NCR193: Plant Health: Managing Insects and Diseases of Landscape Plants
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NCR193: Plant Health: Managing Insects and Diseases of Landscape Plants
Duration: 10/01/2001 to 09/30/2007
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
In the next five years, the search for pesticide alternatives will be critical because of anticipated regulatory actions due to EPA registration reviews following passage of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The loss of key pesticides such as chlorpyrifos and diazinon is likely to have cascading effects on the management of insects and diseases. This particular compound was critical to the control of boring insects that vector fungal pathogens and speed the death of a wide variety of trees including, elm, oak, ash, and pine.
Members of NCR-193 address IPM of ornamental plants. Evaluation of cultural, chemical, and biological control strategies, which are significant components of IPM programs, are part of on-going research efforts of many members of these committees. Such studies include the assessment of non-traditional (biorational) fungicides and microbial insecticides, mycoherbicides, factors predisposing plants to disease and insect attack, screening of disease and insect resistant germplasm, and biological control. A forum is needed where pathologists and entomologists can discuss IPM programs for insects and diseases of ornamental plants.
In the past two decades, public interest in landscape plants and the demand for high quality stock has more than tripled. The nursery and greenhouse industry is the fastest growing segment of US agriculture. In 1995, $27 billion was spent at retail and mail order stores for landscape plants and associated products, a 20% increase since 1993. In 1999, over 21 million households spent over $16.8 billion on professional landscape, lawn and tree care services. The livelihood of over 600,000 horticulturists, nurserymen, landscape architects, arborists, garden center operators, pest control specialists, urban foresters, and many others is tied directly to the ornamentals industry.
Landscape plants have a broader value than economics. They are an integral part of the human environment, and are among the most useful tools used to modify our environment. Trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants can be used to conserve energy, improve environmental quality, and are important contributors to human comfort and well-being. Landscape plants are integral to our outdoor activities, from relaxing in private yards to golfing and time in the park. Properly placed and maintained plants can reduce energy costs, absorb noise and air pollutants, reduce soil erosion, increase ecological stability, and provide wildlife habitat. Plants in the landscape also increase property values and community pride.
The health, aesthetic and utility value of landscape plants are reduced by many insect pests and diseases. The result is widespread interest and activity in mitigating the negative influences of these problems. Nurseries, homeowners, landscapers, municipal governments, and tree care professionals strive to grow healthy and aesthetically pleasing plants, while reducing the use of conventional pesticides and embracing integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
As the ornamentals industry has expanded, so has the diversity and complexity of disease and insect problems. Many of these problems are national rather than local in scope. Planting stock is shipped in regional, national, and international networks. As a result, insects and diseases are introduced to new locations on nursery stock produced in other regions. NCR-193 is the only committee allowing IPM specialists on insects and diseases of ornamental plants to meet and discuss new research findings, technologies, and problems from a regional and national perspective. As a result of these interchanges, participating scientists have achieved more rapid solutions to problems, and duplication of research effort has been avoided.
In summary, the geographic scale of insect and disease problems has broadened dramatically as the ornamentals industry has grown. While the need for coordinated regional and national research and technology transfer to address these problems is at an all-time high, institutional mechanisms to facilitate such efforts are few. The NCR-193 committee will partially facilitate these needs. This interdisciplinary committee is an invaluable forum for stimulating regional research and, particularly, extension efforts. Indeed, it is the only regional committee dedicated to finding answers to landscape plant disease and insect injury problems.
Objectives
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Encourage pathologists and entomologists to interact and develop multi-disciplinary management tactics for pest control.
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Foster development of sound IPM methods including cultural, biological, and selective chemical approaches for protecting nursery stock and landscape plants from damage by insects and diseases.
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Coordinate and promote new and ongoing research and technology transfer projects dealing with insects and diseases affecting landscape plants of regional interest.
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Develop multi-state IPM programs to help individual states deal with diseases and insect pests on the tremendous range of plant species and cultivars available.
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Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Each year the NCR-193 meeting serves as the major communications arena for researchers on landscape plant health in the United States. In addition to the communication of results of past research, it provides an opportunity to establish cooperative or coordinated research plans dealing with common problems. Annual meetings will be organized around mutually agreed symposia on topics of joint interest to Entomologists and Plant Pathologists. Symposia will also be presented at the national and branch meetings of the Entomological Society of America and the American Phytopathological Society. In the next five years we will focus our efforts on developing cultural and biological controls of pests, studying disease problems vectored by insects, exotic pests on nursery stock, and the development of comprehensive paper and web-based extension manuals.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Where appropriate, we will work with stake holders through their professional societies (e.g. International Society of Arboriculture, American Phytopathological Society) to produce relevant manuals and conduct educational meetings. Regional recommendations will be posted on the web and advertised in trade shows as appropriate.
Organization/Governance
The recommended Standard Governance for multistate research activities include the election of a Chair, a Chair-elect, and a Secretary. All officers are to be elected for at least two-year terms to provide continuity. Administrative guidance will be provided by an assigned Administrative Advisor and a CSREES Representative.
Literature Cited