Integrated Pest Management Systems (Bernalillo County)

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.

IMPACT REPORT FOR 2008
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 New Mexico. Most untrained audiences initially consider arthropods as general pests, coming out of nowhere, causing damage and requiring immediate and complete control. Educational programs I create for these various audiences are aimed at demystifying insects, arachnids and their relatives, explaining their various roles in nature, distributions, damaging stages (if any), host ranges, interactions with other arthropods and how different plant management practices, not just insecticides, can impact their populations.
In 2007-2008, I presented basic entomology and IPM classes and displays of specimens to 330 Master Gardeners in 11 classes in 8 counties with shorter versions for 53 people in general gardening audiences in 4 counties. The latter were firsts for residents of these underserved, rural counties including 3 audiences in one county on the Navajo Nation. 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 some 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 approach to arthropod control through IPM methodology. Follow-up classes on safe use of (all) pesticides by County agents taught clientele the advantages and disadvantages of pesticide use 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. 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.
This specialist responded to over 850 requests directly or indirectly through County Agents for insect (et al.) identification and control measures in 2007-08. 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. One Bernalillo County agent was confident that most clientele (over 1000 in 2007-08) were receptive to pest management information he provided; further, he was fairly certain that at least 80% used it to control their particular situations. Results similar to these are likely in other relatively urban parts of the state. Targeted, timely and accurate information like this from this specialist and cooperating agents saves clients from frustration, wasting resources and time, misidentifying their pest problem, over-reacting, over-applying products, applying the wrong products, incorrectly applying products, injuring non-target organisms, themselves and/or the environment.
Much of the same applies to Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) classes with respect to IPM, basic and applied entomology 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 pesticides in New Mexico as part of their jobs or professions. In 2007-08, I trained or certified 375 PAT students or licensed applicators in 6 classes open to all New Mexicans. County Ag Agents in these 6 counties advertized and arranged these events for the general public and applied to NMDA for CEUs for licensees; in all cases, the CEUs awarded in these classes exceeded the minimums required for standard licensees to maintain their certifications and remain active in their jobs or professions. In recent years, the Ornamental and Turf Training has focused on 10 arthropods commonly encountered on turf and 10 more species often found on ornamentals. I wrote these fact sheets which are now part of the standard Category 3A Study Guide; they are also posted on the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory web site for public access. These PowerPoint programs, especially the one for licensees, are updated and upgraded annually; arthropod specimens are displayed, also.
Introducing youth and the general public to arthropods continues with 17 displays and 81 presentations to audiences from K-12 (and associated adults) in 2007-08. 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 (14+ drawers) displays at the Southern New Mexico and Southwestern New Mexico Fairs for an estimated 8500 viewers over 6 days. Of these outreach efforts, 5 were to under-served or rural counties, including one county 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 2007-08, 121 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 in 1985 to teach two classes annually of NMSU’s AXED 485 class (12 students in 2007-08) 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.

1) In 2006-07, licensed pesticide applicators self-reported that at least 80% of them were aware they can collect and submit unknown pests to their NMSU county agents and/or NMSU specialists for identification and assistance in selecting methods or materials for pest management as

needed. For those submitting arthropod specimens for identification, fully 100% stated they were confident in their ability to identify again an arthropod previously unknown to them, especially when they were seeing the development of a trend with this particular pest. Information provided during the identification helped at least 80% of the applicators better understand the new arthropod’s behavior, host range, biology, damage potential and potential controls. Many (untabulated) expressed thanks for the information that they can use to better serve their clients.

2)At least 50% of returning Master Gardeners felt that repeating the entomology lecture and seeing the displays again or in conjunction with more advanced studies or visits to the NMSU Arthropod Collection added to their understanding of various local arthropods, their roles in the landscape and management strategies as needed. Basically, the more input, interaction and experience they get, the more they learn and the more confident they feel of their observation skills in the landscape. The best responses come from those who volunteer for phone duty or office duty at their county Extension offices.

3)After at least 2 years of disseminating and reinforcing IPM program information to clientele, state IPM specialist(s) and County Extension staff will share appropriate survey questionnaires to determine measurable changes in client social, economic or environmental situations as evidence of the impact dynamic IPM programs have on individuals, businesses and

industries within each county. Training objectives and course materials will be improved and updated as necessary.”
Data on entomology outreach programs via Extension efforts plus at least 2 research colleagues are compiled and reported annually for the Southwestern Branch, Entomological Society of America. Audience numbers and outreach events are tabulated and summarized from all over New Mexico, wherever this Specialist and her 2 research colleagues make presentations. Beginning in 2008, we’ll be composing a “suggestion” to teachers and others that they address a “thank-you letter” to one of us emphasizing how interesting or important the arthropod display was to student learning; this is a continuing effort to bolster administrative awareness of the Arthropod Collection and its significance and value to teaching and outreach (as well as research) at the college, university, state, regional and even national levels.

1) Students in beginner Ornamental and Turf certification workshops endure a day of instruction in a variety of subjects pertinent to passing their licensing exam. While the class I teach deals solely with arthropods, some of the other course work uses the same concepts of IPM and some of the same arthropods as casual examples for these concepts. This allows reinforcement for students, a chance for them to demonstrate recall of important subject matter likely to be covered in their licensing exam and an opportunity to link the presentation in entomology with subject matter covered in other lectures covering other pest groups. This area is still under development but could lead to a “recap quiz” for participants at the end of the day so they can get a “feel” for the exam they will take and how much effort it will require to pass it.

2)Returning Master Gardeners (year 2 and beyond) routinely report an increase of at least 10% in their confidence levels for arthropod identification, given 5 key arthropod pests they are likely to encounter in their landscapes. At least 70% of returning Master Gardeners can correctly identify a thorough and accurate definition of Integrated Pest Management and successfully identify three or more IPM methods/procedures for dealing with certain insect pests.

To provide teachers with tangible evidence of student listening and learning, age-appropriate activity sheets will be developed to complement entomology displays and presentations as they address educational standards and benchmarks.

3)In the Agent-Specialist planning sessions for 2007, agents in the Northern District identified urban/structural pests as subject matter for continued education for themselves and clientele. Some of these creatures as well as turf and ornamentals arthropods will be subjects of “news notes” distributed electronically and perhaps as pod casts to agents and others in 2008.

1)I instruct the beginner classes in pesticide applicator certification and training courses in general entomology and give students more detailed and illustrated examples of ten potential pests they could encounter in turf management and ten more potential pests they could find in management of ornamentals. All of these subjects are covered in the current revision of the Category 3A study guide for applicator hopefuls in Ornamentals and Turf. For all of the Category 3A beginner classes in 2005-06 (representative of classes instructed in other years), fewer than 5% of licensee hopefuls indicated any prior instruction in entomology in general, or arthropod pests on turf or on ornamentals. When the class is nearly complete, license hopefuls have seen and heard all of the basic information needed to pass the entomology portion of the licensing exam; they also have heard that the information given in class is in printed form in the study guide; they have been instructed to review it again before the exam. While none of the concepts are especially difficult, students indicate that at least 60% of them benefit from the lecture, learning and understanding concepts faster than they would on their own. At the completion of the class, 72% could successfully associate 5 or more pest arthropods with either their turf or ornamentals hosts. Their overall recall scores on mouthparts, development type, damage done, etc. for these 20 example organisms exceeded the 50% mark. They were reminded that the entomology portion of Category 3A was explained to them and that they had the opportunity to “test” their understanding without repercussions. Studying would improve performance.

2)For students in Master Gardener training in 2007, approximately 30% found information and pictures of potential new pests interesting in one way or another. At least 70% of the same students already thought those pests were established in New Mexico since many of these pests were present where students lived and gardened prior to moving to our state. Consequently, 70% of respondents learned that not all arthropods are distributed across the nation; gardeners watching and willing to submit mystery arthropod samples for identification or confirmation as Master Gardeners can have significant impacts on the state’s horticultural and agricultural interests.

3)At the end of 2007, we’re at this point of specialist-agent interaction and prioritization to identify and prioritize focal points for agent and client information needs for the coming year(s). “New invasive pests” have been included as “be on the watch for these” items in prior and current year Master Gardener training; many have been shared routinely with the commercial and public applicators at their certification & training workshops as well as with the annual reports for the Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America, Insect Detection, Evaluation and Prediction Committee with which I have served for over 20 years, frequently as chair. I have also included general information on more “organic” or reduced risk pest control practices for home vegetable garden and some landscape situations, largely due to client preferences when specimens are submitted for identification. This is true for Master Gardener, general gardening/landscape clients and for at least some agents at their request.
Fully 90% of clientele asking the IPM entomology specialist directly for pest control information requested “organic methods” rather than more conventional approaches or insecticides due to concerns about personal health and well-being, environmental concerns and the health and well-being of pets, wildlife, livestock and children.

4)Displays of actual insects, both native and exotic, are almost always used for entomology outreach programs for youth and adults; PowerPoint presentations are usually reserved for specific, generally older audiences requesting specific instruction or topics. For all ages, displays are especially effective when the audience has the opportunity to view the

specimens “up close” and ask questions, making such an educational experience more interactive and better tuned to audience interests. Audiences have the opportunity to see and learn a bit about a minimum of 10 arthropods that they would likely see around their homes, as well as some of the extremes of these same species as they occur in other parts of the world. Features of insects, ticks, spiders, sun spiders, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions and vinegarones are typically illustrated with locally collected material, sometimes live. Specialists in the NMSU 4H Department demonstrated how the entomology instruction manual for 4H (by Richman and Sutherland, Insects Rule the Planet) meets various age-appropriate performance levels as shown for New Mexico’s educational standards and benchmarks for sciences and mathematics. Brochures for different classes and age groups will be under preparation since the manual has educational applications in schools as well as for 4H activities.