Non Technical Summary
The three-year Program objectives focus on the following Priority Areas: IPM Implementation in Agronomic & Specialty Crops, IPM Support for Pest Diagnostic Facilities, and IPM for Pollinator Health. The South Carolina CPPM-EIP will continue to address critical, stakeholder identified needs, and will build upon previous EIP Program activities to increase adoption of IPM practices. The goal of the statewide CPPM-EIP is to increase knowledge and capabilities of South Carolina producers and pest managers to adopt cost-effective and environmentally sound IPM practices, providing long-term solutions to key pest management issues. The EIP Coordination program will continue existing collaborations and develop new collaborative projects with South Carolina State University and with other institutions and stakeholder organizations, including with other regional EIP Programs and the Southern IPM Center. The proposed Program will strengthen statewide Extension IPM efforts by developing collaborative, inter- and trans-disciplinary training and demonstration and will address IPM Road Map recommendations to "improve the cost/benefit relationship when adopting IPM practices, and to reduce the potential human health risks and adverse environmental effects of related management strategies". The core program emphasis will be on Extension activities to transfer research-based recommendations and new knowledge to our stakeholders by combining a range of formal and informal training methods, including field demonstrations, and development of online and smartphone IPM tools.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
216	2410	1130	35%
216	2410	1102	35%
216	2410	1140	20%
216	2410	1120	10%

Knowledge Area
216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops;

Field Of Science
1120 - Nematology; 1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1102 - Mycology; 1140 - Weed science;

Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of the SC CPPM EIP is to increase adoption of cost-effective and environmentally sound integrated pest management (IPM) practices, providing long-term solutions to critical pest management challenges. Coordinated Extension programming will aim to develop appropriate knowledge and competencies in producers and pest managers across the state, with the purpose of preventing excessive levels of pest damage, minimizing risks to the environment and to people, and reducing the evolution of resistance among target pests to pesticides. The objectives and activities outlined in this proposal address critical needs identified by a range of audiences including conventional, organic and limited resource farmers, agricultural consultants, commodity and NGO organizations, Extension agents and other agriculture professionals, and will build upon previous Extension IPM Program accomplishments to advance the adoption of IPM to a higher level (i.e. to increase confidence and competency in IPM practices among stakeholders that result in a reduction in reliance on pesticides). Statewide IPM training efforts will be coordinated and supported by the SC EIP by developing training and demonstration programs with inter- and trans-disciplinary emphases. The program will address recommendations outlined in the National IPM Road Map to promote practices that improve the cost/benefit relationship of adopting IPM practices, and to reduce the potential human health risks and adverse environmental effects of related management strategies. The objectives will focus on economically important IPM priority areas for South Carolina in (1) Agronomic and Specialty Crops, (2) Pollinator Health, and (3) Support for Pest Diagnostic Facilities, with the latter being a new priority area in South Carolina for this cycle. The core program emphasis will be on Extension activities to transfer research-based recommendations and new knowledge to stakeholders by combining formal and informal training methods, including field demonstrations and experiential learning, and development of online and smartphone IPM tools.

Project Methods
Agronomic and Specialty Crop Priority AreaPeach IPM. Obj. 1). To assess safer products and their mixtures in-season for insect pest and disease control, the use of synthetic San Jose scale sex pheromone will be examined to disrupt mating as a chemical-free tactic. For thrips, we will evaluate diatomaceous earth and Beauveria bassiana. To select safer products against fungal diseases, we will use preliminary data and test our best-performing materials/mixtures.Obj. 2) Update and improve the MyIPM smartphone app content to support IPM implementation in SC and as a regional IPM tool. We will update and improve the popular MyIPM smartphone app content to encourage grower implementation of IPM practices. The success of the app requires the MyIPM Working Group to meet in person (or virtually as in 2020) to keep content updated.Vegetable IPM. Obj. 1). Provide training in sampling and diagnosis of key insects, diseases, and weeds.Hands-on training programs with growers and agents will focus on sampling and identifying pest and beneficial arthropods. A portable 'weed garden' with major weeds in SC will be utilized for training. Workshops on weed ID will be organized at vegetable field days.Obj. 2). Conduct demonstrations trials on insecticide efficacy, insect injury, and use of predator mites within an IPM program for cucurbits or leafy greens. A small plot trial of cucurbits or leafy greens will demonstrate the efficacy of a range of insecticides on key pests, injury, and insect communities. The use of predatory mites will be demonstrated.Obj. 3). Monitor cucurbit downy mildew using sentinel plots and assess sensitivity of cucurbit powdery mildew and downy mildew to fungicides, evaluate kale cultivars for susceptibility to Fusarium wilt. Sentinel plots of four cucurbit cultivars will be rated for powdery and downy mildew. Fungicide sensitivity assays will be done in spring or fall. 25kale cultivars will be screened for their reaction to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans.Obj. 4). Weed IPM demonstrations trials using cover crops, UAV drone for herbicide applications, herbicide symptomology plots, and the value of weed seed predators. Demonstration trials with cover crops as cultural practices to reduce weed pressure will be established. Herbicide symptomology plots will use 10 crop and weed species as a training tool. A UAV spray drone will allow agents to test their aerial application skills. The value of weed seed predation by granivorous insects will be highlighted using demonstration trials.Obj. 5). Provide in-field training in IPM strategies appropriate for limited resource, minority farmers. Stakeholders for the supplemental training with SCSU will primarily consist of limited resource and minority farmers with small, diversified farming operations. Participants will receive brassica transplants with training for recommended practices for key pests. During the season, a series of follow-up on-farm workshops will focus on pest ID and IPM strategies.Turfgrass and Ornamental Plant IPM Obj. To enhance current working website and smartphone application through expansion of pest profiles and management tools utilized by industry stakeholders in the turfgrass and ornamental plant industries. The website will be rolled out in year 1, and the team will identify new disease and arthropod pests to be included. Contents of the website and the app will be developed by graduate students with review from extension specialists.Corn, Cotton, Peanut, and SoybeanIPM Obj. 1). Conduct surveys and demonstration trials for insect pests as training tools. Pheromone traps will monitor bollworm and tobacco budworm. In-field cotton and soybean scouting workshops will be conducted each year. Corn demonstration trials will focus on efficacy of Bt corn for corn earworm and fall armyworm, and the importance of IRM. Extension programmingwill also focus onmanaging stink bugs in corn.Obj. 2). Conduct training programs and demonstration trials to highlight sustainable weed management practices in cotton and soybean. Weed management IPM demonstration trials will show how cover crops can reduce weed pressure in cotton and soybean, in addition to rotation of modes-of-action and soil residual herbicides. Weed populations and herbicide usage will emphasized at field days.Obj. 3). Develop an educational publication on how to implement short- and long-term nematode management programs in field crops. An educational bulletin will be developed on nematode management in agronomic crops based on IPM principles for whole farms. Management schemes will use real life results from over 350 fields in SC.Obj. 4). Conduct demonstration trials to facilitate early adoption of new peanut cultivars with improved resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus. On-farm demonstrations will allow farmers to see how cultivar selection in their region impacts TSWV incidence. Growers, agents, consultants, and industry reps will be able to view plots at field days.Obj. 5). Continue to develop and update the MyIPM for Row Crops smartphone app to deliver IPM recommendations for agronomic crop pests. This on-going work was initiated and funded in year 4 of the 2017-2021 SC EIP grant. With university specialists from 8 land-grant universities, we plan during this cycle to add and update existing sections.IPM Support for Pest Diagnostic Facilities Priority AreaObj. 1). Improve plant diagnostic, invasive pest identification, and noxious weed identification services at Clemson University DPI Labs by adding isothermal amplification capabilities. The team will review currently available isothermal amplification assays of plant pathogens and invasive pests and identify the most desired ones for SC. Assays will be evaluated using real diagnostic samples.Obj. 2). To build a new DPI Labs website to host information about the DPI Labs' specialty diagnostic testing services. A website for the DPI Labs will be designed.The priority of year 1 will be the design and creation of the website and the inclusion of available diagnostic information. In years 2 and 3, activities will focus on the development of comprehensive, plant diagnostics-related information.Obj. 3). Include additional fungicides/FRACs in the resistance testing panels for Botrytis and Colletotrichum. An improved method based on conidial germination will be used and the results will be photographed for analytical then promotional purposes.Obj. 4). Revise the testing protocol of Neopestalotiopsis rapid detection by adding a potential molecular method/bioassay to detect aggressive strains of N. rosae. A collection of Neopestalotiopsis isolates will be established. Proof-of-concept experiments will compare phenotypic and genotypic traits. Depending on results, a molecular method or a bioassay will be added to the diagnostic protocol of Neopestalotiopsis rapid detection.IPM For Pollinator Health Priority AreaObj. 1). Provide apiculture extension programs for beekeepers focusing on IPM strategies for honey bee pests and diseases to improve colony productivity and survival. Maintain working honey bee apiaries at the Clemson Pee Dee REC to support activities, including field days, in-service training,and testing/practicing various apiculture IPM strategies.Obj. 2). Implement programs to promote pollinator conservation and IPM strategies on farms, in managed forests, and across all land uses in South Carolina. Maintain pollinator habitat demonstration plots at the Pee Dee REC for training beekeepers, growers, agents, agency personnel, policy makers and other audiences.Obj. 3). Form the SC Pollinator Collaborative to optimize statewide synergies across public and private sectors. This collaborative will pull together stakeholders that are separately involved in pollinator conservation efforts to improve communication, partnerships, and synergy across public and private sectors.