Northeastern IntegratedPest Management Center IPM Working Group Progress

Introduction:

NE PMC has created a forum for pest management experts and other stakeholders to develop integrated pest management priorities in agricultural commodities and nonagricultural pest management settings such as parks and schools. These IPM Working Groups (IWGs) promote environmentally and economically sound pest management decisions by evaluating the status of current pest management practices, identifying critical information needs, compiling IPM resources, and determining future projects for regional collaboration. Each group aims to meet once annually, and additional communication is accomplished via email and conference calls. Presently, all work done by group members and leaders is voluntary, although three groups have been granted funds to support specific IWG projects. Staff at NEPMC provide assistance in organizing meetings and conference calls, collecting and compiling data, and managing IWG web pages. Additional funding for these groups is addressed in the 2003 NE IPMC proposal. Working group web pages, including membership, meeting reports, and established priorities, are linked to the NEPMC home page at http://nepmc.org.

Greenhouse/Ornamentals

Website (includes members, reports, etc.)

Progress: This IWG, with its broad-based stakeholder representation, has adopted the name “GO-IPM.” The group’s 18 members have agreed on a set of IPM priorities for greenhouse and ornamental crops in the Northeast. Using funds granted by the NE PMC, they are also conducting a survey to determine critical IPM needs, focusing on perspectives from producers, consultants, and extension personnel. The five-page surveys were distributed early in 2002, and results are now being compiled with a goal of pinpointing specific pests causing immediate harm to the industry. The group is also compiling a directory of greenhouse and ornamental IPM professionals to improve communications among experts in the region, and they expect to have this information online in a searchable format by the end of 2003. To promote interest in the group, GO-IPM members created a poster that has been displayed at winter meetings in 2003, along with a postcard including the group’s mission statement and contact information for members. Energized by their collaboration on these projects, the group also decided collectively to write a grant proposal titled Decision Tree Systems to Promote Implementation of Greenhouse IPM, which was submitted to the Northeast IPM Regional Grants Program and Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP) for consideration. GO-IPM priorities can be viewed at: http://nepmc.org/cwg/Goipm/Priorities_sept02.html. GO-IPM promotional postcard and display can be viewed at: http://nepmc.org/cwg/goipm/promotion.htm. The group submitted a proposal and was funded by NEPMC for $8000 to both conduct a survey of stakeholders to identify IPM priorities and to compile a database of IPM resources and experts within their field. Community

Community

Website (includes members, reports, etc.)

Progress:The Community IWG members represent diverse stakeholders from across the region. This group addresses pest management in nonagricultural settings that affect the economics, health, and quality of communities, such as schools, homes and other structures, landscapes, turf, parks, and other recreational areas. This group recently received NE PMC funding to collect information on IPM resources including expert contacts, web- and paper-based resources, workshops and demonstration sites, all of which are now being entered into searchable databases destined for the web. The information will be valuable to all involved in Community IPM, as it will help to connect individuals and provide information on currently available resources from universities, government, and the private sector, thus increasing the efficiency and quality of research and educational material and reducing duplication of effort across the region.

In June 2003, this group agreed on a list of ranked IPM priorities for extension and research which will soon be available on their web site. Livestock/Field Crops

At a February 2003 meeting, the Livestock and Field Crops IWG produced a regional list of IPM priorities using the 1996 statewide IPM needs assessments as a starting point. To gather more direct input from the industry i.e. growers, consultants, and extension specialists, the group has prepared a survey (similar to the one used by GO-IPM), which they plan to distribute this year. The NE PMC steering committee has accepted a funding proposal from this group to index a list of IPM resources from the across the region, including field guides, fact sheets, and IPM elements. This information will be available on the web in a searchable format by the end of 2003. Group members have also created a database of experts from the northeastern region, which is now available in hard copy only but will be on the web in a searchable format in the future. View LFC priorities: http://northeastipm.org/partners/priorities/lfc2003.htm Fruit

Fruit

Website (includes members, reports, etc.)

Progress: The Fruit IWG has decided to document available IPM resources on a state-by-state basis and is working with state IPM coordinators and others to collect and organize this information, which will be available to stakeholders via the NE PMC web site. In addition, this group is developing a survey to determine stakeholder research, education, and regulatory priorities. Since gathering results from surveys takes time, the group is currently creating a more immediate list of IPM priorities generated from its wide spectrum of members. Public Health

Public Health

Website (includes members, reports, etc.)

Progress: The Public Health IWG maintains a focus on the management of insect vector-borne illness such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus (as opposed to anthrax or other diseases spread by animals). This IPM Working Group offers a particularly valuable perspective because there are limited numbers of people in the public health pest management field, despite the fact that it is a timely topic. The group is establishing goals that will help communities protect both public health and the environment. They are also gathering IPM resources to feed into the northeast IPM resources database. Members are particularly interested in contributing to the database of IPM experts within their field, since their topics often require quick communication throughout the region on emerging public health issues. Vegetables

Vegetable

Website (includes members, reports, etc.)

Progress:The Vegetable IWG intends to serve coordination and communication functions as well as setting research and extension priorities in regional IPM programming. Members are documenting and delineating IPM resources (e.g., protocols, scouting guides) in the region, and are meeting in November 2003 to set IPM priorities within the group and decide upon future emphases.