Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: IPM Agents and Program Specialists conducted extensive educational programming in 2010. The group wrote 226 extension newsletters which reached a total of 73,818 stakeholders and they wrote articles for another 38 newsletters for private and public local newsletters which reached another 22,254 people. Members of the group were featured 296 times on radio programs and 34 times on TV programs. Texas AgriLife Extension produced nine press releases from their work. They wrote 37 articles in national trade journals which reached 302,394 people and they wrote seven articles for state trade journals which reached another 78,600 people. The group wrote or co-wrote 6 peer reviewed publications, 22 abstracts and proceedings, 10 extension publications and five fact sheets. They produced 106 slide sets. Using electronic technology, the group wrote and posted 82 blog entries, had 187,616 visits to their web pages representing 57,621 unique hosts. Four curricula for youth education were developed. The group wrote 157 newspaper articles which reached a circulation of 115,931,316 potential readers. The IPM group made many oral presentations at meetings. They gave 10 guest lecturers for college courses, 27 scientific presentations and posters, trained 247 consultants, 228 scouts/practitioners and 873 Extension Volunteers. They made presentations which provided 353 Texas Department of Agriculture Continuing Education Units (CEU's) for Pesticide Applicator Licenses and another 90 CEU's for other certifications and licenses. The group met 38 times with their steering committees, giving them reports and updates while planning programming to meet stakeholder needs. Educational presentations were made at 478 county meetings, 53 field days and tours, 79 multicounty or regional meetings, 332 schools, 20 civic club meetings, 62 4-H club meetings, 94 professional meetings and 142 Master Gardener meetings. Direct (face-to-face) contacts in agriculture totaled 112,419 people. Another 48,007 direct contacts were made with people in areas other than agriculture. Demonstrations and applied research projects are one of the key components of strong IPM programs. They are used to discover, demonstrate and validate best management practices. Texas IPM professionals initiated 636 demonstration and applied research projects in 2010. IPM Agents and Program Specialists sought external funding to support and improve their programming. They obtained a total of $761,390 from growers, ag. businesses, granting agencies, fee based programming and other sources to improve and supplement their programming. The Statewide IPM Coordinator wrote or co-wrote 10 grant proposals (USDA NIFA 5, TDA 3, USDA APHIS CPHST 1, and EPA 1) requesting a total of $1,699,562 in funding support for IPM programming with collaborators. Four of these proposals were funded (USDA NIFA 2, USDA APHIS CPHST 1, and EPA 1) providing $634,795 to support IPM collaborations. PARTICIPANTS: IPM Agents and Program Specialists involved in this project were: Monti Vandiver, Brant Baugh, Kerry Siders, Dustin Patman, Scott Russell, Manda Cattaneo Anderson, Tommy Doederlein, Dr. Salvador Vitanza, Warren Multer, Richard Minzenmayer, Kim Schofield, Janet Hurley, Dr. Scott Ludwig, James Swart, Glen Moore, Marty Jungman, Jared Ripple, Wizzie Brown, Molly Keck, Bill Ree, Dr. Paul Nester, Stephen Biles, and Clyde Crumley. Dr. Charles Allen was the Statewide IPM Coordinator and PI for the project. TX Pest Management Association (TPMA) and the local unit Steering Committees are the foremost partnering and collaborating groups. However, many other groups partner as well. A partial listing of these includes: public schools, city and county governments, agricultural producer associations, agricultural businesses (ag chemical dealers, insurance companies, gins, equipment dealerships, seed and chemical companies, fertilizer and seed distributors, consultants, elevators, banks, aerial application businesses, etc.), agricultural and local newspapers, radio and TV stations and others. In addition, churches, youth groups (Boy Scouts, 4-H, Girl Scouts and others), home owner associations, Habitat for Humanity (and other similar groups), senior citizen groups, urban gardener groups, and pest management professionals partner with the Texas IPM Program. Partnering organizations and collaborators include: TX A&M and TX AgriLife Research and Extension, other TX colleges, research and extension from other states, USDA (APHIS, ARS, NRCS, FSA, NIFA), EPA, the Southern Region IPM Center, and numerous commodity associations (Cotton Inc., TX Corn Producers, TX Soybean Producers, TX Wheat Growers, TX Grain Sorghum Producers, TX Pecan Growers, TX Landscape and Nursery Association, TX Peanut Growers and others). Some of the collaborating agencies/entities are: the TX Legislature, TX Department of Agriculture, TX Commission on Environmental Quality and TX Parks and Wildlife. Public schools, housing authorities, churches and rural and urban citizens, business people, nurseries, greenhouses, orchard operators, grape growers and commodity-based funding organizations are partners. These partners provide either financial, in-kind or committee service in support of the program. The Texas IPM group presented 27 talks and posters at professional meetings and gave 86 talks at professional meetings in 2010. Other professional development activities included a 2-day retreat to learn new IPM information work to develop further associations and collaborations among the IPM group and Extension Specialists. The IPM program works strongly with schools. IPM Agents and Program Specialists went into classroom to teach young people 332 times and spoke 62 times to 4-H youth in 2010. Janet Hurley worked with hundreds of Texas schools to help them learn to implement effective school IPM programs. Eight guest lectures were given in college classes in 2010. The IPM group gave 858 talks at local and regional educational meetings including 142 trainings for Master Volunteer groups (Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists and others). TARGET AUDIENCES: Target Audiences of the Texas IPM Program include practically all TX citizens and it reaches every community and most families in some way. Through its urban, school IPM, agricultural IPM and web-based outreach, it the program touches every county and all but the smallest towns. Since School IPM is required in all Texas public schools, and the Texas AgriLife Extension IPM Program has primary responsibility for educating School IPM Coordinators, school IPM impacts the health and safety of over 4.8 million students in all the state's schools. Farmers, urban citizens, gardeners, agricultural consultants, naturalists, fruit and nut growers, ranchers, business owners, pest management professionals and many others are impacted positively by other components of the program. Landscapers, housing authorities, nursery and greenhouse growers, senior citizen groups, civic clubs, churches, home owner associations, and others are involved with, and benefit from the Texas IPM Program. Outreach in 2010 involved direct contact with 112,419 people in agricultural and 48,007 non-agricultural clientele. Newspapers carrying information about IPM topics and delivered by IPM Agents and Program Specialists reached 115,931,316 people (most in an IPM effort by Janet Hurley that was picked up by several large newspapers in the eastern U.S.). More than 1,200 educational meetings were provided, websites had 187,000 hits, newsletters reached 74,000, articles in trade journals reached 380,000 and 296 radio programs and 34 TV programs reached thousands more. In 2010, 636 result demonstrations and applied research studies provided crop producers and other citizens with unbiased and scientifically valid results about IPM practices. These were written up in IPM Annual Reports and delivered to clientele. Many of these studies were presented to grower and citizen groups at professional meetings (see the Publications section of this report). Some 60,000 crop acres were scouted in the IPM scouting programs. Information from Texas IPM programs was shared with citizens of other states at meetings and on the websites. The Texas School IPM Program worked with school IPM programs in other states to help them develop effective programs in their schools. Texas IPM programs provided IPM Internships for nine college students in 2010 and 2011. Eight lectures on IPM were given in college classes by the IPM group. Four curricula for youth education were developed and used in elementary and middle schools in a total of 332 classrooms. Several training sessions to teach teachers to use the curricula were provided as well. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Modifications in the Project Narrative and Project Budget were made necessary by the reductions in funding the program was awarded. No other project modifications were made.
Impacts
Field crop programs addressed IPM issues with TX farmers of 12.1 million corn, cotton, grain sorghum, wheat and peanut acres. In the fall of 2010, producers in 11 field crop IPM programs were surveyed. Respondents (203) reported the value of the IPM program averaged $42.03/ac for cotton and peanuts, $11.54/ac for wheat, $12/ac for corn, $20.25/ac for grain sorghum, $11.67/ac for soybeans and $15/ac for rice. Based on the value of the program to scouting program participants alone, the program had a value of $2.5 million in 2010. Because thousands more TX farmers and their consultants benefit from IPM programs as well, <$50 million impact is estimated from field crop IPM programs. Greenhouse Vegetable IPM education was a small part of Dr. Scott Ludwig's 2010 programming. He assisted Village Farms, a large hydroponic greenhouse near Marfa, TX to solve a whitefly problem. Farm Vice President, Dr. Michael Bledsoe wrote that without Dr. Ludwig's help, the facility would have had a total loss. The value of Dr. Ludwig's work with Village Farms alone was conservatively estimated at $10 million in 2010. Brant Baugh has conducted educational work with Lubbock Master Gardeners on water conservation in urban landscapes for several years. These efforts targeted reducing the 50% of city water used to irrigate urban landscapes. The work of the Lubbock water conservation team has succeeded in reducing Lubbock water use by 21% since 1999, saving 2.6 billion gallons of water per year. Rick Minzenmayer and Tom Isakeit discovered the first ever fungicide with Phymatrotrichum omnivorum activity in 2008. They are working with other team members to develop effective application techniques and support labeling to combat cotton root rot. The impact, without multipliers, is expected to be ~$25 million/year to cotton farmers in South, far West and central TX. Other cotton plant disease work on the Texas High Plains is targeting root knot nematode and verticillium wilt on cotton. Potential impact of the emerging systems approaches for managing these pests are estimated at ~ $7-10 million and ~$14-17 million, respectively. Tens of millions of dollars are lost each year due to aflatoxin contamination of TX corn. Systems approaches to IPM are being developed and deployed to prevent aflatoxin contamination and losses on 1.1 million acres of south and central TX corn. 4.8 million students in TX public schools are safer because of the TX AgriLife Extension School IPM program. Urban IPM and fire ant programs targeted 16 million urban dwellers in the four largest TX cities. Very large audiences of urban Texans benefitted from the educational programs which improved their health, safety and economic well being. A novel, computer-based pecan pest management information system was widely used by TX and southern region pecan producers. Survey data indicated its value was ~$5.4 million to TX pecan growers alone in 2010. A three-county nutrient management program was conducted in the St. Lawrence cotton producing region. A survey showed benefits of ~$1.8 to growers.
Publications
- Morgan, G.D., D. Mott, M. Jungman, J. Ott, J. Warren, D. Fromme and J. Grichar. 2010. Chemical stalk destruction of shredded and standing cotton stalks in various regions of Texas. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p 183.
- Drake, D. R., R. R. Minzenmayer, P. Halfmann, C. G. Sansone. 2010. Control of reniform nematodes in central Texas cotton with in-furrow and seed applied insecticide/nematicide treatments. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p. 216.
- Drees, B. M., D. McDonald, P. Nester, A. Calixto, C. Bowen and R. Gold. 2010. Applied Research Update: Rasberry Crazy Ant. In: 2010 Imported Fire Ant and Invasive Ant Conference. p.10.
- Gold, R., M. Keck, W. Brown and K. Schofield. 2010. Subterranean Termites. Pub. E-368. 9pp.
- Hopkins, B., P. Pietrantonio, L. Bright, R. R. Minzenmayer, G. Moore, R. Parker, T. Pitts, B. Reed, J. Ripple, C. G. Sansone, N. Troxclair, M. Vandiver, Jesus Vargas-Camplis. 2010. Monitoring for pyrethroid resistance in bollworm (helicoverpa zea) populations in Texas, Tifton, Oklahoma and Tamaulipas, Mexico-2009. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. pp. 1265-1277.
- Hurley, J. D. Odegard, D. Foss, and B.E. Nix. 2010. Bat Control in Schools. Pub. B-6220. Texas AgriLife Extension, College Station, TX.
- Isakeit, T., R. Minzenmayer, D. Drake, W. Multer, A. Abrameit, M. Jungman, C. Crossland, D. Campion, N. Fryar, G. Morgan and D. Mott. 2011. Flutriafol for control of Phymatotrichopsis root rot of cotton. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p. 207.
- Muegge, M., D. Kerns, M. Vandiver, W. Multer, T. Doederlein, D. Patman, S. Russell, K. Siders, C. Multer and M. Parajulee. 2011. Comparison of sampling methods, and sample plans for thrips in cotton. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.).National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 799-803.
- Muegge, M., D. Kerns, M. Parajulee, M. Vandiver, W. Multer, E. Nino, D. Patman, S. Russell and K. Siders. 2010. Development of a binomial sampling plan to estimate thrips populations in cotton to aid IPM decision making. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. S. Boyd, M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.).National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 1013-1016.
- Nester, P., A. Calixto and B. Drees. 2011. Imported fire ant treatment strategies in larger landscaped areas. In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Nester, P., and T. Rasberry. 2011. Response of Nylanderia sp. nr. pubens to single broadcast application of 0.86% Esteem insect growth regulator. In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Nester, P.R., A. Camerino. B.M. Drees, and A. Calixto. 2010. Evaluation of ARINIX Permethrin Impregnated Nylon Plastic Strips in Preventing Fire Ant Invasion in RainBird Par + ES Irrigation Boxes at Bear Creek Golf World, Houston, Texas. In: Proc. 2010 Imported Fire Ant and Invasive Ant Conf. pp. 126-134.
- Patman, D., D. Kerns and B. Baugh. 2011. Potential for using boll damage as a threshold indicator for Lygus in the Texas High Plains. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 785-788.
- Patman, D., D. Kerns, B. Baugh, and K. Siders. 2010. Potential of Diamond insecticide for Lygus management in the Texas High Plains. In Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 820-824.
- Pietrantonio, P.V. D.H. Kim, L. Castillo, L. Nemik, S. Singh, R.D. Parker, B. Reed, K. Siders, M. Cattaneo, M. Vandiver and N. Troxclair. 2011. Texas resistance monitoring program reveals increase in cypermethrin susceptibility in Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie) populations in 2010. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 1100-1110.
- Ring, .D., D. Pollet, J. Hurley, L.C. Graham, F. Oi, J. Hopkins, K. Vail, and M. Merchant. 2010. Pest Identification Guide: For Pest in and Around Buildings. Southern Region School IPM Working Group/Southern Region IPM Center. LSU Ag Center Pub. 3158. 48 pp.
- Shackelford, P., B. Drees, A. Calixto, and P. Nester. 2011. Pasture renovation by dragging ant mounds and broadcast bait to eliminate red imported fire ants. In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Sharpiro-Ilan, D. I., T.E. Cotrell, W.A. Gardner, R.W. Behle, B. Ree and M.K. Harris. 2009. Efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi in suppressing pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Coleoptera: Curculionadae), in commercial pecan orchards. Southwestern Entomol. 34: 111-120.
- Schofield, K., W. Brown and B. Drees. 2011. University based research on the effectiveness of home remedies to control red imported fire ants Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Foramicidae). In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Schofield, K., B.M. Drees and Bill Summerlin. 2010. Worker Ant Foraging Response on and Near Mounds of the Red Imported Fire Ant. In: Proc. 2010 Imported Fire Ant and Invasive Ant Conf. p.102.
- Wheeler, T.A., J.E. Woodward, S.A. Russell and M.G. Cattaneo. 2010. Sampling for pod rot of peanut. Phytopathology 100:S136.
- Woodward, J., S. Russell, and T. Baughman. 2011. Management of Sclerotinia blight of peanut in Texas: an integrated approach. Phytopathology 101:S193. (In press.)
- Woodward, J.E., T.A. Wheeler, M.G. Cattaneo, S.A. Russell and T.A. Baughman. 2011. Evaluation of soil fumigants for management of Verticillium wilt of peanut in Texas. Online. Plant Health Progress. doi:10.1094/PHP-2011-0323-02-RS. March 2011.
- Yang, C., G. N. Odvody, C. J. Fernandez, J. A. Landivar, R. R. Minzenmayer, R. L. Nichols. 2011. Using multispectral imagery to monitor cotton root rot within a growing season. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. pp. 559-568.
- Baugh, B. and D. Kerns. 2011. Insecticidal control of aphids, impact or lady beetles and yield response. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 813-818.
- Brown, W. 2011. Home remedies for fire ant control : do they really work In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Calixto, A., A. Birt, B. Drees, M. Keck, N. Cervantes, L. Calixto and M. Harris. 2011. Developing and delivering decision support systems for use in fire ant management: Fort Sam Houston case study. In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Camarino, A., P. Nester, B. Drees and A. Calixto. 2011. Two year evaluation of ARANIX for limiting invasion of fire ants into irrigation controller boxes at Bear Creek Golf World, Houston, TX. In: Proc Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Cattaneo, M., B. Baugh, D. Patman and D. Kerns. 2011. Control of mixed populations of bollworm and fall armyworm in non-Bollgard cotton. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 748-752.
- Cattaneo, M. G., T.A. Wheeler and J.E. Woodward. 2011. 2010 Evaluation of cultivar tolerance and chemical management of southern root-knot nematode. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.).National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 175-177.
- Cattaneo, M.G., T.A. Wheeler, D.L. Kerns, J.E.Woodward, M.S. Kelley and R.K. Boman. 2010. Evaluation of variety tolerance and chemical management of southern root-knot nematodes. In: Proc Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp 205-212.
- Doederlein, T., D. Kerns, B. Baugh and D. Patman. 2011. Ability of cotton to compensate for early season fruit loss and impact on yield and lint quality. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 819-824.
- Drake, D., R.R. Minzenmayer and P. Halfmann. 2011. Evaluation of Sharpen (Saflufenacil) as a cotton harvest aid in the Southern Rolling Plains. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p. 102.
- Drake, D. R., R. R. Minzenmayer, P. Halfmann. 2011. Control of volunteer cotton in the Southern Rolling Plains. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p. 1528.
- Isakeit, T., R. R. Minzenmayer, A. Abrameit, G. Moore, J. D. Scasta. 2010. Control of phymatotrichopsis root rot of cotton with flutriafol. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. pp. 200-203.
- Keck, M., B. Drees, A. Calixto and N. Cervantes. 2011. Target-specific lure and switch grid spot treatement for fire ants: Camp Bullis karst caves project. In: Proc. Red Imported Fire Ant Conf. (in press).
- Kerns, D., M. Parajulee, M. Vandiver, M. Cattaneo, K. Siders and D. Patman. 2011. Developing an action threshold for thrips in the Texas High Plains. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.).National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 1079-1085.
- Kerns, D., M. Parajulee, E. Bynum, M. Vandiver, M. Cattaneo, K. Siders and D. Patman. 2010. Developing an action threshold for thrips in the Texas High Plains. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 880-885.
- Kesey, B., M. Parjulee, D. Kerns and B. Baugh. 2011. Miticide efficacy, threshold evaluation and impact of fertility on spider mite outbreaks. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. pp. 1047-1052.
- Morgan, G., R. R. Minzenmayer, D. A. Mott, P. A. Baumann, D. R. Drake, P. Halfmann, M. E. Matocha. 2010. Managing volunteer cotton in various production areas of Texas. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. Boyd, S., M. Huffman and B. Robertson (eds.). National Cotton Council, Memphis TN. p. 1521.
|
Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Texas' 24 IPM Agents and Program Specialists wrote 136 newsletters in FY 2010 which reached 104,914 people across the state. They were interviewed for 25 TV programs and conducted 195 radio programs. Texas AgriLife Extension released 25 statewide news releases based on their work. IPM personnel wrote 33 articles in national trade journals reaching 209,000 potential readers and 4 articles in state trade journals reaching another 47,000 potential readers. They had 31 articles in local grower newsletters (not their own) which reached 27,778 potential readers. They produced 97 slide sets for educational meetings and produced 2 narratives for web-based training. They posted 132 BLOGS, had 219,016 website page visits to their web sites and reached over 50,000 unique hosts who visited their web pages. They developed 7 curricula for youth education, taught one college level course, and gave 6 guest lectures in college classes. They wrote a total of 161 newspaper articles which were carried in 196 newspapers and reached a circulation of 2,218,000 potential readers. They participated in 14,849 school and farm visits, trained 198 scouts and practitioners and provided training to 252 consultants. They provided 324 Continuing Education Credits for Texas Department of Agriculture Pesticide Applicator Licenses and provided 67 Continuing Education Credits for certifications required by other state agencies. They met 34 times with stakeholder steering committees to plan their programs and interpret program results. They presented information at 590 county educational meetings, 49 field days and tours, 81 multi-county and regional meetings, 639 public school classes, 21 civic club meetings, 50 4-H club meetings, 89 professional meetings and 29 scientific meetings (either oral presentations or poster presentations). They trained 892 Master Volunteers (Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists and others) at 71 meetings. Texas IPM Agents and Program Specialists wrote one peer reviewed publication, 18 abstracts and proceedings, 7 extension publications and 7 unnumbered Fact Sheets and Leaflets during the year. They initiated 320 applied research and result demonstration projects with cooperators. They reached a total of 817,157 direct agricultural and 67,625 direct non-agricultural contacts during the year. The group obtained $680,335 in non-governmental external funding from stakeholders, industry and others during the fiscal year. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Charles Allen, the Statewide IPM coordinator for the Texas IPM program, serves as liaison with stakeholders, state and federal research and regulatory agencies, extension, granting agencies and others. He supervises Texas IPM personnel and develops collaborations promoting IPM. Extension Agents IPM in the Program were: Brant Baugh, Stephen Biles, Manda Cattaneo, Clyde Crumley, Tommy Doederlein, Marty Jungman, Rick Minzenmayer, Glen Moore, Warren Multer, Emilio Nino, Dustin Patman, Jared Ripple, LeeRoy Rock (resigned in February, 2010), Scott Russell, Kerry Siders, James Swart, Monti Vandiver and Dr. Salvador Vitanza (see ipm.tamu.edu for more details). They worked primarily with agricultural producers teaching pest biology and damage, and IPM concepts and techniques. (See information on scope and effectiveness of their work in the output and outcome sections of this report.) Working primarily with cotton, peanut, corn, grain sorghum, soybean, sunflower, and wheat producers and cropping systems; they also educate stakeholders in landscape and home IPM topics and educate youth in schools, 4-H, etc. IPM Program Specialists were: Wizzie Brown, Janet Hurley, Molly Keck, Dr. Scott Ludwig, Dr. Paul Nester, Bill Ree, Kim Schofield (see ipm.tamu.edu for more details). Brown, Keck, Nester and Schofield are Urban Program Specialists working in Texas' major cities (Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas), primarily with urban stakeholders. Fire ant IPM, Landscape IPM, household pest management, youth IPM education, urban IPM education emphasizing mass media, and emerging pest issues are major focus areas (see outputs and outcomes for details). All Texas schools are required to use IPM practices to manage pests on grounds and in facilities. Hurley leads the School IPM effort which emphasizes training School IPM Coordinators to implement school IPM and helping schools comply with state regulatory requirements. Dr. Scott Ludwig works with the Nursery and Greenhouse industry, assisting them to develop and maintain effective IPM systems to mitigate pest losses optimizing profitability, environmental quality and human health. Bill Ree works with pecan growers, focusing on development and delivery of time critical information to help them in protect profitability, environmental quality, food quality and human health. The IPM program works with many cooperators in state universities, state and federal research and regulatory institutions, agricultural chemical and seed companies, nurseries, pesticide businesses, schools, stakeholder businesses, commodity associations and citizen groups. Collaborations are numerous and multi-disciplinary and include School agencies and associations, state and federal legislatures, non-governmental organizations (Habitat for Humanity, civic clubs, CARITAS, Meals on Wheels, IPM organizations, gardener organizations and clubs and home-owner associations). Training for professional development has been an important component of the IPM program, providing needed training for thousands of Texans (see outputs section for details). TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for agricultural programs are primarily agricultural producers, but also consumers. Stakeholders in strategic planning meetings have emphasized the need to communicate how effective IPM implementation and new technology has allowed them to greatly reduce pesticide use while maintaining agricultural profitability, improving environmental quality and reducing human health risks. Work with non-farm audiences and in schools teaches the public that America has the cheapest, safest agricultural products in history. The goal for educational programs for agricultural producers is continuing to help them improve on the safety and affordability of ag products while improving environmental quality. See the outputs and outcomes sections for information on the scope and selected impacts of the FY 2010 IPM effort. Urban clientele are another target audience. They are taught IPM concepts to safetly, effectively and economically manage pests in their homes and landscapes using integrated, reduced risk, low environmental impact and common sense approaches. School personnel are similarly educated to improve health, safety, economics and environmental quality on public school campuses. (See the outputs and outcomes sections of this report for more information.) The efforts of the Texas IPM program in delivering science based knowledge to people was emphasized at the strategic planning sessions with stakeholder groups in their meetings (24 meetings) in 2009. Stakeholders commented that the IPM programming was valuable because it is non-biased and science based. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Texas IPM programs are increasingly provided using internet based information delivery systems (see outputs and outcomes sections of this report). Another area of change being addressed is IPM education for college students. Since colleges and universities are increasingly emphasizing genetic, molecular and landscape ecology focused training and study; there is an increasing need for students to receive hands-on learning experiences with IPM professionals to expose them to operational IPM in Texas fields, orchards, nurseries, schools and cities. The IPM program is increasing its emphasis on IPM internships for college students to help meet this need. We hope to interest young people in careers in IPM and in this way help provide the IPM practitioners Texas will need in the future. The Texas IPM program is being negatively affected by budget shortfalls. Federal funding for the program is currently 50% of what it was two years ago. State funding has also been cut and more cuts at the state level are expected. Our professional staff has gone from 28 in 2008 to 24 now. Pay increases have not been possible for 2 years. Further reductions in funding will result in more professional and support positions being lost. This is the most critical threat to the program and shortages will require program modifications.
Impacts
Surveys were conducted with Texas IPM program participants after educational programs were completed and/or at the end of the growing season. In row crop agriculture programs, 10 of the units surveyed growers involved with IPM programs in cotton and peanut production. Growers reported the program was worth $55.20 per acre. Program impact on scouted acres was $1.9 million and adoption of technology increased the economic impact in cotton (5 m acres) , grain sorghum (2-3 m acres) and wheat (3.5 m) acres. In the School IPM program Coordinators were trained and assisted in developing their own self-help association. After training sessions, Well over 90% of responding School IPM Coordinators said they would implement what they learned, save money on pest management, avoid unnecessary pesticide applications and stay in compliance with IPM regulations. Eight community-wide fire ant management programs were implemented in the Texas Urban IPM programs. In a survey of participants of three of the programs, all of the respondents said the program saved money, and reduced fire ant nuisance and improved human health. Ninety percent reduced insecticide use. ISEC, identify, sanitize, exclude and control, is a common sense approach to IPM for homeowners. Three of the Urban IPM Agents used the program with Habitat for Humanity participants. In 2009, 241 families were trained. One month after the training, 79% of the respondents reported they had reduced their insecticide use by over 71%. In Lubbock County an urban water conservation program was instituted with assistance of Master Gardener volunteers. The program educated 75 urban clientele about xeriscape landscaping techniques, drip irrigation, rainfall harvesting and water-thrifty plants for landscapes. After the training, survey respondents said what they learned would save $260 per year on their water bills. Seventy-eight percent said that they could reduce their water usage by 38%. In a drip irrigated area of West Texas the IPM agent worked to develop an optimum timing system for ceasing irrigation. The system was delivered to producers and a grower survey reported adoption of the irrigation termination program will save area producers $600,000 per year and will result in a savings of 50,000 acre inches of water. In another of the state the IPM agent initiated work on cotton root rot, the most serious disease problem for cotton growers on about 1.5 m acres of Texas' 6 m acres where cotton is grown. An effective fungicide treatment was discovered. The potential economic impact is several million dollars per year. The pecan IPM Agent worked with a team that initiated the Pecan IPM Pipe program to deliver pecan nut casebearer trapping and prediction information to pecan producers throughout pecan producing states. In a survey growers reported that accurate pecan nut casebearer information was worth $276.67 per acre, an economic impact of over $15 million in Texas alone. Environmental benefits are expected as well.
Publications
- Carrier, Y., C. Ellers-Kirk, M. G. Cattaneo, C. M. Yafuso, L. Antilla, C. Huang, M. Rahman, B. J. Orr, and S. E. Marsh. 2009. Landscape effects of transgenic cotton on non-target ants and beetles. Basic and Applied Ecology. Vol. 10 No. 7, pp. 597-606.
|