serious pests. While I do not emphasize chemical control or recommend one product over another during presentations (or with identifications, for that matter), I do make the audience aware of pesticide safety, information on pesticide labels and potential categories of registered insecticides, both conventional and the highly popular ‘organic’ products.

Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) classes are another category of audiences that I address annually about basic and applied entomology, IPM and pest control practices. Pesticide applicators attend class and study educational manuals, some of which I wrote, because they need to be licensed or keep their licenses as part of their jobs. In the reporting period, I trained or certified 630 PAT trainees or licensed applicators in 18 workshops open to all New Mexicans. Conservatively estimating a salary of $25,000/year for trainees and $45,000/year for licensees, these people, once licensed, are supporting 630 families in the state and adding an estimated $25.33 million to the New Mexico economy. My ‘Entomology News Roundups’ for licensees are general enough for all categories of licensees from private applicators to commercial O&T applicators to structural pest controllers to find items of interest, alerting them to new, continuing or potential pests in their areas.

Introducing youth and the general public to arthropods continues with 14 displays and 58 short presentations to audiences from K-12 (and associated adults) in the reporting period. 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 three large (26+ drawers) displays at the Southern New Mexico and Southwestern New Mexico Fairs for approximately 14,000 viewers over 13 days. Additional outreach efforts were to under-served (in terms of NMSU campus faculty visits) and rural counties, including one counties with at-risk 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 the reporting period, 128 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 (14 students in the reporting period) 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.

I also maintained my professional memberships in 7 organizations, 6 with direct associations to entomology publications, keeping me aware of recent developments. I wrote 2 grant applications and participated in the development of 3 more for funding beyond what I receive from state or federal sources. Three publications were generated along with ideas or requests for many more in the future.

Not a day goes by in this position in which pest management is not addressed. This topic ranks second with regard to how often the horticulture agent addresses some aspect of it on the job. She estimates at least fifteen percent of the calls, walk-ins, and site visits are to address potential pest issues. Bernalillo county residents and businesses clearly have a need for information related to pest management.

Activities related to pest management include facilitating Master Gardener trainings. The trainings include formal presentations during the Master Gardener classes from NMSU specialists on insects, Integrated Pest Management, and plant pathology. The horticulture agent presented on the topic of pesticide safety (Feb. 23rd, “Pesticide Safety, Good Common Sense”) and emphasized the need to take an integrated approach to pest management instead of reaching for the chemicals as a knee-jerk reaction. She trains Master Gardeners informally on a daily basis by advising them in answering pest questions while they are on the hotline. Site visits with green industry professionals almost always include a discussion about pest management (ex: what to do about sycamore scale, anthracnose, how to get rid of bagworms, what to do about wood boring insects, and aphids, etc.). These professionals include employees from TruGreen, Waterwise Landscapes, Albuquerque BioPark, HeadsUp Landscaping, Baca’s Trees, Eric’s Tree Care, A-Ron’s Pest Control, Continual Growth, and Plants of the Southwest. The agent can often advise homeowners and professionals against the use of chemicals or advise the client as to the best timing of application so that they eliminate or minimize the amount of pesticide being applied. The agent inform clients of less toxic alternatives to chemicals if there is one available. For example, she has convinced several clients to use spinosad instead of carbaryl for codling moth in apples. Walk-ins run the gamut from homeowners to green industry professionals. They usually bring in a sample or a picture that the client and agent can both look at and identify/diagnose on the spot or with the aid NMSU specialists.

Other activities the horticulture agent did around the community include a presentation at a 4-Hills Garden Club meeting. There were about 25 women present. The agent and the club members had a free-form discussion and question and answer session about soil, pests, and pruning. On July 19th the horticultre agent presented a PowerPoint titled, “Top 10 Critters, Diseases, and Other Veggie Garden Issues” at the Greenbriar Coop. She Attended the Cooperative Weed Management Training in Edgewood at the SWCD Office on July 20th. She learned about Laws and Regulations regarding pesticides, pesticide application, local Noxious Weeds, and local forest pests. The training included weed management strategies and information about turfgrass management. In August, the agent reviewed a publication for Dr. Tess Grasswitz titled, “Principles of Integrated Pest Management”.

The horticulture agent has received many positive comments regarding her services. Evaluations for the Master Gardener pesticide training were as follows: 95% rated the usefulness of the information as either an 8, 9, or 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. Two examples of positive client comments via e-mail after helping with questions are, “Wow Cheryl! Thanks for all the contact info! I've asked numerous people in different agencies, and no one, has given me such a thorough list of resources.” – Renuka Vajrakarur. “A short note to thank you for the information regarding, spraying fruit trees. I had no idea what to look for. I did a quick read and that is exactly what I am looking for.” – Norbert Sanchez.

Cheryl Kent has signed on to support Integrated Pest Management Systems within Bernalillo County.

The agent continues to develop the IPM program in his county. This comes in the form of trainings and face to face discussions to teach the people of Luna County the basics of IPM and inspire them to want to learn. Two four hour workshops were held in the county to educate gardeners and homeowners within the county. 35 people showed up at the first training and from that the agent received 10 walk ins or phone calls to get information on pests. Topics covered were pests of thre west, weeds in Luna County, and proper soil health. 100% of the people that attended were able to take at least one thing away from the training. The second training was held with the Deming Garden Club to discuss the pests of trees and how to prvent pests from ruining trees in the desert. 57 gardeners and interested guests were present for the workshop. Master Gardeners and Agent taught the lessons. From a urban setting the agent performed 167 phone calls, emails, or home visits for the people of Luna County. 90% of the visits involved some type of pest that could be managed with IPM.
The agent teamed together with NMDA to perform two Private Pesticide Applicators worshops and test for this program year. 10 local producers were trained and issued permits to legally buy and use pesticides. Agent worked with local producers to help scout for insects and disease throughout the wet growing season. By talking to producers and helping to identify insects and disease 90% of our field crops remained healthy and profits were yielded. Late season pests were noted in forage and fiber crops throughout the county. Practices were put in to action to control the pests for the next growing season. Agent was contacted about cover crops and crops used to control dieases over the winter and spring. 67 visits were made to local Agriculture producers, whether by phone or in person.