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

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the Wisconsin Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program outreach includes: -Farmers -Crop consultants -Certified Crop Advisors -Agribusiness partners -Food processors -Pesticide Applicators -Regional and county Extension staff -Public agency personnel -Undergraduate and technical college students Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?IPM-related faculty and staff were trained on and equipped with new technologies to self-capture field-based diagnostic troubleshooting videos during the upcoming growing season which will be edited by IPM videography staff and distributed on our YouTube site that has over 15,000 subscribers and 3.1 million views. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to stakeholder communities through a broad variety of outreach tools as described in the accomplishments. In a general sense these include: newsletter and trade magazine articles, media interviews, professionally produced videos, print and online outreach publications, field days and tours, grower meeting presentations, course modules, and one-on-one consultations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?-The Crop Manager newsletter and IPM video series offerings will continue to be grown, particularly now that IPM faculty and staff have been trained and equipped to utilize field-based videography equipment. These offerings will be fine-tuned with advisory stakeholder input. -Significant effort will be dedicated to building the Potato IPM Back to Basics course, working alongside industry partners that need a trained workforce. Potato IPM specialists will record in-field pest biology, scouting and management videos during the current season, followed by professional editing by staff videographers. -The momentum from the largest Scout School course offering in Fall 2024 will be continued into a similar offering in Fall 2025, with the innovative "field to classroom" experiences updated with field-based troubleshooting videos from the 2025 growing season, adding to the cutting-edge timeliness of the information. -IPM staff will provide the foundational pieces that are annual expectations by stakeholders, such as annual grower meeting leadership and pest management guides, with updated topics and materials based on the latest emerging pests and management strategies. -IPM staff will seek stakeholder feedback on pest management priorities, represent those at the national level during national meetings with agribusiness partners, and conduct applied research to support new and safer pest management solutions. -Additional field-based training opportunities for new county and regional Extension staff will be developed and delivered during the current growing season, with a focus on pest biology, scouting and management as pests occur in the field. Training will also continue to be expanded into specialty crops where IPM information is most needed by stakeholders, such as fruit and vegetable crops. -The new citizen science IPM training manual will be reviewed by pest specialists, finalized and made available to stakeholders. Additionally, the manual will be promoted via newsletter articles and in specialist presentations to broad audiences, enhancing stakeholder adoption. Finally, the manual will be test-driven in the field with pest-specific research protocols. -The initial six CCA training videos will be finalized and made available online. IPM specialists will continue to produce additional IPM-related videos on key topics such as resistance management. County and regional Extension staff will also assist in producing new training videos to support the CCA program, with all materials edited by in-house professional videographers. -IPM staff will expand Endangered Species Act pesticide strategy educational efforts now that both the herbicide and insecticide strategies are finalized and fungicide strategy anticipated. IPM staff are currently working with grower groups, national crop consultants, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a pilot web-based application that will simplify the ESA compliance needs into a nationwide "one stop shop" that will include pesticide label ESA language, Bulletins Live! Two Pesticide Use Limitation Areas and mitigation menu options on a field scale. -The Custom Applicator Program will be offered in Spring 2026, with updated curriculum based on the latest pesticide applicator technologies. IPM staff will work with equipment companies and agribusiness partners to ensure that the most recent equipment and strategies are included in the program. -The UW Insect Diagnostic Lab (IDL) will continue to provide accurate and rapid diagnostics. Services will be provided free of charge to growers and other clientele. -The IDL will continue to detect and document new and emerging insects in Wisconsin and communicate these findings broadly to clientele via the mechanisms outlined below. -Stakeholders will continue to be supported through outreach and instructional activities such as in-person talks, virtual webinars, websites, written articles, and media interviews. Emphasis will be placed on new and emerging insects, such as the spotted lanternfly, and management of pests using the latest integrated strategies.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Wisconsin IPM program has many accomplishments to report despite being only 9 months into this funding cycle. Highlights include: -The University of Wisconsin (UW) IPM outreach online presence was completely renovated with improved information organization and presentation, including the two primary means of stakeholder IPM communications: the Crop Manager newsletter distributed bi-weekly to about 1,100 subscribers and the IPM portion of the Crops and Soils Extension website. Additionally, success with the Cranberry IPM Back to Basics digital magazine was expanded to initial work on a Potato IPM Back to Basics video series that's driven by stakeholder input and need for trained IPM practitioners. -New IPM Scout School course modules were developed and delivered on multiple UW System campuses that interactively put students in practical field situations, exposing them to real life scenarios encountered by IPM practitioners. The formal IPM Scout School course in Fall 2024 had the largest enrollment since its inception in 1979. -IPM staff delivered over 70 presentations at every key state-based agricultural conference and field day, sharing timely pest management and applied research updates. -IPM staff updated, published and distributed key go-to pest management guides such as Commercial Vegetable Production in Wisconsin and Cranberry Pest Management that serve as the industry foundational IPM information source. For example, the vegetable IPM guide was distributed in print at the annual conferences for potato, fresh-market vegetables and processed vegetables, as well as made available online. -Over two dozen field and greenhouse applied IPM trials were conducted on a broad range of crops across the state of Wisconsin. -A series of hands-on IPM professional development trainings on key topics such as crop scouting and field equipment use have been developed and delivered statewide to recently hired regional and county Extension staff. -A draft grower on-farm IPM research manual has been developed and is currently in review, with involvement by regional Extension staff. Details on how to approach, design and conduct on-farm research are discussed and will help growers use their own field testing to optimize pest management inputs and decision-making. -An updated Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) training series for IPM has been designed and the initial six videos have been filmed. Videos are being edited and will be updated to our YouTube site during the summer of 2025. UW IPM specialists are developing updated materials for corn, soybeans and vegetables that will be critical to the CCA training. Finally, a dynamic supporting resource list is being developed that will direct CCAs to timely, research-based IPM information. -Endangered Species Act pesticide strategy presentations were developed and delivered at all the major commodity and agribusiness update meetings (virtual and in-person, with national audiences), the pesticide strategies were the subject of trade magazine and newsletter articles, and notably IPM staff hosted EPA officials, the National Association of Independent Crop Consultants, the Weed Science Society of America and the Fish and Wildlife Service on a multi-day Wisconsin agriculture pest management tour in Fall 2024. -The Custom Applicator Program provided intense, diverse training on topics ranging from pest identification to application technology and spray drift reduction. This keystone program has had a waiting list for the 19 years in which it has been offered, and every year all surveyed participants have indicated that they would recommend the program to others. -The UW Insect Diagnostic Lab (IDL) handled over 1,000 identification requests from 50+ Wisconsin counties this reporting period. Diagnostics were provided in a timely manner (≤ 24-48 hours for most samples) at no cost to clients. -The invasive Asiatic Garden beetle (AGB) was confirmed for the fourth consecutive year in 2024 and larvae were found for the first time. Two new non-native insects were documented in Wisconsin for the first time in 2024: the elm zigzag sawfly and a leafhopper (Tautoneura polymitusa). Other trending insects such as spongy moth, lily leaf beetle, and viburnum leaf beetle were also monitored and mapped. -The UW Insect Diagnostic Lab supported stakeholders through in-person talks, virtual webinars, media interviews, written articles, and the lab website.

Publications