Pennsylvania IPM Program Awards IPM Grants for Greenhouses and Grapes - January 2006

January 17, 2006

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Pennsylvania IPM Program (PAIPM) recently awarded three grants to Penn State Extension Educators under its IPM mini-grants program.

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible.

The IPM mini-grants program annually selects a number of proposed projects through a competitive process that develop and promote practical, locally-based IPM programs. The recipients for 2006 are:

Greenhouse IPM for Old Order Plain People in Berks County – Project Leaders Mena Hautau, Extension Educator, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Berks County; Warren Goll, Extension Educator, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Delaware County; and Project Cooperator Cathy Thomas, PA IPM Program
The goal of this project is to take the successful Greenhouse IPM program developed for Lancaster County plain people and expand it into Berks County. Growers in the area will learn about IPM and biological control in a greenhouse.

Integration of Alternative and Conventional Strategies for Management of Grape Berry Moth in Severe Risk Vineyards
Project Leaders Andy Muza, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Erie County; Time Weigle, Area IPM Senior Extension Educator, Corell Vineyard Laboratory; and Cooperators John Mason, Mason Farms, Bill and Ted Byham, Byham Farms
This is the continuation of a successful project that was originally started during the 2004 growing season. Its goal is to establish a new Grape Berry Month management program for severe and high risk vineyards, and adoption of alternative strategies resulting in a reduction in the use of conventional insecticides in the Lake Erie Grape Belt.

Management of Soil-Borne Organisms and Pathogens Causing Yield Reduction of Greenhouse and High Tunnel Tomatoes
Project Leader Jeffrey Mizer, Penn State Cooperative Extension
The goal of the project will be to determine if growing cover crops and using a bio-fumigant in greenhouse and high tunnel tomato operations will result in significant decreases in soil diseases and insect pests, thus increasing the income of small farmers.

For the past four years, Penn State’s Extension IPM Program has funded projects that facilitate the adoption of environmentally-sound pest management practices by Pennsylvania farmers, rural and urban pest managers, and homeowners/renters. The program is supported through USDA-CSREES formula funds earmarked for IPM program development. The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or visit Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/. To view our archived news releases, see Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/10.html.