Source: UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND submitted to NRP
ENHANCING IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1033052
Grant No.
2024-70006-43506
Cumulative Award Amt.
$128,993.00
Proposal No.
2024-03558
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
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
19 WOODWARD HALL 9 EAST ALUMNI AVENUE
KINGSTON,RI 02881
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Rhode Island has many potential pest problems - including both well established and new exotic invasive species. Our goal is to reduce the impact of these species through improved IPM practices in Rhode Island and regionally. We plan to address critical needs of growers of specialty crops (fruits and nursery), land managers, and citizens throughout the state by assessing.potential pest problems and recommending, implementing, and evaluating pest management practices. Our primary programming objective is Community IPM and the secondary priority is IPM Implementation for Specialty Crops - fruits, vegetables and nursery crops. Our Secondary Emphasis Areas include: 1) IPM Support for Pollinator Health -providingRI stakeholders with current information on the best pollinator-friendly pest management practicesand 2)IPM support for Pest Diagnostics Facilities -managing and operating a Plant Diagnostic Laboratoryfor diagnosing pest problems and making recommendations for pest management.
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
2161499113050%
2121499116050%
Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1160 - Pathology;
Keywords
Goals / Objectives
Our program has two primary priorities:IPM Implementation in Communities andIPM Implementation in Agronomic and/or Specialty Crops We also havetwo secondary priorities:IPM for Pollinator Health and IPM Support for Plant Pest Diagnostic Facilities.Our Community IPM program focuses on educating those who own and manage landscapes including lands that are protected from development. This is not to minimize our attention to conventional agriculture, indeed 2 of our 3 priorities address needs of producers, but it reflects the nature of our state and the needs of most of our stakeholders. This Community IPM Program has three major elements: 1) Landscape IPM Program and 2) Biological Control Implementation and Education Programs and 3) Urban Community Gardens IPM Program. The first element focuses on insects and plant pathogens, the second on insects and weeds, and the third on insects, pathogens, and weeds.The overall goal of the landscape IPM programis to facilitate effective, economical, and environmentally sound management of insect, disease, and weed pests of ornamental horticulture in Rhode Island. This program addresses the needs of homeowners and landscapers through educational programs - particularly for new pathogens and insects - and site visits.Our objective in landscape IPM educational programming is to ensure that our audiences are aware of current management techniques for new and existing pests.Our objective in biocontrol programming is to inform our clients and colleagues of new opportunities in classical biological control and to assist them in proper implementation.Biological control projects are particularly amenable to evaluation protocols as the process includes documented outcomes such as species establishment, natural enemy spread, reduced pest problems and associated effects on other components of the ecosystem because of natural enemy releases. Long-term outcomes and impacts include reduced need for pest control activities and attendant environmental and economic consequences because of successful biological control programs.Our objective in Urban Farm and Community Gardening programming is to educate RI urban farmers and community gardeners about pest identification and best practices for integrated pest management.Community gardens in Rhode Island face challenges such as access to water, land availability, funding, and pest pressure from insects, diseases, and weeds. Many farmers and organizations are working to address these issues and expand the reach of community gardens across the state. We plan to partner with organizations that support urban community gardens such as Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT), the African Alliance of Rhode Island, and the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District. Southside Community Land Trust has been developing and managing community gardens in urban areas of Rhode Island for over 40 years and currently owns or manages 60 community gardens and assists 30 farm businesses on SCLT land. Through various agriculture projects, URI has partnered with these organizations in the past and through this project we plan to increase our participation with these organizations.The objective of our Specialty Crops IPM program is to provide our existing and new growers with knowledge of IPM techniques for traditional and new pests as well as timely assistance in pest management decision making.Programming will be evaluated via one-on-one and group meetings with interactions with thefarming community. Annual surveys and a farmer advisory committee will also be used to evaluate the content and effectiveness of our programming. Our goal is to implement the best IPM practices available as new IPM programs are developed and refined to keep farms operating successfully.David Weisberger is the vegetable crops production specialist. He provides insect pest and plant pathogen management education and recommendations for growers through direct consultation during farm visits and, moving forward will include social media and blog posts. He works closely with Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, URI's Plant Diagnostic Clinic director to help identify pest issues, including emerging threats such as allium leafminer, and with Rebecca Brown, to identify and test novel cultural practices including both tolerant and resistant crop varieties. His overarching goals are to promote the adoption of ecologically sound practices that emphasize cultural practices and sanitation to reduce pesticide load in the environment and improve the economic standing of farmers in the state. While RI is land-limited due to its size and development trajectory over time, there has been anincrease in the number of farms in the state over the past 5 years. These farms are almostentirely small (approx. 4 acres) and managed with limited synthetic inputs, including pesticide. Given this reality, the need for integrated pest management is imperative for farmers in the state.A goal of our IPM program is to teach these new growers about IPM, encouraging implementation in new orchards and market gardens.New farmers will be encouraged to join our IPM coordinating meetings to share their experiences and contribute to planning our IPM education and outreach activities, to ensure we are supporting new farmers.The objective of the IPM for Support of Pollinator Health programming is to provide RI stakeholders with current information on the best pollinator-friendly pest management practices.Rhode Island is becoming a state with a variety of resources on pollinators, pollinator diversity and efforts to promote pollinators and the public has an increasing interest in the protection of pollinators. Rebecca Brown conducts research on roadside pollinator habitat. She and her graduate students are working with RIDOT communications to develop a public education campaign about the value of roadsides as pollinator habitat. Lisa Tewksbury, Rebecca Brown and Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki will consult with URI colleague Steve Alm and his graduate students (https://web.uri.edu/beelab/), the new Rhode Island Pollinator Atlas coordinator for RI DEM (https://dem.ri.gov/fish-wildlife/conservation-research/drhode-island-pollinator-atlas), Rachel Bonoan's lab at Providence College (https://providencepollinators.com/) and the RI Beekeeper's Association (https://ribeekeeper.org/). We will utilize these resources (experts and published materials) to provide guidelines on pollinator identification, pollinator- friendly flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as pollinator-friendly pest management practices. With the efforts of our staff and a summer pollinator intern, we will make this available to RI growers and gardeners throughout our Community IPM and Specialty crops IPM programs.The objective of the URI Plant Diagnostic Clinic is to identify samples for individuals and organizations involved in pest management.The URI Plant Diagnostic Clinic serves a myriad of stakeholders in the state of Rhode Island. The Clinic offers diagnoses on diseases, insects, weeds and other plant health concerns to growers, landscapers, nursery growers, master gardeners and the public. The Clinic supports the URI Master Gardener Program by providing backup support to the URI Gardening and Environmental Hotline, as well as the Core Training course. The hotline receives over 1700 emails and calls annually and a large percentage of them require consultation with the Clinic. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) relies on this clinic for identification of insect and disease samples in its Forest Health Program, Nursery Inspection program, and in the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. The members of the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association (RINLA) rely upon the clinic to provide accurate plant diagnostic services and IPM recommendations, and to contribute articles about plant health to their newsletter.
Project Methods
Methods for IPM Implementation in communities will include visits to commercial growers, making recommendations for integrated pest management methods through web sites, fact sheets, grower meetings, workshops, and news media. Other methods for this goal include training opportunities through Master Gardeners, RINLA training, Boots to Bushels and others.Evaluations of these programs will be accomplished through questionaires that adress both short-term and long-term impacts of their experiences.One major activity in our IPM for communities priorityis presenting educational programming to landscape managers including homeowners and professionals. These programs, planned through stakeholder processes described above, are offered by URI IPM staff, and supplemented by faculty from URI and other institutions, as needed. Master Gardener education is a primary venue for homeowner outreach, due to the varied connections of Master Gardener volunteers to the RI public. We annually present entomology, plant pathology and IPM information to 130 URI Master Gardeners, 40 Advanced Master Gardeners, and 40 Home Horticulture Certificate participants. In these programs we discuss the concepts of pest management, give an overview of tactics, address new and particularly serious pests, and provide online IPM resources. RI Master Gardeners and the gardening public are also provided with continuing education programs, including programs like "Vegetable IPM," "Diagnosing Plant Diseases," "Insect Identification," and "Biological Control Update."Over half of our insect pests and virtually all weeds are exotic to North America and many of these key pests are subjects of classical biological control programs. Biological control is highlighted as one of the foundations (if not the keystone) of successful IPM. We plan to continue collaborating with northeastern IPM coordinators to enhance implementation of effective biological control programs throughout the region. We hope to serve as brokers for both information and actual agents.The Urban Farm and Community Garden program will involve site-visits, pest walks, pollinator walks, workshops, and onsite pest and disease diagnostics demonstrations. Most of Rhode Island's urban growers do not speak English or are not proficient in English. Many growers speak Spanish or one of many African languages. Our IPM outreach will be delivered in Spanish, or as necessary we will work with our partnering organizations for translation expertise into other languages.Specialty crops IPM in RI includes tree fruit, small fruit, vegetables and nursery crops.Through decades of IPM programming, our tree fruit growers have adopted key IPM concepts so that they now maintain a high level of performance with less need for scouting, diagnostic, and educational support. There are four primary methods involved in the IPM implementation in fruits. The first is regional collaboration which provides RI fruit growers with access to Extension Educators from other New England states. The next is grower meetings, which includes both RI and regional meetings. Rhode Island and Massachusetts IPM programs currently hold joint in-person twilight meetings, attended by 30-50 growers from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The meetings take place at local orchards and provide timely and up-to-date information pertinent to growing fruit trees in the Northeast. Besides sharing information, the twilight meeting format has an additional outcome: promoting interactions among growers.The third involves orchard scouting for common insect pests, as well as detecting new pests. And the final method involves communicating IPM management advice to growers through email lists and web site updates. This last is particularly important when new pests are detected, or new management advice is needed.With the arrival of the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in RI in late summer of 2011, IPM of small fruit (specifically blueberries and raspberries) has become very challenging. This pest is devastating and requires extensive resources to properly monitor and advise grape, berry, and stone fruit growers. Lisa Tewksbury will join the spotted wing drosophila working group, replacing Heather Faubert after her 2024 retirement. This group conducts research and communicates management strategies for Northeast growers of blueberries and raspberries. One of the newest strategies that RI will participate in is the release and monitoring of parasitoids for management of SWD.A combination of activities will be implemented to support education and outreach around pest Management in vegetable crops. A series of summer field days will be held on farms from May through October in each year. The University of Rhode Island Agronomy Farm will also hold "twilight meetings" that will focus on pest identification and management. URI research on cultural approaches such as vegetable varietal selection, production methods that exclude or deter pests, biological control options and biopesticides will also be shared via twilight meetings and blog postings. Twice monthly blog postings will be hosted on the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Website. This will also provide pest alerts gleaned from David Weisberger's participation in regional extension meetings and farmer feedback. Lastly, the blog will also highlight innovation management strategies employed by farmers in the state.Sweet corn is the leading vegetable crop in Rhode Island for acreage, and birds are a significant cause of crop loss. We will continue to work with growers to implement IPM strategies for bird control including lasers and improved bird distress call systems.We intend to also include messaging that emphasizes that pollinator-friendly best practices are compatible with conservation biological (IPM methods that maintain healthy natural enemies in farms, gardens, and natural areas).Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki will integrate a portion of the IPM pollinator educational programs into our program working with urban farms and community gardens and will supervise the pollinator intern to assist her in this task. We will aim to incorporate IPM practices that prioritize beneficial species and train farmers in the use of the most pollinator-friendly cultural, physical, and mechanical control methods for insects, diseases, and weeds. Throughout the summer, while conducting pollinator education programs, and assisting growers in identifying pollinators on their farms (pollinator walks), our undergraduate pollinator intern will assist in adding to the checklist of Rhode Island bees being compiled by Steve Alm's lab.The University of RI IPM Diagnostic clinic diagnoses insect, disease, weed, and cultural plant problems for commercial growers, commercial landscape managers, and homeowners. In addition to the diagnosis, the submitter of the specimen or photo for identification also receives a recommendation for proper management of the problem.In recent years, the URI Diagnostic Clinic has averaged over 400 samples annually requesting identification and recommendations. These include samples collected during on-farm site visits, requests to assist the URI Gardening and Environmental Hotline volunteers, RI DEM, landscapers, and the public. Clinic clients are approximately evenly divided among commercial growers, professional landscape managers, DEM inspectors, and the public. They all look to URI as the only source of complete plant diagnostic services in the state.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience are farmers, land managers, and the citzens of Rhode Island.Our goal is to reduce the impact of pestspecies through improved IPM practices in Rhode Island and regionally. We address critical needs of growers of specialty crops (fruits and nursery), managers of recreational and natural areas, and citizens throughout the state by assessing.potential pest problems and recommending, implementing, and evaluating pest management practices. Our primary programming objectives are Landscape IPM andIPM Implementation for Specialty Crops - fruits, vegetables and nursery cropsin Rhode Island. Our Secondary Emphasis Areas include: 1) IPM support for Pest Diagnostics Facilities -managing and operating a Plant Protection Clinic for diagnosing pest problems and making recommendations, and 2) IPM protection for pollinators.. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Extension and Regional Meeting attendance, IPM calls, NPDN Monthy meetings and others. NE-FRUIT-IPM -Winter Webinars. : 01/16 /25, 01/23/25, 01/ 30/25, 02/13/25 , 02/11/25. Northeast Extension Fruit Consortium 2025 Winter Seminar Series. Attended only. 02/26/25, 02/05/25, February 26, 2025 noon - 1:30pm (link is external) Dr. Anna Wallis, Dr. Kerik Cox, Associate Professor, Cornell AgriTech will dig into "Why Did My Scab Program Fail in 2024?". March 5, 2025 noon - 1:30pm(link is external) Dr. Srdjan Acimovic. The biology and environmental conditions that favor bitter rot on apples. 02/28/25. 2025 Cornell Fruit Winter Webinar Series! Week 4: Biopesticides and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) for Berries Friday February 28, 2025 11:00AM-12:30PM. Speakers: Dr. Samantha Willden (Cornell AgriTech), McKenzie Schessl (Cornell AgriTech), Aleah Butler-Jones (Cornell CALS) Dr. Samantha Willden reviewed Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) for berries, and McKenzie Schessl provided updates on biopesticides in strawberries. Aleah Butler-Jones discussed common problem weeds in berries and provide management recommendations. NE-Fruit- IPM. Weekly Calls. 3/31/25 attended and sometimes contributed to the RI report :4/14/25, 4/21/25, 4/28/25, 5/19/25, 5/2/25 NE Berry Call: Attended and gave RI report. 4/1/25, 4/15/25, 4/22/25, 4/29/25, 5/13/25, 5/20/25, 5/27/25 Beech Leaf Disease Working Group: Attended: 08/13/24, 10/15/24, 12/11/24, 02/21/25, 4/30/25 Northeast Plant Diagnostic Network Monthly Meeting: 8/8/24, 10/17/24, 11/14/25, 12/6/24, 1/9/25, 2/12/25, 3/13/25, 4/10/25 National Plant Diagnostic Network Communication Committee, Vice-chair Organizer. Monthly meeting. 7/20/24, 9/11/24, 11/4/24, 12/6/24, 1/08/25, 2/12/25, 4/9/25, 4/16/25, 5/14.25 Northeast IPM Center 10/10/24 - Northeast IPM Center Overview. Deb Grantham, IMP Director, Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center. 6 people? RINLA Twilight Meeting5/14/25Central Nurseries 5 - 7 pm. Chepachet, RI. About 40 people. IPM Apple Organic Farmers Zoom discussion session. 1 hour. Spay plan for organic Growers. Organizers Keiddy Urrea-morawicki and David Weisberger. Attendants 3 growers, Clare and Pat Bowen, and Rob Swanson. 4/21/25 11th International IPM Symposium - March 3-6, 2025 San Diego, CA - Annual NEERA meeting How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our program is disseminated to communities of interest in multiple ways: with one on one site visits, with grower meetings, twilight meetings, and workshops, with social media, and via our website. This table provides many of the avenues of communication between the URI IPM team and our target audience. Date of Activitiy Program Name Topic Location Key Staff presenting/coordinating 9/9/14 - 9/3/24 NPDNNational Meeting Plant Diagnsotics Portland, Maine Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki -URI Plant Diagnostic Network Poster Presentation 9/1/2024 Present NPDN Communication Committee Plant Diagnostics Zoom Montly meetings Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki - Committee Vice- chair (Coordinator) 9/1/24 - Present Northeast Plant Diagnostic Network Diagnsotics Zoom Montly meetings Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki 9/1/24 - Present RIAgnotes email newsletter Vegetables, Fruit, Pest Management, Soil Nutrition By Email Daid Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea -Morawicki, Lisa Tewksbury 9/1/24 - Present Field site evaluations and farmer visits Vegetables, Fruit, Pest Management, Soil Nutrition Various sites within RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki 9/17/24 Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring DEM-URI Ashaway,RI Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Alana Russell (DEM) 9/18/24 Beech Leaf Disease RI Update URI-DEM Digital update posted on the URI IPM Website and sent to RIAgNotes Revised by Alana Russell and Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki 9/19/24 Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring DEM-URI Blackstone Park (Providence, RI) and Albro woods (Tiverton, RI) Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Alana Russell (DEM) 9/23/24 RI Plant Insect Community Network IPM for Pollinators RI College Casey Johnson 9/26/24 2024 National Conference of the Land Trust Alliance: Presentationpollinator survey on SK Land Trust Properties Casey Johnson 9/27/24 Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring DEM-URI Weetamoo Woods (Middletown, RI) and Blythewood(Bristol, RI) Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Alana Russell (DEM) 9/28/24 Warwick Pollinator Expo Casey Johnson 10/1/24 NOFA-RI Cover Crop Field Day Cover Crop Management Little Compton, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki October November December 2024 Beech Leaf Disease BLD Buds checking URI Plant Diagnostic Laboratory Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki _Leia Fagundes 11/11/24 ESA Annual Meeting Preliminary results from Pollinator Surveys (Presentation) Phoenix, AZ Casey Johnson 11/23/24 Lisa Lofland Gould Lecture Updates from the URI Bee Lab Rhode Island Casey Johnson 12/12/24 CELS Research Poster Symposium Bee Diversity of Wild and Cultivated Cranberries URI Abigail Gill, Steven Alm Jan. 2025 NOFA-RI Transition to Organic Production Practices Meeting Cover Crop Management Providence, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea Morawicki 1/30/25 Barrington Public Library Rhode Island's Native Bees: How to help them right at home. Barrington, RI Casey Johnson 2/3/25 RISD Symbiosis Class Biocontrol lab tour Kingston, RI - URI Biocontrol Lab Dana Terrill, Lexi Johnson, Lisa Tewksbury 2/5/25 URI-SARE-IPM-SCLT- Winter 2025 Workshop Greenhouse Pests Southside Community Land Trust, Providence, RI Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki and Lisa Tewksbury 2/6/25 Soil borne pathogens in vegetables in High tunnels URI Zoom Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Helped David to Coordinate) 2/12/25 URI Winter Webinar Biological Control of Spotted Lanternfly URI Zoom Lisa Tewksbury and Lexi Johnson/David Weisberger coordinating 2/13/25 URI Horticulture Certificate Plant Pathology and the Diagnostic Process URI Zoom Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Presenter) 2/19/25 URI-SARE-IPM-SCLT Winter 2025 Workshop Vegetable Disease and Insect Pests Southside Community Land Trust, Providence, RI Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki and Lisa Tewksbury 2/19/25 Master Gardener Core Training Insects and IPM URI Zoom Lisa Tewksbury and Lexi Johnson 2/19/25 Resiliency Radio Live radio interview about bees Westerly Land Trust Casey Johnson 2/23/25 Master Gardener Core Training IPM for Pollinators East Farm, Kingston, RI Casey Johnson 2/26/25 RINLAAnnual Winter Meeting URI Diagnostic Lab update - invasive pest issues Warwick, RI Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki and Lisa Tewksbury 2/27/25 Home Horticulture Certificate Insects and IPM Zoom Lisa Tewksbury 3/4/25 RIFGA RIFGA Winter meeting West Greenwich Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki 3/5/25 URI-SARE-IPM-SCLT Winter 2025 Workshop Soil Science and Plant Nutrition: a Starting Point Southside Community Land Trust, Providence, RI David Weisberger and Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki 3/5/25 URI Master Gardeners CORE training MGP Plant Pathology and the Diagnostics Process URI Zoom Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Presenter) 3/5/25 New England Regional Turfgrass Conference and Show IPM for Pollinators Providence, RI Steven Alm 3/6/25 Boots to Bushels (B2B) - Market Garden Training for New England Plant Pathology URI Zoom Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Presenter) 3/13/25 Boots to Bushels (B2B) Insects and IPM URI Zoom Lisa Tewksbury 3/15/25 Fruit Diseases and IPM Management Plant Sciences: PLS311:Fruit Crops URI Campus Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Presenter) 3/19/25 URI-SARE-IPM-SCLT Winter 2025 Workshop Vegetable Diseases part II and Weeds management Southside Community Land Trust, Providence, RI David Weisberger (Presenter) and Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Organizer) 3/20/25 URI Foot Production Class Fruit Insect Pests and Management URI Campus Lisa Tewksbury 3/22/25 Master Gardeners Hotline Training Plant disease Diagnosis: Good Vs Bad sample URI Zoom Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Presenter) 3/31/25 URI Invasive Species Class Biocontrol Lab Tour URI Biocontrol Lab Lisa Tewksbury, Lexi Johnson, Dana Terrill 4/3/25 Eco RI News Wasps - Misunderstood (wasps as beneficial species) Eco RI Newsletter Lisa Tewksbury (contribution) 4/5/25 Northeastern Natural History Conference Presentation and Poster from current URI Bee Lab Research Springfield, MA Casey Johnson 4/23/25 URI-SARE-IPM-SCLT Pest Walks 2025 Workshop. Pest in Greenhouses: SCLT Good Earth and Urban Edge Urban Farms Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki (Organizer) David Weisberger 4/26/25 Transforming the Landscape Supporting Native Plants and Pollinators North Kingstown, RI Steve Alm and Casey Johnson 4/29/25 RI Fruit Growers Association Twilight Meeting Phantom Farms, Cumberland, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki and Lisa Tewksbury 5/28/25 Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring- Spring 2025 DEM-URI Ahsaway,RI - URI Alton Jones Campus Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Lou Cabrera Diagnsotic Lab Inter -CESL fellow 5/6/25 ABC6 News Impact of mosquito control on the environment ABC6 Noone News Lisa Tewksbury (interview) 5/30/25 Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring- Spring2025 DEM-URI Blackstone Park (Providence, RI) and Albro woods (Tiverton, RI) Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Lou Cabrera Diagnsotic Lab Inter -CESL fellow 5/31/25 Woonasquatucket Greenway and Riverside Park Pollinator Safari Casey Johnson 6/4/25 Urban Edge Farm Pest and Pollinator Walk Cranston, RI Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, David Weisberger, Rebecca Brown, Fiona Dell'Antonio 6/11/25 NOFA-RI Twilight Meeting Greenhouse biocontrol and pest ID Warren, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Lisa Tewksbury 6/19/25 Young Farmers Night - Pea Shoot Farm Pest Walk Foster, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Lisa Tewksbury 6/24/25 RI Fruit Growers Pest updates and orchard management Middletown, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, Lisa Tewksbury 7/13/25 URI Research and Cooperative Extension Field Day Research and Cooperative Extension Updates Kingston, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy urrea-Morawicki, Lisa Tewksbury, Brown, Tricia oucher-Lourenco, Christina Monk, Steve Alm, Casey Johnson 7/23/25 The CT Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Bees in the Built Environment Casey Johnson 8/14/25 URI-Southeast MA Agricultural Partnership Cover crops, weed, and soil management Little Compton, RI David Weisberger, Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?PRIMARY PRIORITY ONE: IPM IMPLEMENTATION IN COMMUNITIES Landscape IPM Program Scope (element one of Community IPM) The overall objective of this programming is to facilitate effective, economical, and environmentally sound management of insect, disease, and weed pests of ornamental horticulture in Rhode Island. Continue all programming with communities to promote integrated pest management - completing all summer activities 2) Biological Control Implementation and Education Program Scope (element two of Community IPM) Our objective in biocontrol programming is to inform our clients and colleagues of new opportunities in classical biological control and to assist them in proper implementation. Complete all seasonal biological control programs and continue to collaborate with our state and regional colleagues. 3)Urban Farm and Community Garden Pest Identification and IPM Program (element three of Community IPM) Our objective in Urban Farm and Community Gardening programming is to educate RI urban farmers and community gardeners about pest identification and best practices for integrated pest management. Programming with urban farm and community garden continues throughout the summer, including pest walks, pest identification and pollinator identification PRIMARY PRIORITY TWO: IPM IMPLEMENTATION IN SPECIALTY CROPS - Fruits, Vegetables, and Nursery The objective of our Specialty Crops IPM program is to provide our existing and new growers with knowledge of IPM techniques for traditional and new pests as well as timely assistance in pest management decision making. Implement biological control of spotted wing drosophila and educate growers on how this will impact future management of this pest Rebecca Brown has also been working on the use of insect netting to reduce pest pressure from Colorado potato beetles and other pests. We intend to work with growers to encourage the use of insect netting over reemay as there are distinct advantages to the netting over reemay (no heat buildup and netting lasts much longer). Vegetable growers are looking for additional support in making timely pest management actions such as monitoring and treatment - we will update our pest management calendar to account for climate change and new pests SECONDARY PROGRAM EMPHASIS AREA: IPM Support for Pollinator Health The objective of the IPM for Support of Pollinator Health programming is to provide RI stakeholders with current information on the best pollinator-friendly pest management practices. Specific pollinator walks and events will be held to educate growers, community farmers and gardeners to keep in mind pollinator protection in all pest management decisions, Pollinator outreach materials will be provided at many agricultural twilight meetings with information about native plant selection, types of pollinators, etc. SECONDARY PROGRAM EMPHASIS AREA: IPM Support for Pest Diagnostic Facilities - The objective of the URI Plant Diagnostic Lab is to identify samples for individuals and organizations involved in pest management. Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki has applied for accreditation and will continue to provide accurate diagnoses of insect, weed and pathogen pests for farmers and the public in Rhode Island. The Diagnostic lab will continue to provide annual reports on their activities and send out an annual survey to growers to evaluate the diagnostic programs' impact.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Community IPM: Beech Leaf Disease Monitoring Fall 2024 In fall 2024, beech trees in all long-term monitored plots continued to decline. Fewer secondary leaves were produced in 2024 compared to 2023, making nearly all trees look sickly. Even though no additional trees died in 2024, the trees looked worse, and we expect more tree deaths in 2025. Additionally, besides observing many BLD symptoms, Ashaway had a significant defoliation caused by fall cankerworms Alsophila pometaria. It was noticed that in the W. Alton Jones Campus (Kent County), Blackstone Park (Providence County), and Albro Woods (Newport County) locations, some of the symptoms looked different than those caused by BLD; they were more like the fungal disease anthracnose. Anthracnose and BLD were confirmed by the URI Plant Diagnostic lab. In the fall/early winter 2024, buds were examined for overwintering nematodes in various locations in Rhode Island. Five samples from American and European beech trees from Kent, Washington, and Newport Counties were collected for bud inspection in the last week of September and the first week of October. Live nematodes were only found in the samples collected from Weetamoo Woods in Middletown, which is the location where the BLD symptoms are the most severe. Program delivery for URI Master Gardener core education program. Provide continuing education programs for Master Gardeners such as "Vegetable IPM, "Diagnosing Diseases", Insect Identification" and "Biological Control Update". Annual monitoring of beech leaf disease and outreach to community about impact and management options. Collaboration with RI Nursery and Landscape association to provide updates on pests and pest management through email newsletter and twilight meetings. Collaboration with RI Dept. of Environmental Management on spotted lanternfly monitoring and outreach Specialty Crops IPM: University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension held awinter seminar series which covered a range of topics for growers: Weds, Feb. 5. Dr. Nicole Gauthier (University of Kentucky). Soil-borne disease management in high tunnels Weds, Feb. 12. Dr. Lisa Tewksbury and Lexi Johnson (URI). Managing Spotted-wing drosophila with biocontrol Weds, Feb. 19. Dr. Kate Cassity-Duffey (University of Georgia). Nitrogenmanagement in organic vegetable systems Weds. Feb. 26. Liz Camps and Mellisa Hayden (RI NRCS). NRCS-Farmer program options and technical support Weds. Mar. 5. Rob Swanson (Hard Pressed Cider Co., RI). Using weather data for farm decision making Weds. Mar. 12. Dr. Moriah Bilenky (Purdue University). Integrating poultry into organic vegetable systems. Weds. Mar. 19. Liz Garofalo (UMASS Extension). Managing foliar disease in apple orchards. Tues. Mar. 25. Dr. Stefan Gailans (Practical Farmers of Iowa) and Kate Edwards (Wild Woods Farm, Iowa). The value of on-farm research for vegetablefarmers. Two twilight meetings were held for the Rhode Island Fruit Growers in April, and one will be held in June. Continued progress with biological control of emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid in collaboration with RIDEM Division of Forest Environment (DFE) Collaboration with RI Dept. of Environmental Management DFE and UMASS to monitor winter moth and support biological control efforts for this species Continued collaboration with USDA APHIS on spotted lanternfly biological control. Biological control outreach efforts through Instagram and URI Biocontrol website ?IPM for Support of Pollinator Health: The main objective is to provide RI stakeholders with current information on thebest pollinator-friendly pest management practices. We are accomplishing this objective by giving pollinator talks and pestmanagement walks to various stakeholders. There is great interest in learning more about how to protect pollinators, and a variety of stakeholder organizations are interested in providing educational programming for their members. URI Plant Diagnostic Lab: The URI Plant Diagnostic Laboratory (PDL) is part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and a fee-based service of URI Cooperative Extension. The laboratory diagnoses and provides recommendations for plant diseases, insects, weeds, and abiotic problems for samples submitted by the general public (including home lawns), farmers, greenhouse producers, landscape contractors, arborists, nurseries, horticultural growers, landscape professionals and others in the agriculture and green industries in Rhode Island The URI Plant Diagnostic Lab (PDL) supports IPM programming for growers, nursery/landscape professionals and the general public. The laboratory collaborates closely with the URI Biocontrol Laboratory, the Bee Lab and Pollinators Program, Vegetable Program, the Boots to Bushels (B2B) program, Master Gardeners Program, the URI Turf Diagnostic Services, Invasive Species Program, Horticulture Program and other URI Plant sciences and Cooperative Extension programs as well as the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), Rhode Island Nursery Association (RINLA), RI Fruit Growers Association, the Northern Rhode Island Conservancy District, and other organizations in Rhode Island. The Lab diagnoses and provides management recommendations to stakeholders through the growing season. Along with Lisa Tewksbury and David Weisberger, the director educates the stakeholders in Rhode Island on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques as well as providing training on insect and disease and weed identification, invasive species updates, and other issues related to farming, gardening, and land management. Also, the director of the Lab supports the URI IPM Coordinator, Lisa Tewksbury, with Pest surveys in Rhode Island. Articles about the diagnostic lab: https://www.uri.edu/news/2025/02/dont-guess-test-uri-cooperative-extensions-revamped-plant-diagnostic-laboratory-a-community-resource/. According to Kristen Curry: 20k people on campus via Rhody Today newsletter. It was shared on fb to approx 71k followers and on twitter to approx 33k followers. https://pbn.com/uri-lab-is-a-real-plant-lifesaver-for-farms-landscapers/ Kristen Curry: The PBN site has approx 5k unique visitors per month and about 28k readers per week. Social media Cooperative Extension Facebook page: March 7. URI Plant Diagnostic Lab. 1,316 views. April 14. Winter injury for Rhode Island Landscape. 2,376 views University of Rhode Island Page. Feb 27. URI Diagnostic Lab. Cooperative Extension. Anna Gray said the post on CELS about your work and the Lab was viewed 1,011 times on Instagram and 176 times on Facebook

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