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Hotline Reduces Pesticide Sprays - June 2001

June 1, 2001

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- By using the 1-800 PENN IPM toll-free hotline, growers in Pennsylvania were able to reduce the number of pesticide sprays on their crops by up to 66 percent last year.

IPM, or integrated pest management, aims to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. The Pennsylvania IPM Program, collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, promotes IPM in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations and helps to fund the hotline.

Ten monitoring stations across the state were established and maintained by Alan MacNab, professor of Plant Pathology at Penn State. Environmental data, accessed automatically by modem at Penn State, were applied to early blight and late blight spray programs to monitor development of these pests. The information was then made available to all interested growers via the 1-800 number. After receiving this information, growers could make better pest management decisions, thus reducing the number of pesticide sprays. On average, growers reduced their sprays in the early blight spray program by seven and in the late blight spray program by two. The forecast programs provided the opportunity to reduce fungicide use by the following amounts as determined by specific forecasters: about 66 percent reduction of FAST sprays (for early blight), about 49 percent reduction of TOMCAST sprays (for early blight) and about 19 percent reduction of BLIGHTCAST sprays (for late blight).

In 2000, conditions throughout much of Pennsylvania were favorable for the development of late blight. Total number of acres in Pennsylvania that had the potential to be affected included about 5,500 acres of tomatoes and 14,000 acres of potatoes. However, according to Alan MacNab, "The only tomato losses last season in Pennsylvania were in fields and gardens where no or few fungicide applications were made. In fields where late blight was detected early, it was possible to control late blight by following an aggressive fungicide program. In my opinion, considering the early and widespread appearance of late blight and total loss of the crop in some fields where fungicides were not used, use of the BLIGHTCAST forecast program was extremely important in 2000," says MacNab

Other information on the 1-800 hotline include such crops as Christmas trees, sweet corn and ornamental plants in addition to information on scheduled pesticide applicator training sessions.

The messages on the hotline are updated frequently during the growing season -- sometimes as often as daily during critical management periods -- and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pest management specialists from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn State's entomology and plant pathology departments, and county offices of Penn State Cooperative Extension contribute their time and expertise to keep the information current and useful.

For more information, contact the Pennsylvania IPM program at (814) 865-2839, or web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.