Integrating the Farmer into Pest Management Innovation for Sweetpotatoes.

Commodities

• Vegetables: sweet potatoes

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops
• Education and Training: demonstration, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance
• Pest Management: biofumigation, biological control, botanical pesticides, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture
• Soil Management: green manures
• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, quality of life, social psychological indicators, other

There is a growing interest among plant pathologists to explore
and investigate the human dimensions of integrated pest
management (IPM), including efforts to understand how farmers
access information and how their attitudes, perceptions, and
values influence their adoption of sustainable pest management
strategies (Chellemi, 2002; Jabbour & Noy, 2017, 2020; McRoberts
et al., 2011; Noy & Jabbour, 2020).

Building upon research considering the human dimensions of IPM,
we propose conducting several case studies that model the
translation of a pest control technique from research to
practice.  Using a mixed-methods design of collaborative
farm trials, we will examine the technical efficacy of
sweetpotato pest management techniques while exploring farmers’
perceptions and values related to sustainable pest management.

Five participating farmers will be selected using convenience
sampling from contacts of the researchers.  Each farmer will
trial at least two promising biological pest management
techniques.  Pest prevalence and damage will be recorded,
and the farmers’ experiences and perceptions will be assessed
through qualitative inquiry and analysis using semi-structured
interviews, an activity log, unstructured field visits, and
photovoice. 

Project outputs and outcomes will be disseminated through
debriefing meetings, extension articles, guest lectures for a
new-farmer training program, a presentation to farm advisor
professionals, and a peer-reviewed journal article. Furthermore,
the participating farmers will disseminate successful techniques
through their peer networks.  Our team aims to advance the
success of organic sweetpotato farmers and provide a model of
“Integrating the farmer into pest management innovation” for
future IPM projects to improve the well-being of organic farmers.
 

Research Objectives:

1. Demonstrate sweetpotato pest management using sustainable
   techniques including velvet bean preplant cover crop and
   indigenous Metarhizium species ‘Koo-002’ soil amendment.  

2. Identify the values and priorities that impact farmers’
   decision making and judgment during the adoption of new
   sustainable pest control techniques.

3. Identify key practices and/or major obstacles for using
   velvet bean preplant cover crop and indigenous Metarhizium on
   the farm for control of sweetpotato pests.

Education Objectives:

1. Support early adopters of velvet bean cover crop and
   Metarhizium biocontrol for sweetpotato pest management.
2. Disseminate best practices for implementation of velvet bean
   cover crop and Metarhizium biocontrol for sweetpotato pest
   management.
3. Disseminate strategies for research and extension that are
   aware of farmers’ priorities and values.