Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Agronomic and dairy farmers in Pennsylvania,Mushroom farmers in Pennsylvania and surrounding states,Non-agricultural community members in Pennsylvania. Changes/Problems:Dion Lerman, our key staff member working inPhiladelphia retired. In Sept 2024, we hired a replacement, but it will take a six months or so for the new staff member to get up to speed and make connections with our partners in Philadelphia. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As detailedabove, we have trained cohorts of residents of North Philadelphia as Urban IPM Technicians. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared our results with appropriate audiences, including the NE IPM Center, field crop growers and associated professionals, and mushroom growers and their associated professionals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue conducting outreach efforts to urban communities and agricultural communities. We will also continue training urban IPM technicians in Philadelphia to hope to broaden our training efforts to other constituencies.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Community IPM in Philadelphia Urban IPM Technician Training in North Philadelphia Working with ECA (Energy Coordinating Agency), a local NGO that provides training in building trades, the PAIPM Program is working to train residents on North Philadelphia as Urban IPM Technicians. North Philly is one of the city's poorest areas (with 100% of homes pest-infested, according to a Department of Health survey) and is occupied primarily by Black and Latinx populations. Pests are nuisances but more importantly are health threats, particularly mice and cockroaches, which are the most important triggers of asthma in urban areas. Our training program is built around the Entomological Society of America's new Certified IPM Technician standard, and the Pennsylvania Licensed Pesticide Applicator training and certification. It includes hands-on treatment of homes in the community and provides program graduates and opportunity to intern with local pest management professionals. The intent is to make the training an ongoing part of Philly Works, the city's job development system, and create a pipeline of trained technicians. The final curriculum will be published, allowing it to be replicated elsewhere. In fall 2022, the first cohort of six student finished five weeks of training and graduated from the program. All the graduates qualified for their credentials, passed their state exams, and within a month of the end of training secured employment or applied to open their own business. A second cohort of 16 students took the training in March 2023, and several students passed their exams, but we are seeking clarity from ECA on the exact number. Some of those who did not pass appear have expressed a willingness to retake their exams. When we hire additional staff members, we plan to continue this training in the coming years as long as there is demand. Importantly, this program is providing sustainable careers for neighborhood residents (with some of the highest unemployment rates in the city), and direct service to residents whose homes will be treated as part of the training, and a pipeline of trained technicians for the growing non-profit home renovation programs in Philadelphia, which plan to renovate over 10,000 low-income homes over the next 10 years. Medicare Reimbursement for Pest Control for Disabled Adults In 2019, PA Medicare/Medicaid introduced a new plan for adults with disabilities, and one of its benefits included reimbursement for pest control in client's homes. To ensure the success of this benefit, PAIPM engaged the Commonwealth of PA, the Managed Care Organizations (MCO) that administer the plan in the region, and local stakeholders. We established our local staff member (Dion Lerman) as a technical consultant for pest management for Liberty Wheels, a subsidiary of Liberty Resources, which is the federally recognized Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Philadelphia that works with >40,000 people with disabilities. Liberty processes referrals from MCOs and assigns the work to pre-screened, high-quality, locally owned pest control companies (mostly minority and/or woman owned enterprises) that perform IPM-based services. Liberty handles reporting and billing to Medicare. Launched just before COVID, services began slowly, but by January 2024, the program contractors performed 866 service calls. Bed bugs were the most common pest treated, accounting for over 43% of treatments. Cockroaches (39%) were the next most common pest treated, with mice (33%) rounding out the top complaints. Only 23% of treatments involved more than one pest; cockroaches and mice were the most common combination (10% of treatments), followed by bed bugs and cockroaches (6%). "Other" pests (i.e., rats, squirrels, fleas, and raccoons) were encountered rarely. Notably, contractors resolved 91% of complaints with a single visit. For consumers requiring additional visits, Liberty conferred with field technicians and PAIPM to determine further IPM-based tactics. Encouragingly, our program has had more success eradicating pests in single visits than conventional (e.g., National) pest control companies, and about 20% less expensive. Customer satisfaction with the program is 100%. Liberty is now the preferred pest eradication contractor for all three of the managed care organizations administering Medicaid in southeast PA. This program has been very successful, with the MCO's gradually increasing referrals and participation. Significantly, other regions of Pennsylvania would like to develop similar programs beyond Philly, but the lack of IPM-based pest control operators remains a barrier. (This shortage of is part of the impetus for the UIPM training described above.) PAIPM is currently talking with the CIL in Williamsport to implement a similar program there. Other urban areas (Erie, Harrisburg, Reading) are also interested. Agricultural IPM IPM is relevant for field crops in PA because farmers in the state are embracing conservation agriculture, which when paired with IPM provides higher levels of ecological functioning and more resilient fields compared to fields managed without conservation practices. Our recent research has revealed that IPM combined with no-till and cover crops can maintain cash-crop yield and pest control while decreasing pesticide use. For instance, no-till rotations of corn and soybeans managed with IPM fostered communities of invertebrate predators that protected crops from insect pests as well or better than insecticides while maintaining yield. In fact, because of their stable habitats, we found that no-till fields tend to harbor better populations of natural enemies than tilled fields; therefore, no-till fields managed with IPM are more resistant to insect and slug pests. In 2023, we finished a three-year research project on the benefits of "planting green," which is the practice of establishing cash crops (corn or soybeans) into living green cover crops. Conventional wisdom is that this approach is unwise because it leaves crops more susceptible to caterpillar pests like armyworm and black cutworm, but our research is indicating that planting green, when combined with IPM and avoiding preventative insecticides (including insecticidal seed treatments), can limit damage from slugs and does not appear to significantly increase damage from caterpillar species. We are in the process of compiling our results and we plan to share our results with the farming community in the coming year. IPM of Mushroom Production Commercial mushrooms are a major industry in Pennsylvania with an economic impact of $1.1 billion. Unfortunately, most mushroom farms suffer from insect pests that are challenging to control and may be problematic for neighboring communities. An ongoing quarterly survey conducted by the American Mushroom Institute and Penn State reported that phorid (Megaselia halterata) and sciarid (Lycoriella ingenua) flies were widespread pests, with phorids being the predominant pest in Chester County, PA, where about 50% of PA mushroom are produced. Via larval feeding on mycelia and adults vectoring mushroom diseases, mushroom flies can reduce yield by 10% to 40%. Moreover, phorid flies have become significant nuisance pests because their swarms will invade residential neighborhoods near farms, decreasing the quality of life of residents. Dr. Wolfin is collaborating with mushroom growers to participate in field trials to test different approaches that can help manage insect pests of mushrooms, including 1) applications of entomopathogenic nematode, 2) testing updated traps to monitor flies, 3) mass trapping of flies to control their populations, 4) testing predatory mite to control mushroom flies on mushroom farms, and 5) running the Mushroom Fly Hotline to answer questions and concerns and track mushroom fly infestations and invasions.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, agricultural professionals, pest managers, extension staff, potential trainees, citizens of Pennsylvania, fellow scientists Changes/Problems:PD John Tooker replaced former PD Edwin Rajotte, who retired. Co-PI Michael Wolfin replaced co-PI Nina Jenkins, who moved to another university. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?For IPM training, our program in urban pest management has offered 22 minority residents new knowledge, skillsets, and access to new careers as IPM-based pest control operators. Pest control operators are facing shortages, particularly in intercity regions that are avoided by national chains. The success of our training program is evident in our first graduating class, of students of which passed their exams and found employment in the industry. We have similar high hopes for the second class. For our programming for disabled urban residents, our successful implementation of IPM eradicated most pest infestations in one visit and complete customer satisfaction, which likely translates to improved quality of living for the hundreds of residents who we have serviced. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We disseminated our results via in-person meetings or via online newsletters. For Agronomic Crops, we spoke at 14 extension events or industry-based meeting, reaching 736 agricultural professionals. We also wrote and distributed 12 articles on IPM in Penn State's Field Crop News, which is an online newsletter that reaches over 14,000 agricultural professionals each week during the growing season. For mushroom production, we organized a mushroom fly control panel (38 attendees), a mushroom disease IPM panel (39 attendees), and presented an annual mushroom fly update (82 attendees) at the mushroom short course. We also presented a mushroom IPM public update to the USDA (89 attendees). We made 55 farm visits directly reaching 180 growers on their farms. Additionally, we supported the residents affected by mushroom fly invasions by hosting public Mushroom Fly Action Council meetings (6 total meetings, meeting notes are distributed to 1,700 members) and operating the mushroom fly hotline. In total for Year 2, we amassed 731 stakeholder contacts at 125 events. Additionally, one fact sheet was produced and distributed (in English and in Spanish) to inform residents about mushroom fly invasions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Priority area: IPM Implementation in Agronomic Crops: Collaborate with county-based extension educators to deliver IPM messages to growers Education and demonstration of utility of pest monitoring and scouting We will continue to work on these projects in the third year of our project. We have heard from extension educators, industry representatives, and farmers that they value the information that emerges from these efforts. Priority area: Community IPM in Philadelphia (Housing, Public Health). Dion Lerman - PA IPM Staff Continue to develop collaborative programming with housing partners. From urban centers around Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Williamsport, Pittsburgh), we have received significant interest in expanding IPM-based pest control in homes of disabled adults that is reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid. We are currently having conversations with some partners in these areas to determine what is feasible and how to expand the program responsibly without sacrificing the quality of the work. This effort will be significant in year 3 of our project. Continue to work with pest control partners to develop IPM trainings for professional staff and facilities managers In year three of our project, we hope to have two more cohorts of trainings of Urban IPM Technicians. We will also work toward making the training an ongoing part of Philly Works, the city's job development system, and create a pipeline of trained technicians. We will seek additional funding to ensure the training can continue in coming years. Priority area: IPM Implementation for Specialty Crops-IPM education for Hispanics and community management of Phorid flies in the mushroom industry Our lab will investigate additional methods of control for mushroom flies on mushroom farms including natural enemies and sustainable pesticide application methods including Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs). We will conduct laboratory tests to evaluate the potential for Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes, Stratiolaelaps scimitus predatory mites, and LLINs to control mushroom flies on mushroom farms. We will work with growers and producers of natural enemies and LLINs to design protocols to implement these novel strategies in the field. We will continue to support our stakeholders in meetings, print media, social media, and with site visits. Priority area: IPM Implementation in Agronomic Crops Objectives: Collaborate with county-based extension educators to deliver IPM messages to growers Education and demonstration of utility of pest monitoring and scouting We will continue to work on these projects in the third year of our project. We have heard from extension educators, industry representatives, and farmers that they value the information that emerges from these efforts. Priority area: Community IPM in Philadelphia (Housing, Public Health). Dion Lerman - PA IPM Staff Objectives: Continue to develop collaborative programming with housing partners. From urban centers around Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Williamsport, Pittsburgh), we have received significant interest in expanding IPM-based pest control in homes of disabled adults that is reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid. We are currently having conversations with some partners in these areas to determine what is feasible and how to expand the program responsibly without sacrificing the quality of the work. This effort will be significant in year 3 of our project. Continue to work with pest control partners to develop IPM trainings for professional staff and facilities managers In year three of our project, we hope to have two more cohorts of trainings of Urban IPM Technicians. We will also work toward making the training an ongoing part of Philly Works, the city's job development system, and create a pipeline of trained technicians. We will seek additional funding to ensure the training can continue in coming years. Priority area: IPM Implementation for Specialty Crops-IPM education for Hispanics and community management of Phorid flies in the mushroom industry Our lab will investigate additional methods of control for mushroom flies on mushroom farms including natural enemies and sustainable pesticide application methods including Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs). We will conduct laboratory tests to evaluate the potential for Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes, Stratiolaelaps scimitus predatory mites, and LLINs to control mushroom flies on mushroom farms. We will work with growers and producers of natural enemies and LLINs to design protocols to implement these novel strategies in the field. We will continue to support our stakeholders in meetings, print media, social media, and with site visits. We will continue to host educational courses for the industry and pesticide credit meetings to transfer research advances to growers. We will write an article in Mushroom News, the industry publication, to disseminate results to the industry, as well as produce a fact sheet on the attract and kill stations. We will continue to host Phorid Fly Action Council Meetings, and will present results in a public setting once per year. Priority area: IPM Implementation in Agronomic Crops Objectives: Collaborate with county-based extension educators to deliver IPM messages to growers Education and demonstration of utility of pest monitoring and scouting We will continue to work on these projects in the third year of our project. We have heard from extension educators, industry representatives, and farmers that they value the information that emerges from these efforts. Priority area: Community IPM in Philadelphia (Housing, Public Health). Dion Lerman - PA IPM Staff Objectives: Continue to develop collaborative programming with housing partners. From urban centers around Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Williamsport, Pittsburgh), we have received significant interest in expanding IPM-based pest control in homes of disabled adults that is reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid. We are currently having conversations with some partners in these areas to determine what is feasible and how to expand the program responsibly without sacrificing the quality of the work. This effort will be significant in year 3 of our project. Continue to work with pest control partners to develop IPM trainings for professional staff and facilities managers In year three of our project, we hope to have two more cohorts of trainings of Urban IPM Technicians. We will also work toward making the training an ongoing part of Philly Works, the city's job development system, and create a pipeline of trained technicians. We will seek additional funding to ensure the training can continue in coming years. Priority area: IPM Implementation for Specialty Crops-IPM education for Hispanics and community management of Phorid flies in the mushroom industry Our lab will investigate additional methods of control for mushroom flies on mushroom farms including natural enemies and sustainable pesticide application methods including Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs). We will conduct laboratory tests to evaluate the potential for Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes, Stratiolaelaps scimitus predatory mites, and LLINs to control mushroom flies on mushroom farms. We will work with growers and producers of natural enemies and LLINs to design protocols to implement these novel strategies in the field. We will continue to support our stakeholders in meetings, print media, social media, and with site visits. We will continue to host educational courses for the industry and pesticide credit meetings to transfer research advances to growers. We will write an article in Mushroom News, the industry publication, to disseminate results to the industry, as well as produce a fact sheet on the attract and kill stations. We will continue to host Phorid Fly Action Council Meetings, and will present results in a public setting once per year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Over the past year, we leveraged results of our field-crops research to emphasize the combination of no-till, cover crops, and IPM for improving natural-enemy driven control of corn, soybeans, and small grains. In addition to this extension messaging on IPM, we also made two efforts to track pest populations with the expectation that information on local pest populations can encourage folks to adopt IPM and deploy pest management tactics that are based on actual, rather than perceived, risk. First, we used pheromone traps to detect migrating populations of black cutworm, which is a significant pest of corn. During Spring 2023, we detected "significant flights" of black cutworm moths at only two locations in Pennsylvania and shared news of this risk with Pennsylvania corn growers. Second, we engaged 15 extension educators to scout sentinel soybean fields and report the pests that are active and how severe the pest populations are. For mushroom producers, we are working to limit infestations by mushroom phorid flies, the key pest of mushrooms. Since fall 2022, our efforts has expanded "attract and kill" stations that we helped develop to 44% of all growing rooms in mushroom houses in Pennsylvania. We also provided 104 fly traps to growers so that they could implement a fly monitoring program on their farms. Most farms do have reliable methods to measure flies, so a standardized monitoring program is key to defining the scope of the problem. We also presented at industry meetings to support mushroom growers. In total for Year 2, we had 731 stakeholder contacts at 125 events. We are also working to implement IPM in urban environments. Specifically, our efforts are focusing on two fronts: 1) training urban IPM technicians, and 2) getting IPM services to disable residents of Philadelphia. For the first of our urban projects, we have been working with ECA (Energy Coordinating Agency), a local NGO providing building trades training, to train residents in North Philadelphia, one of the city's poorest areas as Urban IPM Technicians. This unique program responds to persistent pest and pesticide-use problems in the community, and the city at large, which is also experiencing a severe labor shortage in the pest control industry. In fall 2022, we trained our first cohort of six students, who received five weeks of training and graduated from the program. All the graduates qualified for their credentials, passed their state exams, and within a month of the end of training secured employment or applied to open their own business. A second cohort of around 16 students finished their training in April 2023 and we are waiting to hear how they did on their exams. In our second urban project, PA IPM is facilitating implementation of new Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for pest control in homes of disabled adults in Philadelphia (approximately 45,000 in the metro area). We are working with managed care companies, who administer the Medicare/Medicaid benefit, and Liberty Resources, Inc, which is the Center for Independent Living for the Philadelphia area and acted as the broker for local pest management providers to provide the services to disabled adults. PA IPM serves as Technical Director, providing training, technical assistance, and quality assurance. IPM is the preferred approach to dealing with pest problems in homes of disabled residents because it focuses on eliminating the sources of the problem rather than prioritizing chemical treatments. As of 12/30/2022, the program has treated 173 homes, with 80% reporting successful elimination of the pest in a single visit, and complete customer satisfaction.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Residents, homeowners, pest control operators, underserved communities, farmers, agricultural professional, extension staff, farm advisors Changes/Problems:COVID-19 has continued to limit our research and seems to be limiting our audiences, but we expect the influence of COVID to recede as its grip on communities continues to loosen. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We provided training in all three realms: IPM in urban settings, vegetable crops, and agronomic crops. In urban programming, we are working to train new Urban IPM Technicians by targeting community members that want training to work in their own neighborhoods on ongoing challenges. In vegetable IPM, we have presented our results at the PSU Mushroom Short Course and by working directly with mushroom producers who adopt and implement the attract-and-kill stations that we have developed. In Agronomic crops, we have provided training to extension personnel and other agronomic professionals via in-service events, informal conversations and Penn State's Crop Conferences and Crop Days. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared our results and conclusions with urban via targeted outreach within the city of Philadelphia in collaboration with our partners, ECA and Liberty Resources. We have shared our results with agricultural communities via Pesticide Education meetings offered via Penn State Extension and by direct interactions with growers and their farm employees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue our current projects and continue to research underserved audiences and farmers who are willing to adopt IPM.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Pennsylvania IPM program continues to work in three different realms: IPM in urban settings, IPM in vegetable crops, and IPM in agronomic crops. IPM in urban settings: Working with ECA, a local NGO providing building trades training, the PA IPM Program has received a US EPA Environmental Justice grant for an innovative program to train residents on North Philadelphia, one of the city's poorest areas (with 100% of homes pest-infested, according to a Department of Health survey), and primarily Black and Latinx populations, as Urban IPM Technicians. This unique program is in response to persistent pest and pesticide-use problems in the community, and the city at large, which is also experiencing a severe labor shortage in the pest control industry, and with growing and long-term needs. Pests, as well as being a nuisance, are a health threat, particularly mice and cockroaches which are the most important triggers of asthma in urban areas; 25% of Philadelphia children have asthma - over twice the state and national averages. This program is striving to provide sustainable careers for neighborhood residents (with some of the highest unemployment rates in the city), and direct service to residents whose homes will treated as part of the training, and a pipeline of trained technicians for the growing non-profit home renovation programs in Philadelphia, which plan to renovate over 10,000 low-income homes over the next 10 years. Now in the planning and recruitment phase, the program will train two cohorts over the next two years, developing and improving the curriculum, built around the Entomological Society of America's (ESA) new Certified IPM Technician standard, and the Pennsylvania Licensed Pesticide Applicator training and certification. PA IPM has also facilitated implementation of new Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for pest control in homes of disabled adults in Philadelphia (approximately 45,000 in the metro area). The Program initiated conversation with the managed care organizations (MCO's), who administer the benefit, and disabled advocates that led to a partner agency, Liberty Resources, to act as broker for local pest management providers to provide the service. PA IPM serves as Technical Director, providing training, technical assistance, and quality assurance. Service began just before the COVID-19 shutdown, which delayed full implementation. However as of 12/30/2022, the program has treated 173 homes, with 80% reporting successful elimination of the pest in a single visit, and complete customer satisfaction. Bed bugs were the most common pest treated, accounting for over 43% (n=75) of treatments; only about 11 (15%) homes required retreatments. Cockroaches (n=67, or 39%) were the next most common pest treated, with mice (n=66; 33%) rounding out the top complaints. Mice actually required more re-treats (17%) than bed bugs. Only 23% (n=40) of treatments involved more than one pest; cockroaches and mice were the most common combination (n=18; 10% of treatments), followed by bed bugs and cockroaches (10; 6%). "Other" pests, squirrels, fleas, and raccoons, required treatment in one or two cases each. Rats were rare: only 7% of treatments, but they did co-occur with cockroaches (n=3) and with cockroaches and mice (n=2)"Triple threat" infestations were rare: only four were treated. IPM in Vegetable Crops: We developed an attract and kill station on mushroom farms to control mushroom flies. The attract and kill stations are constructed by replacing the filters on the vent windows of the growing rooms with a fine electrostatic screening. This screening allows more light to enter the room, which naturally attracts the flies to the vent windows. EcoVia WD, a FIFRA-25b exempt wettable dust insecticide is applied to the electrostatic screening. The technology excludes flies from entering the growing rooms early in the growing cycle while preventing newly emerged flies from leaving the growing rooms to go outside, mate, and locate early-stage growing rooms for oviposition. The EIP Support has allowed us to continue to gather data, expand to new farms, and share our results. Two years ago, our attract and kill station was only being used on 3 farms for a total of 59 growing rooms. To date, we have developed plans with 44 different farm sites (over 660 growing rooms) to adopt the technology for the 2022 field season in Chester County. This represents 34% of the growing rooms in Chester County. We have also adopted the technology to kill sciarid flies at a farm in Berks County. We will be working with them on field studies on their 500+ growing rooms. In total, the technology will be used in 48% of the growing rooms in Berks and Chester counties. While this percentage seems high, expansion was limited by our ability to provide the appropriate amount of support to each farm site. We addressed this limitation using USDA/NIFA/EIP funding to hire a research technologist that will be based in Chester County to support the farms full time during "Fly Season". With this recent hire (3/15), we expect the adoption numbers to continue to increase. IPM in Agronomic Crops: We continued our efforts to promote IPM in field crop production. Over the past year, we communicated with the agricultural community of Pennsylvania the value and limitations of insecticidal seed treatments, insect-resistant crop varieties, details of pest biology, and alternative means of controlling insect pests, including farming to increase diversity and improve biological control. We continue to promote IPM in context of broad interest in soil health. Farmers recognize that there is value in farming for healthier soil, so restrained use of insecticides aligns well with farming for soil life and diversity. One of our key efforts focused on soybean production, and we continued an ongoing effort of running a sentinel plot program in Pennsylvania soybean fields. Working with county-based extension educators, the main goal of the project was to encourage growers to adopt Integrated Pest Management by providing growers with a statewide assessment of insects and diseases active in soybean fields. This effort benefited farmers by exposing them weekly to realistic, unbiased assessments of populations of insects and diseases in soybean fields. Ample research has shown that soybean farmers over rely on insecticides and fungicides because they do not have a firm understanding of the threats that insects and fungal pathogens pose to their fields. Our scouting efforts of "typical" soybean fields, usually grown without insecticides and fungicides, by extension educators provided qualified assessments of pest populations that colonized fields around the state. After seeing our reports, we expected that growers would seek to learn what is active in their fields. If they experienced mild pest populations, then they would see first hand that that insecticides and fungicides are not needed in most soybean fields. This first-hand experience can lead them to embrace scouting, which is the key to implementing Integrated Pest Management and lowering production costs by allowing farmers to avoid using necessary inputs.
Publications
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