2015 Western IPM Center Grant Recipients Announced

Eleven projects have been chosen to receive a total of $300,000 in Western IPM Center grant funding for 2015.

The projects were chosen by a grant-review panel from among 23 applications requesting more than $530,000, and represent eight of the 13 Western states.

“The process went well,” said Western IPM Center Director Jim Farrar. “We had a good review panel that met in Florida at the end of January, and they identified 11 good projects to fund. I was happy with the spread of the project focus areas.”

While the quality of the applications was high, the overall number was lower this year.

“There were fewer proposals than the last two years,” Farrar said, “but based on submissions to the other regional IPM Centers and the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, that was a trend.”

Here are the funded projects:

Project Initiation

Brown Stink Bug Management In An Established Cotton IPM Program: A Benefit-Cost Analysis
Lydia Brown, University of Arizona

Reestablishing IPM Recommendations For Aphids In Alfalfa Hay In The Low Desert
Ayman Mostafa, University of Arizona

A Model To Predict Duration Of Soil Solarization For Disinfesting Nursery Soils Contaminated By Phytophthora Species
Jennifer Parke, Oregon State University

Development Of A Molecular Detection Protocol For Ergot Spores In Cool-Season Grasses Grown For Seed
Jeremiah Dung, Oregon State University 

Wildland Fruit As Winter Refugia For Spotted Wing Drosophila In The Intermountain West
Lori Spears, Utah State University

Predicting Variation Of Biological Insect Control In Alfalfa Hay And Seed Crops
Randa Jabbour, University of Wyoming

Work Groups

Joining Forces: Midwest And Western Weather Work Groups For National Harmonization Of Weather-Based Decision Tools

Walter Mahaffee, USDA-ARS

Developing A Roadmap Towards Sustainable Management Of Potato Soilborne Diseases

Brenda Schroeder, University of Idaho

Outreach

Sharpening Tribal Skills In Forest Pest Detection And Response

Nina Hapner, Kashia Bank of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria

Boulder County Emerald Ash Borer Outreach And Implementation Project

Carrie Haverfield, Boulder County Commissioners Office

Field Guide For Integrated Pest Management In Hops

Ann George, Washington Hop Commission

Small Farms IPM Group Finds Invaders, Opportunities and Challenges

Bringing IPM information to small-scale farmers is a significant challenge, but one that has many potential benefits - including expanded opportunities to spot invasive pests and diseases.

That's the conclusion of a Western Small Farm IPM Work Group that in 2014 completed a four-year project in six Western states.

"The biggest surprise was that in the three states that implemented on-farm pilot projects, we found the first recordings of various new diseases or pests,” explained Tess Grasswitz, one of the project leaders and the state IPM coordinator for New Mexico. “That was unexpected.”

But getting IPM information – and supplies – to small farms isn't easy, as the group discovered.

The Project

The project began in 2010 with funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a simple idea: to forge better connections between existing IPM teams and their small-farm counterparts in each state.

“The plan was that each state would conduct a needs assessment in the first year, then a small-farm IPM pilot project beginning in year two,” Grasswitz explained. “Three of the states in the project successfully implemented on-farm pilot programs: California, New Mexico, and Utah”.

California’s project focused on dragon fruit producers in San Diego County, while both New Mexico and Utah’s projects began with small-scale vegetable producers and expanded to include fruit IPM. The other three states involved in the work group, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, concentrated on different outreach activities.

“This was not a traditional working group, and we didn’t have a lot of meetings with each other,” Grasswitz said. “That was not the aim. Instead, we wanted interaction with the growers to learn how to better meet their IPM-related needs.”

Positive Outcomes

 Generally, the group found growers valued the interactions they had with the researchers and the IPM knowledge they gained, especially through the one-on-one, on-farm contacts.

The unexpected outcome was the discovery of several pests and diseases in locations where they hadn’t been seen before.

“In New Mexico, for instance, we found the first state records for spotted wing drosophila and a new cereal aphid (Sipha maydis) on pilot-project farms, as well as a new county record for bagrada bug,” Grasswitz said. “In Utah, they found various vegetable diseases they didn’t know they had, and in California, they found a new viral disease of dragon fruit.”

The team believes small farms – especially those in and around urban areas – are ideal places to look for new invasives for several reasons. First, because new pests seem to spread along major highways and trade routes, they’ll often show up in or near major urban areas. Second, because many small growers plant exotic crops (for local ethnic markets for example), exotic pests find themselves right at home.

“We think small farms are a potentially valuable network of new monitoring sites for these invasive species,” Grasswitz said.

Challenges Remain

 While the on-farm pilot projects produced positive results, expanding on those successes is a logistical challenge. The work group members who conducted one-on-one events recommend local, field-based activities similar to the “Farmer Field Schools” often used for IPM programs in international development.

“The best way to help is to work directly with growers on the farm, but that gets very expensive very quickly,” Grasswitz said. “And most universities and extension services are strapped for cash already.”

Another barrier to IPM adoption by small producers is the lack of availability of IPM products in small quantities.

“In all the states with on-farm projects, we found IPM adoption hindered for at least one pest by the lack of appropriate pack sizes for small-scale producers,” Grasswitz said. “Examples of that included pheromone dispensers for mating disruption, organic pH buffers and several pesticides. We need to encourage manufacturers to address the small-farm market.”

One group member proposed the creation of small-acreage producers’ associations in each state to represent the needs of small producers and facilitate information flow between the farmers and IPM educators and researchers.

“Globally, the importance of small-scale farms and urban or peri-urban agriculture is huge,” Grasswitz said. “It’s important to continue to focus on it.”

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grants Awarded to Western States and Projects

The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture just announced the recipients of its Crop Protection and Pest Management program grants, which included awards for regional IPM coordination, applied research and development grants, and extension implementation programs.

We're happy to report that the Western IPM Center was successful in our application to continue providing IPM coordination for the Western Region. Here are the other award winners from the West:

Applied Research and Development Program

• University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $250,000—This Extension-led ARDP project will pro-actively address significant threats of whitefly resistance to several key selective insecticides in a multi-crop system.
• University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $124,998—This ARDP Extension-led project addresses two research priorities and three extension priorities. Pest problems and unnecessary pesticide exposure due to outdated and ineffective pest management practices in elder/disable housing facilities pose risks to the residents' health.

• University of California, Davis, Calif., $249,997—This project will determine if the intra-row intelligent cultivator allows development of improved weed management programs in vegetable crops through reduced labor and/or herbicide use; Introduce and demonstrate new precision intra-row cultivation technologies to growers and allied industry, and work with growers to integrate this type of cultivation system into their production scheme; Deliver the results of the intelligent cultivator evaluation to the vegetable producers through field days, extension meetings, publications and websites.

• Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $240,845—his project will develop new weather forecasting decision support tools that can extend the forecast horizon used by agricultural producers in planning multiple management activities, especially those involving crops and pests, that are affected by the weather.

Extension Implementation Program

• University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, $170,000—This project will reduce the rate of pest establishment in Alaska's farms and ranches. It will increase the training and work time of existing pest scouts; enhance category specific and on-line integrated pest management (IPM) training courses for pesticide applicators; and organize data and reports on pests into one clearinghouse resource that can be used to track pests and notify land managers when important agricultural pests are identified.

• University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $286,000—This project will implement and evaluate high-impact integrated pest management (IPM) programs consistent with stakeholder-identified priorities in the following emphasis areas: IPM Implementation for Agronomic Crops, IPM Implementation for Specialty Crops, IPM Training and Implementation in Schools, and IPM Education for Pesticide Applicators.

• University of California, Davis, Calif., $285,000—This project will reduce the negative impacts of toxic pesticides on environmental quality and human health; help clients more effectively and economically manage pests; and increase the resilience and long-term sustainability of integrated pest management programs.

• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., $92,000—This project will increase awareness of the benefits of integrated pest management (IPM); improving access to technical materials; improving communication, internally and with stakeholders, regarding IPM activities; and collaborate with neighboring states and perform as a team.

• University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam, $32,500—This project will promote early detection, identification, and education regarding integrated pest management (IPM) as a means of reducing losses to diseases, pests, and weeds.

• University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, $274,300—This project will conduct on-site integrated pest management (IPM) training and hands-on workshops; design and implement an IPM curriculum for Master Gardeners; convene IPM In-Service Professional Development workshops for Extension faculty; publish manuals and fact sheets; and create on-line IPM decision aids and mobile device IPM apps.

• Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont., $140,000—This project will develop and deliver information on IPM practices in Montana and provide readily available, up-to-date pest management information to stakeholders.

• University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, $128,300—This project will increase awareness and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) practices in urban, agricultural and recreational areas to result in greater use of preventative measures and more appropriate use and disposal of pest management products to minimize nonpoint source pollution of Nevada waterways and protect the health of Nevada residents.

• Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $190,000—This grant will assist in the implementation of IRM practices for specialty and agronomic crops, as well as training and implementation of these practices in schools.
• Utah State University, Logan, Utah, $105,000—This grant will help increase sustainable IPM practices in specialty crops, communities, and schools for economic benefits, protection of human and environmental health, and promotion of ecosystem services.

• Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $155,000—This grant will assist IMP EIP with increasing IPM implementation among agricultural and urban pest management practitioners, disseminating sound, science-based recommendations; utilizing traditional and emerging methodologies.

• University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyo., $66,850—This grant will assist the University of Wyoming’s National Integrated Pest Management Roadmap through partial funding of an IPM Coordinator position, extension events, and training programs.

Western IPM Center Begins Second Decade of Grantmaking with $300,000 in New Grants

To help address important pest issues in Western agriculture, communities and natural areas, the Western Integrated Pest Management Center is making $300,000 in grants available to individuals and organizations developing IPM resources.

The request for applications was posted today on the Center’s website at westernipm.org. Proposals will be accepted until 5 p.m. December 3.

“Over the past decade, Western IPM Center grants have provided critical support for IPM researchers, extension specialists, commodity organizations and non-profits seeking to reduce risks from pests and pest-management practices,” said Center Director Jim Farrar. “Our grants have leveraged millions in additional funding for recipients, and helped develop new pest-management resources that protect the economy, people and environment in the West.”

Applicants eligible to apply include private individuals and institutions, businesses, commodity organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and faculty and staff of four-year universities.

“It’s important that people know these grants aren’t just for university-based researchers,” Farrar said. “Commodity groups, non-profit agencies and tribal groups have all received grants in recent years, and have a valuable role to play in developing and promoting sustainable, IPM-based pest management.”

Geographically, an applicant’s primary project director must be in the Western Region, but collaborators may be from outside the region.  The Western Region is Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

This year, grant dollars are available in four categories:

• Project Initiation Grants, which begin new IPM research; $30,000 maximum
• Work Group Grants, which bring collaborators together; $30,000 maximum
• Outreach and Implementation Grants, which directly promote IPM adoption; $30,000 maximum
• IPM Planning Documents, which create crop profiles and pest management strategic plans; $15,000 maximum

“The Western IPM Center encourages proposals from multi-discipline, multi-state teams, so there is a great opportunity for commodity organizations and others to participate,” Farrar said. “Collaboration is an asset, and stakeholder involvement is critical.”

Both the grants and Center’s priorities are described in detail on Center’s new website at www.westernipm.org.

The Western IPM Center promotes IPM development, adoption and evaluation and has directly funded more than $2 million for IPM projects since 2005. Integrated pest management is a science-based approach to pest management to reduce risks to people and the environment by using pest biology, environmental information and all available technology to reduce pest damage to acceptable levels by the most economical means.

The Western Integrated Pest Management Center is one of four regional centers funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and serves 13 Western states and the Pacific island territories. 

The 2015 Western IPM Center Competitive Grants Request for Applications can be downloaded at www.westernipm.org