Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: --homeowners with yard & garden insect pests; --County Extension Educators and their Master Gardeners; --landscape nursery professionals; --commercial producers of agronomic and horticultural crops and their IPM consultants; Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Bechinski delivered 6.5 hours of In-Service IPM Training about urban lanscapes to134 UI County Extension Educators, State Specialists and their staff at four statewide venues. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We reported our results through theUniversity of Idaho ExtensionReporting System (CALSPlan) and at select meetings with external stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
STATEWIDE IPM COORDINATION: Bechinski (Extension IPM Coordinator) and Hirnyck (Idaho Pest Management Center Director and Extension Pesticide Coordinator) provided leadership for statewide outreach in IPM by participating in annual planning and outcome-assessment meetings of University of Idaho (UI) Extension Topic Teams for potatoes, sugarbeets, cereals, consumer horticulture and water quality; together these faculty Teams annually deliver IPM programming to 8,000 Idahoans statewide. Bechinski and Hirnyck represented Idaho Extension IPM with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, the NRCS Idaho Technical Advisory Committee, and at annual WERA69/1017 meetings. Outputs and outcomes included preparation of proposals for new Extension activities subsequently competitively awarded by Western Region IPM Center and USDA NIFA E-IPM Program. IPM IN AGRONOMIC CROPS: Co-investigators Morishita (Weed Science), Neher (Plant Pathologist) and Wenninger (Entomology) measured grower adoption of IPM methods by surveying more than 250 commercial producers at 7 grower meetingsusing wireless response card technology during 2012 in Idaho and adjoining Oregon. IPM adoption varied among production districts; 52% to 89% growers are using a suite of IPM decision-tools and tactics. Growers said the biggest limiting factor to adoption is readily-available information about IPM practices, especially for diseases. Surveys additionally documented grower perceptions of sugarbeet pest status and their ranked priorities for future IPM research and extension; these date provide the base for future IPM programming. A new Sugar Beet Crop Production Manual remains in preparation. Team members annually updated and revised during 2010-2014 section “Sugar Beet Weeds” (Morishita) in Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook, “Sugar Beet Pests” (Wenninger) in Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook, and “Sugar Beet Seed Pests” and “Beet Seed Pests” (Bechinski) in Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. Bechinski collaborated with five UI Extension Educators to deliver 77 contact hours of IPM training during 2010-2013 to more than 3900 commercial producers and industry fieldstaff in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Gains in clientele knowledge of IPM averaged 70% pre:post test. Statewide surveys of 283 attendees at 8 venues during 2012showed that approximately 75% of Idaho wheat and barley producers have adopted IPM programs that combine cultural controls with regular pest scouting and thresholds on at least half their acreage. CONSUMER and URBAN IPM: Bechinski delivered 130 contact hours of IPM training during 2010-2013 at 51 venues in Idaho and Washington to homeowners, nursery professionals, County Extension Educators and Master Gardeners. Work included 6.5 hours of In-Service IPM Training for 134 UI County Extension Educators, State Specialists and their staff at four statewide venues. Teaching format combined PowerPoint shows with examination of preserved specimens. Depending on the venue and target audience, Bechinski prepared and distributed customized printed handouts ranging from short (2-to-3 page) illustrated bulletins to comprehensive (80-page) workshop manuals. Much effort was given to a new publication, Pacific Northwest Natural Enemies Manual -- Guide to Biological Control in Crops and Landscapes, that focuses on identification and biology of commonly encountered predatory insects, parasitoids and insect pathogens, as well as pragmatic advice about how-to-practice biocontrol. Peer-review was completed April 2014, with subsequent approval for publication June 2014 as a tristate (ID-OR-WA) PNW Extension bulletin; manuscript ispress at UI Educational Communications. Bechinski used elements of this publication and preserved specimens at workshops to 303 small-farm producers, affiliated University of Idaho Master Gardeners, and backyard gardeners. We formally measured two expressions of short-term Logic Model outcomes: gains in clientele knowledge and likelihood of clientele adoption of IPM practices. As of 2014, theIdaho Extension IPM Programhas a 9-year history of 60% to 70% gains-in-knowledge among Master Gardeners attending our workshops. Pre:post tests of nursery professionals show similar gains. More than 85,000 people downloaded two of our online Homeowner IPM extension bulletins during 2013, making them the #1 and #4 publications in the UI Extension catalog; these downloads are proxies for clientele awareness, knowledge and intent-to-adopt. Audiences routinely reported in psot-wrokshop evaluations that they would adopt new pest management practices as a consequence of attending those workshops, especially cultural and physical tactics, biological control tactics and biorational pesticides that conserve and maintain bioagents and pollinators. Professional landscape workers at one venue estimated they would accrue $3500 in economic impacts in their own operations through cost-savings or value-added to commodities by putting their new IPM knowledge into practice. PEST DIAGNOSTIC FACILITIES: Bechinski and Lass (Diagnostician, University of Idaho Lambert Erickson Weed Lab) collaboratively began during 2011 a new quarterly newsletter that highlighted the identification, biology and management of select submitted insect and weed specimens, with particular focus on invasive species (including a follow-up to first U.S. detection of the invasive Palearctic hemipteran bug Arocatus melanocephalus (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae). IPM EDUCATION for PESTICIDE APPLICATORS Approximately 200 pre-license pesticide applicator trainees annually participated in three-day classes convened at four statewide sites by Hirnyck in collaboration with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture during 2012-2014. We developed new Syllabi, Notes Handouts and PowerPoint presentations about Plant Protection -- IPM principles and practices for diseases, insects and weeds of agronomic crops and landscape ornamentals. Special focus was given to practices that protect surface and ground water, natural enemies, pollinators and sensitive sites. One-in-three attendees self-assessed their gain-in-knowledge as at least 80%;formal pre:post tests administered by wireless response card technology showed 65% gain-in-IPM-knowledge among trainees. On average, each trainee was responsible for IPM decisions on 7600 acres.Nearly 9 in 10 attendees said they would apply their new knowledge to that acreage.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, E., D. Schotzko, B. Stokes, J. Alvarez, R. Stoltz [in press]. PNW Natural Enemies Manual a guide to biological control of insect pests in commercial crops and home landscapes. Pacific Northwest Extension Publication. 42 pages
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, E.J. 7 Feb 2014. Managing Yard and Garden Insects. 89-page annually updated supplement to Idaho Master Gardener Program Handbook.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, E.J. 7 March 2014. Master Gardener Pesticide Training Manual. 30-page annually updated supplement to Idaho Master Gardener Program Handbook.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, E.J. 23 Mar 2014. Entomology Primer. 59-page annually updated supplement to Idaho Master Gardener Program Handbook
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, Edward J. and Bradley S. Stokes. Mar 2014. Pests of sugar beet grown for seed. 2014 Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. Craig S. Hollingsworth, ed. [updated annually]
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bechinski, Edward J. and Bradley S. Stokes. Mar 2014. Pests of table beet grown for seed. 2014 Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. Craig S. Hollingsworth, ed. [updated annually]
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Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: E-IPM funding awarded to the University of Idaho by USDA NIFA for the Idaho Extension IPM Program supported five projects from 1 Sep 2011 through 31 Aug 2012. PROJECT #1 PROGRAM COORDINATION: Edward John Bechinski (Extension IPM Coordinator) and Ronda E. Hirnyck (Idaho Pest Management Center Director and Extension Pesticide Coordinator) together provided leadership for statewide outreach in pest management by participating in annual planning, assessment and reporting meetings of faculty Topic Teams (workgroups of County Extension Educators and State Extension Specialists) for consumer horticulture and small acreage crops. Hirnyck represented Idaho Extension IPM in program coordination meetings with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the NRCS Idaho Technical Advisory Committee. PROJECT #2 URBAN LANDSCAPE IPM: We continued the work we began during 2011 to address the top-ranking insect pest concerns of Idaho homeowners by conducting an outreach program that combines on-site IPM workshops and new publications. Bechinski delivered during 2012 over 1300 contact-hours of pest management training about yard and garden pests at 15 statewide and regional venues to beginning and advanced Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals and homeowners. Special workshop emphasis during 2012 again was given to IPM methods that protect pollinators and biological control agents, two topics that ranked high on stakeholder needs assessments. Audience satisfaction was highly positive; mean workshop evaluation score during 2012 (5 venues, 77 persons responding) was 98.4%. The eighth title in our E-IPM funded "Homeowner IPM Guides" series, Guide to Beneficial Natural Enemies, remains in internal editorial review; it significantly extends subject-matter scope of out-of-print regional bulletin PNW343. Work began during 2012 with University of Idaho staff on another Homeowner series about turfgrass insect IPM. PROJECT #3 SUGARBEET IPM: University of Idaho E-IPM co-investigators Don Morishita (Professor of Weed Science), Oliver Neher (Assistant Professor, Plant Pathologist) and Erik Wenninger (Assistant Professor of Entomology) measured grower adoption of IPM methods for sugarbeet diseases, insects, nematodes and weeds by using wireless audience response card technology to conduct live on-site surveys at 7 sugarbeet grower meetings in Idaho and adjoining Oregon; more than 250 commercial sugarbeet growers participated. In addition to measuring changes in IPM adoption since our baseline surveys 20 years ago, we also documented grower perceptions of sugarbeet pest status and assessed ranked priorities for future IPM research and extension. Data analysis is on-going. PROJECT #4 DIAGNOSTIC LABS: Published two issues of our newsletter Idaho Pests. PROJECT #5 IPM EDUCATION FOR IDAHO PESTICIDE APPLICATORS: Bechinski and Hirnyck began work during 2012 on an on-line training module and accompanying written bulletin; primary intended audience is University of Idaho Master Gardener volunteers. Bechinski delivered 16-hours of IPM training at regional pre-certification and recertification licensing. PARTICIPANTS: Edward John Bechinski, Professor of Entomology and Extension IPM Coordinator, was Program Director for this work. He consulted with Co-Director Ronda E. Hirnyck, Extension Professor, Idaho Pest Management Center Director and Extension Pesticide Coordinator. Over 1700 commercial farmers, agricultural industry field staff, university County Extension Educators, Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals and homeowners in Idaho and adjoining Washington and Oregon participated in extension workshops offered by Bechinski. TARGET AUDIENCES: Extension programming efforts focused on helping the citizens of Idaho manage pests in ways that maximize the profitability of control action while minimizing harm to human health and environmental quality. We worked to our mission by delivering educational programs that provided our citizens with the tools and training needed to put integrated pest management into practice. Target audience was people who make pest control decisions or who give pest control advice, especially commercial farmers, agricultural industry field staff, university County Extension Educators, Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals, personnel at public agencies and homeowners. Activities in support of this mission included writing extension bulletins and popular articles, delivering informal training at workshops and seminars, teaching In-Service Professional Development classes for University of Idaho extension faculty, and convening field clinics and demonstrations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Web page development has been hampered by support staff vacancies.
Impacts
IPM workshops delivered by Bechinski during 2012 trained 229 Master Gardener volunteers who in turn extended IPM recommendations to thousands of local residents. An additional 445 landscape professionals, University of Idaho County Extension Educators, and homeowners attended workshops delivered by Bechinski during 2012 about IPM for urban landscapes. Audience satisfaction was highly positive; representative written comments included the following unedited reply: "Exactly what I needed - liked the [IPM]] pyramid idea of horticultural & bio controls first - then least toxic insecticides." An additional 1006 commercial and private pesticide applicators learned about IPM principles and practices for wheat and barley production by attending state and regional workshops delivered by Bechinski in Idaho and Washington. Two expressions of short-term Logic Model outcomes formally were measured at select workshops: gains in clientele knowledge of IPM and likelihood of clientele adoption of IPM practices. Knowledge gained was measured by using standard pre-test:post-test methods administered live via wireless audience response card technology. Mean gain-in-knowledge among pesticide applicators was 45%, computed as [(post-test no. correct answers - pre-test no. correct answers) / (pre-test no. correct answers)] * 100. Prior to attending workshops, 27% of Master Gardeners said they had no knowledge of IPM and none ranked their knowledge as high. Those responses changed to 4% and 20%, respectively, following workshops. Likelihood of IPM adoption was measured by asking Master Gardener audiences to respond to the post-workshop evaluation item "Please list one idea you plan to put into practice." Approximately one-third of the replies emphasized horticultural alternatives to pesticides, practical approaches to conservation biological control, and least-toxic products they now will recommend to homeowners.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: E-IPM funding awarded to the University of Idaho by USDA NIFA for the Idaho Extension IPM Program supported the following four projects from 1 Sep 2010 through 31 Aug 2011. PROJECT #1 PROGRAM COORDINATION: Edward John Bechinski (Extension IPM Coordinator) and Ronda E. Hirnyck (Idaho Pest Management Center Director and Extension Pesticide Coordinator) together provided leadership for statewide outreach in pest management by participating in annual planning, assessment and reporting meetings of faculty Topic Teams for potatoes, sugarbeets, cereals, consumer horticulture and water quality; they also represented Idaho Extension IPM at the annual WERA69 meeting and at program coordination meetings with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the NRCS Idaho Technical Advisory Committee. PROJECT #2 URBAN LANDSCAPE IPM: We continued the work we began during 2010 to address the top-ranking insect pest concerns of Idaho homeowners by conducting an outreach program that combines new print publications, online resources and on-site IPM workshops. Bechinski wrote during 2011 the eighth title in our E-IPM funded "Homeowner IPM Guides" series, Guide to Beneficial Natural Enemies, a 35-page manual (now in internal editorial review) that significantly extends subject-matter scope of out-of-print regional bulletin PNW343. He delivered during 2011 over 3500 contact-hours of pest management training about yard and garden pests at 13 venues to beginning and advanced Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals and homeowners. To enhance Master Gardener learning, Bechinski updated during 2011 his 76-page training manual "Managing Yard and Garden Insects - Principles and Practices," a resource that covers pests of home vegetable gardens, flowers, lawns, fruits, and landscape trees and shrubs. Special workshop emphasis during 2011 was IPM methods that protect pollinators and biological control agents, two topics that ranked high on stakeholder needs assessments. We currently are leveraging our E-IPM funding with an internal University of Idaho grant to convene four regional workshops for University of Idaho County Extension Educators and Master Gardeners. PROJECT #3 SUGARBEET IPM: We designed during 2011 a survey questionnaire to quantitatively measure during 2012 grower adoption of IPM methods for sugarbeet diseases, insects, nematodes and weeds; similar surveys last conducted 20-years ago will provide baselines for comparison. But rather than conduct surveys by mailing printed questionnaire booklets to our statewide growers, we instead will conduct live on-site surveys at grower meetings during late winter 2012 by using wireless audience response card technology so as to maximize response rates and to allow for total anonymity of participants. In preparation for this 2012 survey work, Bechinski completed the National Institutes of Health training course "Protecting Human Research Participants" (Certification Number 685478, 13 May 2011). PROJECT #4 DIAGNOSTIC LABS: Publication of our first newsletter is scheduled for summer 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Edward John Bechinski, Professor of Entomology and Extension IPM Coordinator, was Program Director for this work. He consulted with Co-Director Ronda E. Hirnyck, Extension Professor, Idaho Pest Management Center Director and Extension Pesticide Coordinator. Bechinski delivered two In-Service Professional Development Workshops at the 2011 University of Idaho Annual Extension Conference (Moscow, ID) for 13 County Extension Educators and State Extension Specialists. Over 700 commercial farmers, agricultural industry field staff, university County Extension Educators, Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals and homeowners in Idaho and adjoining Washington participated in extension workshops offered by Bechinski. TARGET AUDIENCES: Extension programming efforts focused on helping the citizens of Idaho manage pests in ways that maximize the profitability of control action while minimizing harm to human health and environmental quality. We worked to our mission by delivering educational programs that provided our citizens with the tools and training needed to put integrated pest management into practice. Target audience was people who make pest control decisions or who give pest control advice, especially commercial farmers, agricultural industry field staff, university County Extension Educators, Master Gardener volunteers, landscape professionals, personnel at public agencies and homeowners. Activities in support of this mission included writing extension bulletins and popular articles, delivering informal training at workshops and seminars, teaching In-Service Professional Development classes for University of Idaho extension faculty, and convening field clinics and demonstrations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Web page development planned for 2011 has been hampered by College support staff vacancies. Bechinski will hire during Project Year #2 a half-time Extension Program Assistant to design and maintain our website and to assist Bechinski in the writing of our planned extension publications in Urban IPM and Sugarbeet IPM. Funding for this new position will be generated by shifting a portion of Bechinski's Project Years #2 and #3 salary from our E-IPM award to University of Idaho internal sources.
Impacts
IPM workshops delivered by Bechinski during 2011 trained 144 Master Gardener volunteers who in turn extended IPM recommendations to thousands of local residents. An additional 341 landscape professionals, University of Idaho County Extension Educators, and homeowners attended workshops delivered by Bechinski during 2011 about IPM for urban landscapes. Audience satisfaction was highly positive; mean workshop evaluation score was 99.7% (102 persons responding at six venues during 2011); representative written comments included the following unedited reply: "I am excited to be more observant about insects, and to more accurately identify them and consider which environmental modifications may be useful to eliminate or reduce their populations (if "pestiferous")." Two expressions of short-term Logic Model outcomes formally were measured at select Master Gardener workshops: gains in clientele knowledge of IPM and likelihood of clientele adoption of IPM practices. Knowledge gained was measured by using standard 10-question pre-test:post-test methods. Mean gain-in-knowledge among Master Gardeners was 60%, computed as [(post-test no. correct answers - pre-test no. correct answers) / (pre-test no. correct answers)] * 100. Likelihood of IPM adoption was measured by asking audiences to respond to the post-workshop evaluation item "Please list one idea you plan to put into practice." Approximately one-third of the replies emphasized practical approaches to conservation biological control, including these six representative, unedited replies: "Watch for evidence of natural enemies. Be more aware of 10 of the really beneficial insects. Planting more things to provide nectar & pollen for beneficials all season. Encourage beneficial insects instead of using pesticides. Be more aware of the different beneficial bugs and use less pesticides. Use least toxic methods for insect control." Many identified specific "least-toxic" products they now will recommend as Master Gardeners for use around home landscapes.
Publications
- Bechinski, E.J. 25 Jan 2011. Entomology Primer. Supplement to Idaho Master Gardener Program Handbook. 46-pp.
- Bechinski, E.J. 21 Feb 2011. Managing Yard and Garden Insects: Principles and Practices. Supplement to Idaho Master Gardener Program Handbook. 76-pp.
- Bechinski, E.J. 2011. Sugar beet seed pests. Pages 68-70 in C.S. Hollingsworth, editor. 2011 Pacific Northwest Insect Mangement Handbook.
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