Objective 1: Meetings and Multi-State Alliance/Pest Management Center Coordination

Transcription

1 Prairie States Pest Management Alliance to Support the North Central Region Pest Management Center Missouri Final Report for 2001 George Smith, Missouri Department of Agriculture Funds Granted: $59,679 Objective 1: Meetings and Multi-State Alliance/Pest Management Center Coordination A. Regional Pest management Centers: Design, Development and Implementation. Grand River Inn, Chillicothe, Missouri, March 6, The purpose of this meeting was to convene appropriate pest management specialists in North Missouri to plan and foster the development and implementation of the regional pest management center concept as a blueprint for educational, policy and regulatory activities, affecting Missouri s agricultural commodities and industries. Attendees included NRCS, Missouri Corn and Soybean Associations, Farm Bureau, University Extension, Missouri Department of Agriculture, and David Pike with the Multi-state alliance. B. Planning Meeting for the Base Document for the Field Corn Pest Management Strategic Plan for the Midwest attended by Dave Pike, Rich Pope, George Smith on July 27, 2001, Quincy Illinois. The scope of this project on field corn was sufficiently broad enough as to require intermediate steps in the preparation of the PMSP. One of the first steps was to divide the tasks geographically and focus on the immediate task at hand. Therefore it was determined that there should be a meeting in a West region of IA, MN, KS, NE, SD and ND and a meeting in the East region of IL, MO, WI, IN, OH and MI. These two meetings will develop the PMSP base document which will focus on the cause/effect (or threat/countermeasure) relationship of the current pests and pesticides. The second step in this process will be the development of a process for establishing a more long-term and durable Pest Management Strategic Plan for field corn in the Midwest. This second phase of the project will generally be less focused on the current pesticide tools for pest management and will focus more on the long-term prevention and/or rapid response to: outbreaks, epidemics, and invasive and resistant species. This phase of the PMSP is expected to include methods of establishing an academia/industry connection for pest identification and prevention. Primarily it would focus on pests which might pose a threat to corn production or markets through their potential for rapid expansion (i.e. like Karnal bunt in wheat) or through their potential for exciting a negative public response (i.e. like StarLink corn). Because field corn production is central to the economy of the Midwest, this phase of the plan might also include a discussion of the bioterrorism threat to field corn. It is possible that additional phases of the PMSP might also be developed. These might include ways in which the PMSP can be modified for legislative (Conservation Security Act,

2 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) or regulatory issues (endangered species, GMOs). We will encourage participants to include qualifying comments that might not have been brought up in the meeting on the drafts which will be circulated after the meeting. This will be the opportunity for including comments that would cover things like pest management in corn on different soils, tillage, rotations, irrigation/nonirrigated, organic production and other special need situations. C. Invited speaker at the Missouri Small Fruit Conference. The title of my presentation was Pest Management in the Future: What does the Crystal Ball Foretell? I spoke to an audience of approximately 100 individuals and introduced the concept of regional pest management centers as envisioned by USDA and informed the group about IR-4 and the role of these two programs to provide assistance to minor crop producers in our state. D. Met with Farm Bureau, Missouri Department of Agriculture and Missouri Corn Growers Association to discuss the corn strategic pest management plan and how we can integrate efforts by the Missouri Corn Growers Association to offer Integrated Crop management certification across our state to further the anticipated goals of the proposed Conservation Security Act. We discussed future trips to Washington, DC to meet with EPA officials in the Pest Management Stewardship Program to achieve these goals. E. Attended the joint meeting of the North Central IPM Coordinators and Pest Management Center Project Leaders in Indianapolis, IN. I presented a state report for Missouri and participated in all phases of the discussion on the implementation of the North Central Pest Management Center. F. Facilitated and coordinated three teleconferences with the project leaders from Illinois and Iowa to discuss our multi-state alliance efforts and development of the corn strategic pest management plant. G. Met with our Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service to discuss the feasibility of conducting a Winter 2002 survey of dealers and Ag consultants on pest management practices and issues in Missouri, Iowa and Indiana to support issue prioritization and data needs for the corn pest management center. They are receptive to the idea, but the proposal will be tabled until after the November meetings in Sioux City and Champaign can determine the need and focus for such a survey. H. Invited to speak to the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council about important and upcoming environmental issues affecting our agricultural producers, and strategies to address these issues. They were updated on the atrazine re-registration process and the status of TMDL implementation for pesticides and nutrients in Missouri s section 303d impaired watersheds. They were informed of the role of the

3 pest management center concept in addressing these issues and of the upcoming corn pest management strategic plan. I. Received invitations to speak at the NW Missouri Corn Growers meeting, Certified Crop Advisor training and the Missouri Show-Me Agricultural Classic in January February Furthermore, I have been invited to present a seminar to the Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology at the University of Missouri. J. Attended the Missouri Governor s Conference on Agriculture in December, Objective II. Crop profiles and pesticide use surveys completed. A. Apple crop profile and pesticide use survey. The apple crop profile was completed and updated with information gleaned from the year 2000 pesticide use survey. The crop profile was uploaded to the website maintained by USDA OPMP. The State Entomology and Pathology specialists at the University of Missouri and the Fruit Specialist at Southwest Missouri State participated as lead contacts in providing information for and reviewing the apple crop profile. The apple pesticide use survey received responses from apple producers in Missouri for the 2000 growing season from 802 acres of the approximately 3,500 acres of commercial orchards in the state. One hundred percent of the acreage is treated with fungicides/ bactericides and insecticide/miticides and 93% of the acreage is treated with herbicides. A total of 120,231 pounds of fungicide/bactericide, 106,117 pounds of insecticide/miticide, and 8,316 pounds of herbicide active ingredients were applied. Four fungicides accounted for 94% of the total fungicide pounds applied; mancozeb (43,692 lbs) sulfur (34, 869 lbs), captan (27,813 lbs) and thiophanatemethyl (6,800 lbs). Six insecticides accounted for 97% of the total insecticide pounds applied: petroleum distillates (74,019 lbs), azinphos-methyl (15,559 lbs), chlorpyrifos (4,269 lbs), endosulfan (3,995 lbs), carbaryl (3,296 lbs) and phosmet (2,491 lbs). Two herbicide accounted for 93% of the total herbicide pounds applied: diuron (4,184 lbs) and glyphosate (3,542 lbs). B. Potato crop profile and pesticide use survey. The Missouri potato crop profile was completed, uploaded to USDA OPMP, and sent to the University of Wisconsin Pest Management Center Project Leader for its utilization in the development of the potato pest management strategic plan. The 2000 Missouri potato pesticide use survey received responses from 88% of the state s 6,200 acres. Growers reported that 100% of their ac res were treated at least once with a fungicide, insecticide and herbicide, and 46% of the acres were treated with the nematicide Telone II. A total of 47,067 lbs a.i. of fungicides were applied an average 6.2 times per season for control of early and late blight. Mancozeb, chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin were applied to 56%, 32% and 11% of the treated acres, respectively. A total of 32,461 lbs a.i. of mancozeb, 14,139 lbs a.i. of

4 chlorothalonil and 451 lbs a.i. of azoxystrobin were applied to the 6,200 acres. A total of 17,107 lbs a.i. of herbicides was applied an average 3.06 time per season for control of broadleaf and annual weeds. Metribuzin and metalochlor were applied to 49% and 46% of treated acres, respectively. A total of 4,722 lbs a.i. insecticides were applied an average 3.22 times per season for control of potato leafhopper, Colorado potato beetle and aphids. Esfenavlerate, cyfluthrin and oxamyl were applied to 34%, 32% and 22% of the treated acres, respectively. A total of 271,588 lbs a.i. of dichloropropene was applied preplant to control root-knot nematode. Out potato growers currently treat a little over 50% of their acres with Telone II and Thimet 20G for nematode and insect control and in addition they treat 100% of the acreage with over three applications of insecticides for control of the foliar insect pests listed above. The primary foliar insecticides used include Baythroid, Asana and Vydate. If we were able to obtain a state label for aldicarb, our potato growers could reduce the amount of insecticides/nematicides used on potatoes from the current 275,000 lbs a.i. to approximately 100,000 lbs a.i. C. Tomato crop profile and pesticide use survey. The tomato pesticide use survey and data analysis are completed. The Missouri tomato crop profile is almost complete and will be sent to Michigan State and USDA upon completion of the final grant report. D. Peach and Watermelon pesticide use surveys. Approximately 50% of the peach acreage was surveyed for pesticide use during the 2000 growing season. One producer in southeast Missouri accounts for nearly 1/3 of the state s production. Approximately 33% of the watermelon acreage was surveyed for pesticide use during the 2000 growing season. In addition, key growers in each industry were interviewed to determine the key risk factors in their pest management programs and what pest management tools were essential for continued profitability. These datasets are maintained on ARIA software and will be essential resources for the peach and watermelon/pumpkin strategic plans. The Missouri peach crop profile was sent to Dr. Dan Horton, University of Georgia for utilization in the Eastern peach pest management strategic plan. E. The supplemental NCR-PIAP grant Crop Profile Data Collection and Economic Analysis: Apple, Peach, Watermelon, Potato and Tomato was completed. Crop profiles for the five minor crops were completed or updated with year 2000 pesticide use survey data. The economic analysis was focused on two crop-pesticide scenarios that were at greatest risk from FQPA risk assessments and re-registrations. We analyzed the economic impact to potato growers from the loss of the EBDC fungicide mancozeb and its replacement with azoxystrobin. Disease control costs would increase from an average of $44.80 per acre to $79.30 per acre in Missouri. On watermelons, we analyzed the impact of the loss of benomyl, mancozeb and carbaryl and their replacement with azoxystrobin, copper and imidacloprid. Disease and insect control costs would increase $9.05 per acre based on this scenario. The final grant report will be completed and sent to USDA and Michigan State by Spring, 2002.

5 F. Interagency collaborations to promote Integrated Crop and Pest Management. As the Missouri Department of Agriculture representative and North Central Pest Management Center project leader, I participated in several planning sessions with the Missouri Corn Growers Association and Missouri Department of Natural Resources to develop and implement a multi-million dollar and multi-year project to mitigate the impact of non-point sources of pollution (pesticides and nutrients) in impaired watersheds in north Missouri where significant acres of corn are grown. The project, titled WRASP (Watershed Research Assessment and Stewardship Program), seeks in its initial implementation phase to achieve substantial implementation of IPM practices to achieve the removal of six, section 303d-imparied watersheds due to pesticide contamination of public water supplies. Later goals are to address the implementation of comprehensive nutrient management plans to address N and P pollution in impaired waters. My role will be to participate in planning, coordination, and implementation phases of the program. Objective III. Miscellaneous projects: A. Assisted Missouri Department of Ag personnel with cotton boll weevil eradication program. B. Coordinated with Aventis and MDA on section 24C label for aldicarb on potatoes. C. Assisted Missouri Corn Growers with Integrated Crop management demonstration sites and field days. D. Coordinated participation of Indiana (Purdue) into the multi-state alliance. E. Worked with Pike and Pope to redraft ERS survey questions on IPM adoption F. Assisted David Pike to enlist and engage the National Corn Growers in support of the development of the corn strategic pest management plan.