Recipient Organization
ARKANSAS AGRIC EXTENSION SERVICE
(N/A)
LITTLE ROCK,AR 72203
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Row Crop and/or Specialty Crop IPMAR growers rely on research-based information to help them use contemporary IPM strategies: use of transgenic crops; economic thresholds; cultural practices; diagnosis and scout-ing; and delaying insect and weed resistance to pesticides. The responsibility of the Agronomic Crop IPM program is to partner Extension & Research faculty with county educators to develop and deliver this information to growers, consultants, and industry representatives. The AR IPM Program sends weekly updates to county IPM educators and consultants via podcasts, electronic newsletters, images of insects, weeds and disease symptoms to alert growers statewide. IPM faculty use social media platforms and the AR Crops Blog to reach stakeholders quickly and increase exchange among users.Specialty crop production is an important part of AR's state economy and add diversity to the agriculture of the state. Production of specialty crops has increased since 2017 due to interest in locally grown produce. This has resulted in an increase of specialty crop production, and an increase in organic production, with total revenue of $300,000 in 2015, compared to zero organic revenue reported prior. Each specialty crop grown in AR is heavily limited by pest problems including insects, weeds, and disease pressure due to the warm humid climate. AR has many pests of specialty crops that are known to be resistant to pesticides. It is important in AR for research and extension efforts to provide support to expand this market while demand increases. Research on fruit pests has focused on developing traps, scouting methods, degree-day models, and evaluating low risk alternatives to synthetic insecticides to minimize pest damage.AR has potential to increase production of specialty crops. The eastern delta of the state is known for rich sandy soils that are ideal for specialty crop production. Growers are diversifying their production to include specialty crops including peppers, squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, and pumpkin. Many residents of this region have started producing fruit and vegetables to support local food communities more interested in locally sourced food. To support our expanding market, we must evaluate new methods to help manage our high pest pressure. Rationale and Significance: Local fruit, vegetable, and nut production offers economic benefits to small-farm households, commercial farms, and health benefits to consumers. Support for growers is needed to demonstrate use of traps and degree-based, pest phenology models to minimize use of pesticides, and provide real-time data collection. Few decision aides are available to AR specialty crop growers. It is important that tools be developed that can be utilized by growers to help make management decisions and options that rely less on prophylactic sprays. Specialty crop producers need appropriate pest management technologies and information about sustainable IPM programs to improve their profits and reduce reliance on pesticides. They also need up to date information on labeled pesticide performance in the state of AR. With the increasing interest in locally produced foods, there is increased demand by growers for reduced-risk pesticides and alternative tactics that preserve natural enemies and not flare secondary pests. Many of these products are available but little research has been conducted due to funding constraints to evaluate efficacy. Profitability, human health and environmental impacts all benefit from increased development, delivery, and demonstration of IPM tactics. The direction of the IPM program is driven by input received from growers throughout the state about insect, weed, or disease issues that currently threaten crop production. IPM for Pollinator Health AR farms produce over 20,000 acres of orchard crops, melons, berries and vegetables (NASS 2017). Produce tends to be small-acreage, high-value crops. The annual value of these to AR agriculture is over $50 million (NASS 2017). Most fruits and vegetables depend on insect pollination to ensure higher yield and higher quality produce. Honey bees are the most commonly used insect pollinator for agricultural production. Honey bees provide excellent pollination, and also produce an additional crop of honey.Animal IPMCattle and poultry are the top livestock commodities in AR. AR is home to approximately 26,000 cattle operations, of which 24,000 operators had <100 head of cattle. AR cattle growers and poultry integrators rely on research-based IPM information and strategies, whether to control pests directly on cattle, pests of pasture or poultry pests. The Animal IPM program partners Extension and Research faculty with county agents to develop and deliver information to growers, consultants, and industry. Evaluations comparing fly management methods that incorporate surveillance, monitoring, insecticide class rotation and economic thresholds into fly management programs are appropriate county mini-grant projects. Insecticide resistance, improper timing on insecticide ear tag applica-tion and lack of insecticide class rotation routinely result in control failures. Insecticidal ear tags, insecticide sprays, insecticide self-treatment devices, or feed-through insect growth regulators are the most common methods. Other methods are appropriate for producers desiring alternatives. Previous research in AR has shown up to 70% horn fly control with the Bruce (1940) trap, andhas evaluated an effective fatty acid based insecticide suitable for organic production. Bovine anaplasmosis is a significant concern for AR cattle producers. Anaplasma marginaleis widespread in AR beef herds, with one recent study finding a seroprevalence rate of over 58%. In the region with the highest prevalence, almost 94% of tested cattle were positive, and in the regions with the lowest prevalence, there was >36% seropositivity. Demonstration of effective tick control and increased awareness of tick management to reduce anaplasmosis incidence is an important component of AR' IPM program. In addition the invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) has been identified in AR. Efforts to continue surveillance of this new livestock pest are needed. Armyworms, grasshoppers, chinch bugs and bermudagrass stem maggots are among the important forage pests for livestock producers in AR. Fall armyworms cause forageIPM for Pollinator HealthAR farms produce over 20,000 acres of orchard crops, melons, berries and vegetables (NASS 2017). Produce tends to be small-acreage, high-value crops. The annual value of these to AR agriculture is over $50 million (NASS 2017). Most fruits and vegetables depend on insect pollination to ensure higher yield and higher quality produce. Honey bees are the most commonly used insect pollinator for agricultural production. Honey bees provide excellent pollination, and also produce an additional crop of honey.IPM Support for Diagnostic FacilitiesDiagnostic facilities are critical to support IPM decision-making in the field, by providing timely, correct identification. Correct identification of a pest, disease or weed is the underlying basis of IPM. Many insects, disease symptoms or weeds are recognized by growers and consultants. Emerging species of concern, such as invaders, cryptic species, or species that are seldom seen, require identification by trained specialists. Since 2010, the Extension Diagnostic Clinic (The Plant Health Clinic) made 20,558 identifications - primarily of disease samples, but also arthropods and weeds. Clinic staff identified more than 2943 arthropod samples.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The majorgoals of the Arkansas IPM Program include:1) improving the cost-benefit analyses (profitability) through adoption of IPM practices;2) reduce potential human health risks from pests and related pest management practices;3) minimize environmental effects from pests and related pest management practices.The critical needs of IPM in AR are to:1) implement economical, effective, and environ-mentally sound IPM systems for crops and commodities consumed by humans and livestock;2) combat increasing pest pressure including invasive species as a result of climate change in a timely manner to minimize adverse effects;3) minimize environmental effects from pests and related management strategies to ensure a safe and nutritious food supply.The goals of this proposal are to:1) develop sustainable IPM practices to mitigate effects of pests, reduce environmental harm and reduce potential human health risks;2) address long-standing pests, monitor for new pests and adapt to emerging pest issues;3) deliver IPM educationto stakeholders, to yield greater economic returns;4) support county ext. agents to demonstrate and deliver IPM best management practices;5) support pollinator health through education
Project Methods
IPM Implementation in Agronomic Crops and/or Specialty CropsAgronomic Crops IPM - We will have IPM programs in all row crops. Allproposed activities will occur every year of the three-year project. These activities complement the current crop protection research efforts, and complement existing Extension programs, such as county IPM meetings, weekly conference calls and site visits.1) County agents will be trained on IPM at in-service trainings conducted in the classroom,online and the field. Knowledge gained will be assessed through pre- and post-surveys.2) Online training modules on IPM will be updated to reflect current IPM recommendations.3) Demonstrate the value of IPM-based pesticide applications compared to preventative applications through on-farm trials.4) Demonstrate the incorporation of cultural practices to manage resistant weeds.5) Monitor Southwestern corn borer populations in corn to coordinate advisories. Trap catches will be reported in collaboration with the SIPMC Ag Pest Monitor program.6) Education on economic thresholds and insecticide termination for rice stink bug.7) Education on peanut diseases and insect pests to aid in timely and appropriate responses.8) Monitor pesticide resistance in tobacco thrips in cotton and develop recommendations.9) Monitor rice billbug in row rice production and develop educational materials.10) Support IPM funding for mini-grants for crop-producing counties.Specialty Crop IPM - The goal of the proposed work is to increase the number of sustainable IPM tactics in the state of Arkansas to support growers of specialty crops by developing a robust program that focuses on a systems approach to managing insects while maintaining soil and pollinator health. This will include developing field-testing techniques in Arkansas to increase adoption by growers. The research and extension efforts in the Arkansas specialty crop IPM program will be concentrated in 5 areas:1) Bolstering Insect Trapping Network for Fruit Pests2) Expanding knowledge of low risk and organic insecticides3) Exploring Alternatives to chlorpyrifos in fruits4) Impact of long-term cover crop rotations and their impact on pest management and pollinator health5) Education and outreachIPM Implementation in Animal AgricultureCattle Pest IPM -Emphasis is on Tick and Horn Fly Surveillance and Management Education. Weplan to compare fly management methods that incorporate surveillance, monitoring, insecticide class rotation and economic thresholds. Surveillance and sampling cattle for ALHT and important endemic ticks is a new and essential priority. Sampling cattle from a broader geographical area is needed to determine how widespreadthis tick is in Arkansas. Efforts to expand surveillance for ALHT and Theileria orientalis ikeda and provideproducer awareness of this new livestock pest are needed to expand producer awareness. Specific activities include:1. Demonstrations of surveillance and population estimation of horn flies on cattle. These demonstrations will show producers the importance of economic threshold in effective horn flymanagement and provide an alert to control failures.2. Demonstrations to compare traditional horn fly management insecticides to alternate methods (walk-through traps and alternative insecticides (fatty acids, etc.)).3. Demonstrate and conduct more widespread tick surveillance on Arkansas cattle. This will further ourknowledge of range expansion of the ALHT and increase producer awareness of this new invasivetick.4. Using established PCR methods, we will screen ALHT collected during surveillance for the presence of the protozoan pathogen, Theileria orientalis ikeda. This will increase producer knowledge of theimportance of this pathogen and its associated tick.Forage Pest Management -Due to the arrival and range expansion of BSM and recent damaging chinch bug populations, we willincrease awareness with demonstrations to agents in counties with substantial bermudagrass hay production. Specialists and county agents will educate producers on symptom recognition and surveillance methods forBSM (yellow sticky cards and sweep netting) and chinch bugs (flotation) as well as demonstrate controlmethods. Specific activities include:1. Bermudagrass stem maggot: In Years 1 -3, participating county faculty will demonstrate how to identify an infested field, how to assess the infestation, demonstrate control methods and assessdamage in treated verses non-treated forage.2. Chinch bugs: Recognition of chinch bug damage and chinch bug surveillance will be demonstratedin bermudagrass fields with a history of poultry litter application. Control demonstrations will beconducted in fields showing economic damage.3. Armyworm and Fall Armyworm surveillance: Compare counts of caterpillars per square foot tocaterpillars per sweep from sweep netting. A protocol for these comparisons has been used over thelast two years.4. Armyworm and Fall management in pastures: Evaluate and demonstrate the value of alternativeinsecticide formulations (e.g., insect growth regulators, anthranilic diamides and IGR/pyrethroidtank mixes) with longer residual activity, compared to treatments with pyrethroids alone. Providescouting alerts to producers through news releases, email and social media.5. Imported fire ants: Assist producers in determining the amount of economic damage resulting fromimported fire ant infestations. Demonstrate alternative fire ant bait application in key areasincluding skip-swatch applications.Poultry Pest Management: Darkling beetle and house fly resistance has become a recurring issue in and around poultry housing facilities in the U.S. In 2015-2016,Arkansas poultry integrators identified lesser mealworm and house fly control failures as a recurring issuein northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Both lesser mealworms and house flies are potential mechanical vectors of poultry pathogens, neighborhood nuisance pests and/or potential public healththreats. The lesser mealworm burrowing in insulation causes structural damage such assignificant reduction in the R-value resulting in increased climate control costs. Specific activities include:1. Year 1 - Assist poultry integrators to determine incidence of lesser mealworm and house fly controlfailure, identify farms to implement demonstrations, initiate IPM control technologies on integratoridentified farms.2. Year 1-3 - Use laboratory bioassays to evaluate products and potential darkling beetle insecticideresistance.3. Years 2-3 - Develop educational materials and assist poultry integrator field personnel andcontracted pest control operators in appropriate IPM control strategies (insecticide classrotation, alternative control methods and surveillance methods).IPM for Pollinator HealthIssues currently facing honey bees and beekeeping include mite parasites, microbial pathogens,habitatdegradation, and pesticide exposure. Information on colony management using IPM tactics, is essential tomaintaining a good healthy honey bee population in today's environment.Activities Proposed:1) Conduct IPM training for Pollinator Health with county extension agents and clientele;2) Produce IPM information in the form of booklets and a pocket guide forPollinator Health IPMto be distributed at workshops and county meetings.Workshops are an effective method to increase knowledge of county-level extension agents and staff, tohelp answer questions of clientele, and to be able to work with local beekeepers and beekeepingassociations to teach and conduct workshops for the public. Workshops will be conducted across the state.Apiary inspectors from the AR State Plant Board will also be involved.IPM Support for Diagnostic FacilitiesMisuse of pesticides can result from misidentification. Personnel areneeded to support and make the diagnoses needed to ensure diagnostic lab viability. Activities Proposed: Provide partial support for technician to increase lab diagnostics