Source: SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1032939
Grant No.
2024-70006-43498
Cumulative Award Amt.
$210,000.00
Proposal No.
2024-03471
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2024
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[EIP]- Extension Implementation Program
Recipient Organization
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 2275A
BROOKINGS,SD 57007
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The South Dakota State University Integrated Pest Management Program provides stakeholders with education focused on agronomic and specialty crops, pollinator health, pesticide applicators, public health, and the SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic. The goal of the SDSU IPM Program is to increase the adoption of integrated pest management in South Dakota for the management of insects, plant diseases, and weeds. This will be accomplished through education and outreach efforts delivered to stakeholders. In South Dakota, the production of major agronomic crops is faced with numerous challenges. Some of the more common challenges include the presence of weeds, plant diseases, and insect pests. The routine management of these pests with pesticides has resulted in the development of herbicide resistance, insecticide resistance, and fungicide resistance in South Dakota. To reduce the impact of these pests on production while also reducing the likelihood of additional cases of resistance, the SDSU IPM Program is encouraging the widespread use of integrated pest management. Although pesticides are a component of integrated pest management there are additional strategies that are often overlooked or ignored. This indicates the need for education and demonstration of these alternative management options. Some of the more common resistance issues include Glyphosate resistant weeds (e.g., kochia and waterhemp) pyrethroid resistant soybean aphids and red sunflower seed weevils and isolates of frogeye leaf spot that are resistant to strobilurin fungicides. Pollinators are also important as both a commodity and their value of pollination services provided to other agronomic crops. The routine use of broad-spectrum insecticides for insect pest management has the potential to also have negative impacts on foraging pollinators. In addition, South Dakota is a major producer of honey bees and honey. However, little work has been done to assist these stakeholders or address their needs. There are approximately 23,000 pesticide applicators in South Dakota, and training of these individuals is important for both their safety and the potential to reduce pesticide resistance development due to poorly maintained or calibrated spray equipment. A major component of integrated pest management is identification of the pest. In South Dakota, recent discoveries of the lone star tick indicate the need to educate stakeholders on proper identification and avoidance of tick bites. Many of the pest identifications occur in South Dakota through the SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic. This clinic receives approximately 1,200 samples each year and specialists provide information to stakeholders based on these samples. To accomplish the goal of the project, identification guides, fact sheets, extension articles, presentations, and events will be developed, disseminated, and hosted to provide educational materials to stakeholders across South Dakota. Through these efforts there will be increased adoption of IPM practices, particularly the cultural methods and host plant resistance to further reduce pesticide resistance development.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2111412113025%
2121510116025%
2131520114025%
2161549113025%
Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems; 213 - Weeds Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1510 - Corn; 1549 - Wheat, general/other; 1520 - Grain sorghum; 1412 - Peas (dry);

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1160 - Pathology; 1140 - Weed science;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to increase the adoption of integrated pest management in South Dakota for the management of insects, plant diseases, and weeds. This will be accomplished through implementation of integrated pest management efforts for 1) agronomic and specialty crops, 2) pollinator health, 3) pesticide applicators, 4) public health, and the 5) SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic.Agronomic and Specialty CropsSurvey crops in South Dakota and identify new or emerging pests.Education stakeholders on pest identification and scouting.Develop and maintain demonstration plots for the East and West River IPM Field Schools.Use demonstration plots to educate stakeholders on the value of multiple management options (i.e., cultural methods, host plant resistance, pesticides) for crop pests.Host field schools, webinars, and virtual field schools for stakeholders. Participate in South Dakota State University Field Days.Determine the effectiveness of SDSU IPM training events.Host weekly teleconference with SDSU Extension Agronomy personnel.Produce the weekly Pest and Crop Newsletter.Publish the annual Pest Management Guides for corn, soybean, wheat, alfalfa, and oilseeds.Participate in the development of best management practices manuals, fact sheets, and identification guides.Collaborate with neighboring states for pest management.Pollinator HealthDevelop identification guides, floral provisioning guides, fact sheets, and extension presentations to develop stakeholder awareness for pollinators and pollinator habitat in South Dakota.Develop pollinator demonstration plots at SDSU research farms that will be used for educational events.Develop relationships with South Dakota Beekeepers to determine areas of need in South Dakota.Develop voucher collections of pollinators in South Dakota for use at events.Develop a pollinator workshop to provide education to interested stakeholders.Pesticide ApplicatorsCollaborate with the SDSU Pesticide Education Coordinator to develop workshops and webinars focused on sprayer calibration, maintenance, and implementation of IPM into spray mindsets.Develop fact sheets and guides for personal protective equipment and pesticide safety.Develop South Dakota category manuals to be used as study materials for license exams.Public HealthParticipate in the SDDOH Annual Mosquito Control Conference.Develop materials focused on ticks to increase awareness and decrease tick bites.SDSU Plant Diagnostic ClinicProvide support to the SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic to ensure that it can provide fast and reliable results to stakeholders.Use information gathered by the SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic to identify pests and diseases.Collaborate with the SD Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources to survey for new pests and diseases.The SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic will participate in field days and workshops to educate stakeholders.The SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic will also collaborate with SDSU Extension personnel for the development of educational materials.The SDSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic will develop rapid testing for herbicide resistance.
Project Methods
The PD will collaborate with the IPM Coordinator, the IPM Specialist, and the Co-PD's to ensure that all objectives are met and the production of the identified products occurs. Briefly, the PD and Co-PDs will write IPM focused extension articles that will be disseminated by the IPM Coordinator in the Pest and Crop Newsletter. All mentioned parties will participate in the development of fact sheets, identification guides, and presentations that will be delivered to stakeholders at field schools, workshops, webinars, and field days. The success of the program will be determined through the development and dissemination of anonymous surveys to stakeholders. Results of the surveys will be compiled and presented in reports to the USDA.

Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience during the current reporting period included stakeholders associated with agronomic crops, specialty crops, pesticide applicators, pollinator health, and public health. Integrated pest management topics were covered for agronomic and specialty crops during the 2025 winter Crop Hour Webinar series. The Crop Hour webinar series was recorded, and each presentation is also available on YouTube. Stakeholders were also reached through multiple South Dakota association meetings/conferences. Commercial and private pesticide applicators were reached through certification classes that were offered online and in-person through South Dakota State University Extension and South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Pesticide applicators were also reached through five joint in-person/virtual, private pesticide applicator classes. Those interested in public health and pollinator health were reached through South Dakota State University extension articles and identification guides. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training opportunities were made available through an eight-week webinar series, commercial and private pesticide applicator meetings, and a crop consultants meeting. Additional field days, workshops, and field schools will be made available during the summer of 2025. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The IPM topics have been disseminated to stakeholders through virtual webinars, YouTube videos, in-person events, and digital and print copies of publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1. Develop and deploy annual field days, field schools, workshops, and webinars to educate stakeholders on the value of IPM and demonstrate implementation. During the remainder of 2025, work will continue to maintain demonstration plots. These plots will be used for field schools, field days, and other extension programming to educate stakeholders on alternative pest management options. In addition, data will be collected throughout the growing season, and it will be analyzed and disseminated through webinars and winter events during the following review cycle. The East River IPM Field School is scheduled, along with three field days, and one workshop. Objective 2. Develop digital and print educational handouts (fact sheets, identification guides, pest management guides, and best management practice manuals) for stakeholders to encourage the proper identification of pests with research-based management thresholds. During the remainder of 2025, the 2026 Crop Hour webinar series will be planned and speakers and topics will be organized. Work on identification guides for insects, weeds, and diseases will continue with many of these being printed in 2025/2026. Work on best management practice manuals (Wheat) will continue (this is a very large document with numerous authors). The 2026 Pest Management Guides are already being actively developed and will be printed in the first or second week of January 2026 with online PDF versions becoming available in late December 2025. Additional fact sheets and other publications will be worked on based on stakeholder needs. Objective 3. Provide leadership during weekly SDSU Extension Agronomy meetings and deliver a weekly comprehensive Pest and Crop Newsletter to stakeholders. The weekly agronomy call started in April 2025. The weekly release of the Pest and Crop Newsletter began during April of 2025. Articles will be sourced from specialists focused on agronomy, entomology, plant pathology, climate, pesticide safety, and weed science. Objective 4. Foster multidisciplinary collaborations for pest management at SDSU. Continued efforts to produce multidisciplinary identification guides and crop specific manuals will continue. The IPM Coordinator, IPM Specialist and IPM Director at SDSU will facilitate these multidisciplinary teams. Objective 5. Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation and assessment. Additional surveys will be developed and deployed after both in person and virtual events. Also, a disease and insect specific survey, respectively, will be developed and deployed to the subscribers of the Pest and Crop Newsletter in the pursuit of gaining direct input from South Dakota stakeholders on the most pressing issues they manage in their fields. Stakeholder participation will be voluntary, and results will be used to implement new ideas into extension programming.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Develop and deploy annual field days, field schools, workshops, and webinars to educate stakeholders on the value of IPM and demonstrate implementation. 33% Accomplished. To date, efforts to reach stakeholders and educate them on IPM have been accomplished through a webinar series, invited presentations during various SD association events, re-certification winter meetings, and in scheduled field days and field schools. The winter meetings consisted of six scheduled commercial pesticide education meetings. Five private applicator meetings were held tandemly in person and virtually at nine locations throughout South Dakota. The impact of these efforts is that stakeholders were provided with numerous opportunities to learn about IPM and how it isn't just about pest management. Objective 2. Develop digital and print educational handouts (fact sheets, identification guides, pest management guides, and best management practice manuals) for stakeholders to encourage the proper identification of pests with research-based management thresholds. 33% Accomplished. Fact sheets addressing three weed species and one insect species have been developed during this reporting period. In addition, four South Dakota Pest Management Guides were produced covering corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, and oilseeds. A Best Management Practice Guide for Wheat is being developed. Objective 3. Provide leadership during weekly SDSU Extension Agronomy meetings and deliver a weekly comprehensive Pest and Crop Newsletter to stakeholders. 33% Accomplished. The weekly agronomy meetings began in April and have been meeting on a weekly basis through the end of September. The meetings began in April 2025. The Pest and Crop Newsletter was produced monthly during the winter months and in April transitioned to weekly production. Articles in the newsletter have covered insect pests, plant diseases, pesticide safety, climate, and weed management pertaining to all major South Dakota crops. Objective 4. Foster multidisciplinary collaborations for pest management at SDSU. 33% Accomplished. Multidisciplinary identification guides and fact sheets are being developed to provide stakeholders with comprehensive education materials. Objective 5. Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation and assessment. 33% Accomplished. Attendees of the Crop Hour webinar series were asked to participate in a poll to provide feedback on the events. The information collected will be compiled and reviewed to determine the effectiveness of the programs. The information will also be used to enhance future programming to better meet the needs of stakeholders.

Publications

  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rozeboom, P. and P. Wagner. 2025. 2025 South Dakota Pest Management Guide: Soybean. South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/S-0041-03-25.pdf
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rozeboom, P. and P. Wagner. 2025. 2025 South Dakota Pest Management Guide: Alfalfa and Oilseeds. South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/S-0041-01-25.pdf
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rozeboom, P. and P. Wagner. 2025. 2025 South Dakota Pest Management Guide: Corn. South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/S-0041-02-25.pdf
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rozeboom, P. and P. Wagner. 2025. 2025 South Dakota Pest Management Guide: Wheat. South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2024-12/S-0041-04-25.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2025 Citation: Varenhorst, A., S. Pritchard, A. Hargens, P. Wagner, B. McManus, and P. Rozeboom. 2025. Red sunflower seed weevils in South Dakota.
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Loomis, Z., P. Rozeboom, B. McManus, and A. Varenhorst. Efficacy of foliar insecticides for Dectes stem borer (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) management in South Dakota soybeans. Journal of Economic Entomology.
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Loomis, Z., P. Rozeboom, B. McManus, and A. Varenhorst. A survey of Dectes stem borer (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in South Dakota soybeans. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society.
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: McManus, B. P. Rozeboom, and A. Varenhorst. Efficacy of granular and liquid insecticides for corn rootworm larvae suppression near Volga, South Dakota, 2024. Arthropod Management Tests tsaf097. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsaf097
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: McManus, B. P. Rozeboom, and A. Varenhorst. Efficacy of insecticides applied in-furrow for corn rootworm larvae suppression near Cavour, South Dakota, 2024. Arthropod Management Tests tsaf093. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsaf093
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: McManus, B. P. Rozeboom, and A. Varenhorst. Efficacy of in-furrow insecticides for corn rootworm larvae near Colman, South Dakota, 2024. Arthropod Management Tests tsaf061. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsaf061
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: McManus, B. P. Rozeboom, and A. Varenhorst. Corn rootworm management with in-furrow applied insecticides near Cavour, South Dakota, 2024. Arthropod Management Tests tsaf053. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsaf053
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: McManus, B. P. Rozeboom, and A. Varenhorst. Evaluation of the impact of an in-furrow granular insecticide on rootworm injury to rootworm traited hybrids near Cavour, South Dakota, 2024. Arthropod Management Tests tsaf060. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsaf060
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Loomis, Z., E. Jones, and A. Varenhorst. Identification and management of common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2025-01/P-00319.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Loomis, Z., E. Jones, and A. Varenhorst. Identification and management of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida). South Dakota State University Extension. https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2025-01/P-00318.pdf