Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of SERA3-IPM Meeting, Cooperative Extension office, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, March 17-18, 2008. Chairman Norm Leppla called the meeting to order at 8:15 am on March 17, 2008. The first order of business was to introduce Norm Leppla (Chairman), Henry Fadamiro (Chairman-elect) and Pat Parkman (Secretary). We were welcomed by Kwami Garcia, Director of Cooperative Extension in the USVI. Jennifer Gilletts efforts in arranging the meeting and activities were acknowledged, as were Kofi Boatengs efforts in local arrangements. As a prelude to the presentation of state reports and the first item of business (Action Item below), Norm Leppla began a discussion on the reporting requirements of state IPM Coordinators, noting that many Coordinators are now required to submit a CRIS report. ACTION ITEM: The three objectives of SERA3-IPM were discussed, with special emphasis on our relationship with the Southern Region IPM Center (SRIPMC). It was decided to amend one of the objectives, the third, and add a fourth. The third objective originally read: To provide recommendations on the coordination and operation of the Southern Region IPM Grants Program. This was amended to read To provide recommendations and advice to the Southern Region IPM Center. The new (fourth) objective is To identify IPM priorities for the Southern Region IPM Center. Tom Fuchs made the motion to accept these changes to the SERA3-IPM objectives. Clarence Collison seconded the motion and it passed. State reports were then presented by the IPM Coordinators. Summaries of verbal presentations, in order of presentation, follow. More detailed written reports for most states are attached. Tom Fuchs (Texas): Twenty-one IPM Extensions agents conducted ca. 250 demonstration/ research projects. Cottton growers estimated the value of the IPM program at $34.43/acre. Use of Glance n Go greenbug sampling is increasing. IPM PIPE is funding pecan nut casebearer monitoring. Fifty percent of clientele are requesting organic treatments for imported fire ants (IFA). A new major project is management of IFA in and around nursing homes. New owners of Habitat for Humanity houses are trained in IPM. Gus Lorenz (Arkansas): Twenty-one county Extension agents are involved in the soybean IPM program. Fifty-three soybean IPM workshops (1700 attendees) were held, as well as 134 meetings (2500 attendees). IPM is being implemented on up to 85% of soybean acreage. Seventeen cotton-producing counties and 24 rice-producing counties are participating in the IPM program. Between $140,000 and $150,000 in S-L 3(d) funds are distributed in IPM minigrants. Paul Guillebeau (Georgia): Public libraries in Georgia were provided with IPM educational materials (see Impact statement for details). New and emerging pests include stinkbugs in cotton and pecan scorch mite. Georgia and Florida are conducting cooperative research on controlling peachtree borer with entomopathogenic nematodes. Clayton Hollier (Louisiana): He is able to devote only 5% of his time to being IPM Coordinator; and has no control over the S-L 3(d) money. A statewide IPM advisory committee exists but is fairly informal. The IPM Louisiana website was launched. An Extension publication on rice disease management is almost complete. Wanda Almodóvar (Puerto Rico): The IPM Coordinator has control of S-L 3(d) funds, with less than 50% going to salaries. Much effort was put into plantain, banana and coffee IPM because of recent pest introductions: black sigotoka and coffee berry borer. Several new IPM publications were placed on the Crop Protection Specialist websites including those of IPM for black sigotoka, hydroponic tomato IPM, and poinsettia IPM. Several pest guides were also published. Henry Fadamiro (Alabama): About $50,000 was awarded in IPM minigrants in 2007. The IPM Coordinator gets little direct support from the Extension administration; and virtually no support from commodity groups who are more interested in marketing rather than IPM. IPM programs with significant accomplishments during 2007 include soybean, school, and fire ant. A new research and extension project was begun to develop organic control tactics for yellowmargined leaf beetle. Doug Johnson (Kentucky): All of the S-L 3(d) funds are administered by the IPM Coordinator. Most funds are used to support IPM working groups such as those for corn/soybean, wheat science, commercial ornamental production, pest diagnostics and vegetables. A minigrants program is also administered using S-L 3(d) funds. UK-IPM participates in the regional aphid suction trap network and supports and participates in the Soybean Rust/Aphid PIPE. Ames Herbert (Virginia): A total of 854 (a 13% increase) IPM-related workshops, short courses, media pieces (radio/television), demonstrations or presentations were presented; 100 new media offerings were developed including VCE publications, manuals and guides. Web hits for the Virginia Ag Pest Advisory increased by 49%. Use of plant pest diagnostic clinics has increased. Two additional school districts adopted IPM making for a total of 18. Soybean scouting and pest forecasting improved profits by $650,000. Soybean rust was detected but fungicide applications were not necessary. Peanut growers saved $1.1 million from reduced fungicide sprays. Rapid response by Extension prevented damage to wheat by a new pest. Research indicated that a parasitic wasp could reduce pest damage to peppers and potatoes by 60-70%. Steve Toth (North Carolina): Steve was appointed the new IPM Coordinator, but will continue to spend most of his time working as the Associate Director of the SRIPMC. He plans on reviving the IPM minigrants program, but is not sure of the funds available for it. Tom Royer (Oklahoma): Two new area IPM Extension Specialists were hired. Projects funded by the IPM program included integrated grape disease management, a web-based portal for turf grass management, development of a weather and forecast decision support tool to reduce pesticide drift, and two grad student stipends. Two federal grants were obtained to strengthen and implement school IPM and the Glance n Go sampling method. The musk thistle control program has reduced the weeds numbers by 80 to 95%. Jozef Keularts (Virgin Islands): The IPM Coordinator dedicates 50% of his time to the IPM program which provides assistance to crop farmers, vegetable and fruit crops in particular, ornamental production, urban pest management and youth programs. Assistance consists mostly of pest identification and control recommendations. School IPM will be started in two public St. Croix elementary schools this year in collaboration with the Virgin Islands Dept. of Planning and Natural Resources. Urban IPM was the most time consuming part of the IPM program due to the large number of site visits. All IPM efforts were supported through publications available on-line, especially those from the Univ. of Florida and Florida Dept. of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry. Clarence Collison (Mississippi): All S-L 3(d) funds are used for IPM, but 95% goes to salaries. The sucking bug complex, especially tarnished plant bug (TPB), is the biggest problem in cotton. A new program will demonstrate IPM tactics to growers for TPB. Increased use of OMRI-approved pesticides has improved yield of greenhouse tomatoes. A web-based pictorial ID key for tomato diseases was made available. A 3-year study of sweet potato pest management practices identified key pests, their status, sampling strategies and management tactics. Norm Leppla (Florida): Approximately $85,000 in minigrants was awarded to 16 recipients. Extramural funding was obtained for seven project to support cooperators. Nine IPM Florida Group meetings were held to plan and set priorities. IPM Floridas associate director received one of the first Southern Region Friends of IPM awards. A Growers IPM Guide for Florida Tomato and Pepper Production, including a Tomato and Pepper Insect ID Deck, was completed and placed on the IPM Florida website. A Good Lawn Bug ID Deck was produced and is being sold by UF/IFAS Extension. A novel Extension/research project has been initiated on IPM in graduate housing at UF. About 4000 consultations re. IPM were made, primarily via email. Pat Parkman (Tennessee): UT Extensions IPM Newsletter was sent directly to about 350 people on a weekly basis during the growing season; and to 1400 others through county extension offices. The total value of IPM to Tennessee cotton was estimated at $40-50 million annually; 78% of producers changed their IPM practices based on Extension information. More than 105 pest management professionals were trained in IPM during pesticide applicator training sessions. A school IPM pilot online survey revealed 83 of 99 schools (84%) are using high levels of IPM in their buildings. Parkman developed an online Extension publication on identification and management of the grape root borer. The vast majority of IPM Coordinators time is spent serving as director of UTs Lindsay Young Beneficial Insects Laboratory. Interspersed in the reports were discussions of the use of Smith-Lever 3(d) funds, reporting of impacts of our activities, and improved marketing of IPM to better advertise its return on investments. Marty Draper, CSREES National Program Leader for IPM, gave an update on CSREES, with emphasis on the federal budget and implications for IPM. He said that S-L 3(d) funds appear safe (but flat-funded) for a few years, and there has been no discussion of shifting to a competitive model for Extension funds. Federal support appears strong for eXtension as well as Ag security. For the first time, S-L 3(d) funds will be requested with applications through grants.gov. Requests for 3-year plan of action for the PPRS will go out in August. ACTION ITEM: A motion was made by Ron Stinner to hold the 2009 SERA3-IPM meeting at the next National IPM Symposium to be held in Portland, OR in March 2009. The motion was seconded by Jennifer Gillett and passed unanimously. ACTION ITEM: Wanda Almodóvar was nominated as SERA3-IPM Secretary by Tom Fuchs. Doug Johnson moved that nominations be closed, Jennifer Gillett seconded, and Wanda was elected unanimously. Jim Van Kirk gave an update on the SRIPM Center. A new bookkeeper was hired, as was a new programmer. Steve Toth was appointed NCs IPM Coordinator. An assistant director level position is being developed to replace Ron Stinner. IPM PIPE: most money still devoted to soybean rust, with much smaller funding devoted to soybean aphid and other legume pests. Two new PIPE components were funded: diseases of cucurbits and pecan pests. Ron Stinner has developed Tom Fuchs, who is retiring later this year, was acknowledged for his 14 years of service as Texas IPM Coordinator. Tom was presented a plaque and given a hearty round of applause. Bill Coli, University of Massachusetts, wrapped up the first day with a presentation on measuring impacts of IPM programs and the development of IPM Planning and Evaluation Tools for all focus areas of the IPM roadmap. The meeting adjourned at 5:25 pm. The meeting re-convened on March 18 at 8:00 am when we travelled to the University of the Virgin Islands and were given tours and an overview of agricultural research by faculty: Tom Zimmerman (tomato and papaya production) and Jim Rakocy (aquaculture). Jozef Keulartz, USVI Cooperative Extension, led us on a tour of two farms where IPM is being used. The day concluded with a visit to the St. George Botanical Garden. Respectfully submitted, Pat Parkman, Secretary SERA3 Accomplishments: Eighteen research and Extension scientists and administrators with common interests in IPM discussed ways to advance the field. By holding the meeting at the US Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension offices in St. Croix we were able to interact with our counterparts from Puerto Rico and the USVI. IPM Coordinators from each state in the Southern Region shared results of high impact programs with each other and others in attendance (see attached state reports). Reports were received from Alabama, Arkansas (verbal only), Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, US Virgin Islands, and Virginia. SERA3-IPM objectives were amended to better define our relationship with the Southern Region IPM Center, particularly identifying IPM priorities in the Southern Region for the Center. Tom Fuchs, Texas IPM Coordinator for 14 years, was acknowledged with a plaque for his service to SERA3-IPM. Meeting attendees gained a better understanding of tropical agriculture production and research by touring on-campus research facilities for aquaculture and tomato and papaya production at the University of the Virgin Islands, and by visiting two local farms. Impact Statements: The Univ. of Georgia completed a project to educate public library patrons on IPM by supplying 200 libraries across the state with posters, bulletins and promotional items. Ninety percent of patrons responding to a survey indicated increased support for IPM. At least $347,000 was dispersed in minigrants in six states (Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina) to promote and expedite adoption of IPM. Some examples of the economic/environmental impacts of IPM programs were documented in Texas where 94% of cotton growers indicated IPM increased their net profits by an average of $34.24/acre; in Tennessee where the total value of IPM in cotton was estimated at over $40-50 million annually; and in Virginia where 18 school districts adopting IPM have reduced their pesticide use by 79%. See attached wriiten state reports