Educational Materials and Training that Foster Implementation of Ecologically Based Pest Management Decision-Making in Great Lakes Apple Production

Educational Materials and Training that Foster Implementation of Ecologically Based Pest Management Decision-Making in Great Lakes Apple Production

Summary

Site specific monitoring by properly trained scouts is paramount to implementing holistic apple management systems, but a shortage of these professionals is an impediment to wide-scale adoption of sustainable practices. Training is needed that approximates hands-on field experience and that enables new scouts to see the changes that occur in orchard pest management over a complete growing season. The video this program is developing will be beneficial in reaching an audience that learns best through seeing and hearing physical demonstrations of information. These materials will allow scouts to go out “on their own” sooner with more confidence and ability.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objectives:

Objective 1: Utilize a grower/consultant/research/extension advisory panel to develop a state of the art, educational training program in sustainable pest management for apple growers and the agricultural professionals who assist them in managing their farm enterprises. This will include the design and production of a training video for use by growers, consultants, scouts, and input supply company field staff. On-farm video footage will include identification of key pests and beneficials and appropriate monitoring protocols. Identification of pest damage to the apple fruit, foliage, wood, and roots will be included. Professional video and sound technicians will be hired for the production process.

Objective 2: Conduct workshops utilizing the new educational resource materials for the grower/industry community. The video(DVD)will be available for use at educational workshops, extension libraries, classroom settings, and for recruitment and training of new consultants/scouts. The video will be evaluated through a series of workshops.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Objective 1:
A grower/consultant/research/extension advisory panel has been formed and has begun work on designing and scripting video(DVD) footage. The panel consists of four independent crop consultants, three apple growers, two advisors from a professional media company, and the following specialists from MSU: an IPM communications specialist, an agricultural meteorologist, a pathologist, two extension horticulturists, a tree fruit IPM specialist, and four entomologists. Looking to exploit recent advances in media technology that will facilitate use of this video, the advisory panel has targeted a DVD format as the final end product. The DVD format enhances the use of graphics along with video footage, and will allow users to view the video as a whole or to access discrete informational modules within the video for in-season viewing of information specific to certain time periods. Enabling users to view the video in this manner facilitates access to information on important seasonal monitoring activities, broadening the video’s appeal as an in-season tool. Through a series of half-day meetings, the advisory panel has identified the video modules and the information to be contained within each. Scriptwriting is in the early stages, with oversight provided by our media and communications specialists. Orchards where the video footage will be collected have been identified, and permission to collect the video footage in these orchards has been obtained.

Four half-day meetings of the advisory panel are planned for winter through spring of 2002. Efforts will be concentrated towards completing scriptwriting for early season activities in advance of conducting on-site video shoots. Scriptwriting in advance of video shoots will continue throughout the 2002 growing season, with the goal of collecting all needed video footage by the 2002 harvest. Production and post-production work on the video will be completed prior to the beginning of the 2003 growing season.

Objective 2: This program is developing videos to be used in training growers and agricultural professionals in the most recent sustainable agricultural pest management practices in apple farming. These training tools will also be used to recruit and train new scouts. The new training materials that have been developed hand-in-hand with potential end-users will be beta tested using a series of focus groups. Beta testing refers to the second round of testing that a product undergoes, where the alpha test is the in-house test done by the people who develop it. The advisory team will be testing the video as it is developed (alpha testing). Growers, consultants, extension agents, and input suppliers—the target customers—will be beta testing the products. Because we will be conducting the beta tests using a focus group structure, we will also devote a portion of the time to answering questions on usefulness, and getting an understanding of how to improve the product before we begin wide distribution. Focus groups will be conducted to test the video. The video testing will take place in regions where growers are not represented on the advisory team. The focus groups will meet after each of the individuals has tested the DVD and provided individual feedback. This will allow each individual to work through the program on their own and then discuss problems and other issues with the group. The new training materials will be made available through extension libraries, organized workshops, and colleges of agriculture.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Project Outputs: A sixty minute video (DVD) available for distribution through the MSU Bulletin Office, associated publications as appropriate (web-site), 3 evaluation workshops in Michigan (8-10 participants in each), minimum of 5 training workshops in Michigan (15-30 participants in each), training session at the annual MSU Tree Fruit IPM School (115-130 participants).

Project Outcomes: Short-term

-Videos (DVDs) will be made available through extension libraries, organized workshops, and colleges.
-Video will reach an audience of 1000+ viewers, including growers, educators, crop consultants, scouts, input supplier field representatives, university extension specialists, college students, potential scouts, and residential fruit growers.
-Crop consultants, agricultural extension specialists, and input suppliers will use the materials to recruit new scouts, and to train existing and new employees and scouts.

Project Outcomes: Long-term

-Improved pest monitoring skills in the grower and agricultural professional communities
-Increased number of trained scouts, consultants, and growers
-Improved knowledge and awareness of the role of beneficial arthropod and disease organisms
-Implementation of sustainable management practices that reduce pesticide risk/use
-Conservation of biological control organisms in orchard agroecosystem

Collaborators: