2015 IPM Online Conference
On October 20, 2015, the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center hosted its first annual online conference. Speakers from throughout the region sat in front of their computer screens to talk to a virtual audience about their work on IPM-related projects.
The rapid-fire, three to five minute presentations kept things moving and the Center staff hopping.
“It was fun to hear about what everyone was doing across the region,” said Steve Young, director of the Northeastern IPM Center and moderator of the conference. “But the challenge was for each person to give us a snapshot without all of the detail that a normal conference allows for.” This truly was not your normal garden-variety science conference. It was, as one speaker put it, “academic speed dating.”
More than 20 speakers represented the main programs supporting IPM work in the region including the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NESARE) program, the Northeastern IPM Center’s Partnership Grants program, and the USDA-NIFA’s Agriculture Research and Demonstration Program and Extension IPM Program. The presenters gave a reflection of IPM in the Northeast; everything from animal husbandry to invasive species to agricultural systems to buildings and homes. One person even talked about her research that included a “dancing man”—one of those giant inflatables seen at used car dealership lots—to repel birds.
The Northeastern IPM Center expects to host future online conferences.
“The low-cost, high value, and ease of access features make a virtual conference such as this very attractive,” said Young.
Below is the conference agenda:
| Time | Speaker (project funded by) — Title of project |
|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Jim Weber (NESARE) — Reducing exposure of grazing sheep to Barber Pole worm |
| 9:35 a.m. | Alan Leslie, K. Hamby, C. Hooks (NEIPMC) — Multitasking marigold in bean crops |
| 9:40 a.m. | Mary Kay Malinoski (NEIPMC) — Invasive insect & disease outreach, detection, reporting |
| 9:45 a.m. | Yolanda Chen (NEIPMC) — Organic management options for the invasive swede midge |
| 9:50 a.m. | Break — Q&A Discussion |
| 10:00 a.m. | Hilary Sandler (NEIPMC) — Weed IPM in cranberry |
| 10:05 a.m. | Donna Ellis (EIPM) — Invasive plant update |
| 10:10 a.m. | Lynn Braband (NEIPMC) — School IPM outreach in the Northeast |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break — Q&A Discussion |
| 10:30 a.m. | Quan Zeng (NEIPMC) — Survey of streptomycin resistance in New England orchards |
| 10:35 a.m. | Tatiana Stanton (NESARE) — Innovative methods to control worms in goats and sheep |
| 10:40 a.m. | Darcy Telenko (NESARE) — Evaluation of novel bird repellants in vegetable crops |
| 10:45 a.m. | Mahfuz Rahman (NESARE) — Bio-fumigation and control of verticillium wilt on tomato |
| 10:50 a.m. | Break — Q&A Discussion |
| 11:00 a.m. | Robyn Underwood (NEIPMC) — Beekeeping philosophy and bee health |
| 11:05 a.m. | John Tooker, H. Karsten (NESARE) — Diverse rotations and IPM impact on corn pests |
| 11:10 a.m. | John Tooker (NESARE) — Neonics disrupt biological control |
| 11:15 a.m. | Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann (NEIPMC) — Scientific Coalition of Pest Exclusion (SCOPE 2020) |
| 11:20 a.m. | Paul Leisnham (NESARE) — Socio-ecological dynamics of urban mosquitoes |
| 11:25 a.m. | Break — Q&A Discussion |
| 11:30 a.m. | Brenna Traver (NEIPMC) — Nosema ceranae |
| 11:35 a.m. | Amy Papineau (NEIPMC) — Pollinator habitat working group |
| 11:40 a.m. | Joseph Ingerson-Mahar (NESARE) — Pepper weevil pathways in New Jersey |
| 11:45 a.m. | Nina Jenkins (NEIPMC) — Biopesticide technology for IPM of bed bugs |
| 11:50 a.m. | Richard Cowles (NEIPMC) — Spotted wing drosophila management |
| 11:55 a.m. | Break — Q&A Discussion |
| 12:00 p.m. | End of conference — Recorded and available online |