Integrating Organic Crop Management Practices with Permitted Pest Control Materials: IPM for Organic Farms

Integrating Organic Crop Management Practices with Permitted Pest Control Materials: IPM for Organic Farms

Summary

The major objective of this project will be to produce a second edition of the 2005 “Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management”, which will be an update and include chapters on four new crop families. A key to our approach this time will be to work with farmers through farm visits and group meetings to assess their perspective on the efficacy of both cultural practices and materials recommended in the first edition of the Guide. Since we recognize that what works in field trials may not always be what works on the farm, we plan to visit and/or interview twenty farmers and host small group meetings for those who have been using the Guide as a reference. In addition to assessing recommendations made in the first edition, we will also be able to obtain suggestions from growers about the format and content of the new edition of the Guide.

We designed a survey to use when interviewing farmers individually and at farmer meetings. The form has served us well and enabled us to summarize pest and disease problems that growers consider significant. We visited about 10 farms and met with 47 growers at five different grower meetings last winter.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Of the 20 farmers involved with trainings and assessment of the Resource Guide, 10 will refine their production practices to eliminate or reduce pesticide use. Of the 100 farmers and educators who receive free copies of the revised Resource Guide, 25 will adopt or recommend new cultural practices that reduce pesticide use, and an additional 25 will change a pesticide material to one with less negative impact on the agroecosystem.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Investigators met with farmers at five grower meetings in 2009 (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference on February 6, 2009; University of New Hampshire Extension Organic Producer meetings on January 22, 2009 in Littleton, NH and January 23 in Portsmouth, NH; the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Certified Growers meetings held January 27, 2009 in Unity, ME and February 3, 2009 in Freeport, ME). At these meetings we were able to assess which pest problems on organic farms are most significant, and which recommendations made in the first edition of the Resource Guide are being successfully implemented and which are not working well. In addition, we learned which pest and disease problems growers consider significant for production of crops in the four crop families being added to the second edition of the Resource Guide. At the farm visits during the growing season of 2009, investigators had in-depth discussions with farmers about significant pest and disease problems, what works and what does not, and suggestions for improvement in the format of the Resource Guide.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Work began this fall and continues now researching literature for pest and disease management efficacy and writing the chapters for the new edition. An outline of some of the new chapters was sent to the Project Advisors to confirm that the authors were covering all of the significant problems. Our plan is to complete outlines for the new chapters this winter, visit more growers during the up-coming growing season, continue research into efficacy of cultural and rescue treatments for the noted pests and diseases and to continue revising and writing chapters.

Collaborators: