Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

Integrated Pest Management Systems (Bernalillo County)

Plan Goal

To provide education about, and advice based on, solid IPM principles, including proper plant selection and care, accurate pest identification, and appropriate control measures.

Situation Statement

Bernalillo County is the largest urban county in the state (estimated 2005 population is 603,500), though one of the smallest in geographical terms (1,166 square miles). Population growth continues apace, with many newcomers moving in every year (8.6% increase from 2000 to 2005). A significant proportion of these people are not aware of some of the potential plant pest problems to be found here. At the same time, many long-time residents are not aware of these problems, either, and/or are not aware that control options and recommendations have greatly changed in recent years. In fact, the agent has found that a fair number of pest control professionals lack sufficient knowledge to accurately identify and thus control various common and uncommon pests.
The Albuquerque Area Extension Master Gardeners, whose membership numbers just over 200, is one part of the solution, through their interaction with the gardening public. This body is being further trained towards IPM approaches in areas as diverse as lawn, ornamental tree and shrub, and home vegetable/fruit garden.
Agent fields media inquiries a few times per year when certain pest issues rise to the level of media concern. Examples include false chinch bugs, weeds, etc.
Existing venues for educational outreach include conference such as Think Trees, which is put on by Think Trees, NM, for which organization this agent is the secretary and host for meetings, and the most involved Extension person.

Target Audience and Actions

Main target audiences include: homeowners; pest control businesses; small urban farms; local government employees; Master Gardeners.
Actions will include: one-on-one consultations, both over the phone and in person (walk-in and site visit); PowerPoint presentations at various trainings and events; short publications to be developed and made available through the Extension Office and local plant nursery outlets; participation in several local and regional conferences, such as Think Trees, NM Xeriscape Conference, NM Organic Farming Conference.
Agent, in cooperation with local experts within and outside the Cooperative Extension Service, will develop and produce small workshops aimed at the home gardener/market gardener. These workshops will focus on various aspects of production, from variety selection through proper soil fertility, to pest identification and control. Agent will also develop on-site training programs to be offered to personnel at local plant nurseries, aimed at raising the basic knowledge level of persons working in those establishments, with the goal of getting them to provide more accurate information to the general public. These training programs will focus on proper planting and after-care (watering, fertilizing, etc.), and on pest identification and control options.

Short-Term Objectives

Persons having one-on-one consultations with agent will self-report an increase (of no less than 20%) in their knowledge of potential or actual pests, the potential for damage from such pests, and the optimal control strategies for their situation, following the consultation.
Participants in workshops and other group programming will self-report an increase (of no less than 10%) in understanding approaches to minimizing pest pressures pro-actively and in controlling such pests appropriately when they do occur. In the case of Master Gardeners, they will self-report an increase of no less than 10% in their knowledge of locally common plant pests, the symptoms such pests cause, and best treatments there-of.

Medium-Term Objectives

Persons obtaining written materials will self-report an increase in their knowledge and understanding of local pest problems, their identification and control, of at least 10%.
Persons attending conferences such as Think Trees will self-report an increase of at least 10% in their knowledge and understanding of major pest issues and the appropriate control methodologies.
Persons attending small farm workshops will self-report an increase of at least 20% in their ability to identify crop pests and to take appropriate control measures, including organically approved measures when applicable.

Long-Term Objectives

Pest control personnel will self-report an average increase of at least 10% in their knowledge and understanding of local pests of importance and the most appropriate control strategies, using IPM methods and principles.
Master Gardeners will self-report an average increase of at least 10% in their general knowledge of arthropods, potential pests, likely symptoms, and appropriate treatment options.

Evaluation Plan

Pre-post training surveys are administered to the Master Gardener classes. Written evaluation forms will be developed for major programs and projects; these evaluations will ask respondents to estimate the percent increase in knowledge they gained from the program. Agent will devise a method for callers and other one-on-one clients to give input.