Pest Management and Pesticide Training for At-Risk Korean Farmers in Hawaii

Derek Shigematsu
Hawaii Department of Agriculture
16 East Lanikaula
Hilo, HI 96727
808-974-4143
dshige@hgea.org

Project Duration: 12 Months
Total Budget Request: $38,969

Executive Summary

Hawaii is home to many Asian farmers with limited English and literacy skills, who cannot read pesticide labels properly, or benefit from pesticide training programs offered in English. A program has been developed on the island of Oahu to teach basic pesticide safety and pest management to some of these Asian farming communities. There is a strong need to expand this program to the neighbor islands.

We are requesting support to develop a pest management and pesticide safety program specifically for the Korean farming community on the Big Island. The Korean farming community consists of about fifty growers who have traditionally grown ginger. Pesticide violations, mostly stemming from nematode control, have been high among this group. Heavy pest pressure and low prices for ginger have led many Korean growers to diversify into other crops.

The program developed on Oahu that will be adapted for the Big Island is based on a series of four half-day workshops on pesticide handling and pest management, given throughout the year to small grower groups. In addition, pesticide safety material will be translated into Korean as a reference for the growers and translators. Through bi-weekly farm visits, pest management specialists from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center will help growers develop an integrated pest management system for their farms. With the aid of English-speaking leaders in the Korean community, the program will aim to eliminate illegal use of pesticides among Korean farmers by measurably increasing their understanding of pesticide labels and pesticide safety, and increasing adaptation of integrated pest management methods.

Objectives

Provide training to Korean farmers in interpreting pesticide labeling, and applying, storing and disposing of pesticides in a safe manner.
Provide training to Korean growers in the basics of identifying pests and beneficial arthropods, and the fundamental concepts of integrated pest management.
Design an integrated pest management system for ginger and other crops for Korean growers that emphasizes reduced pesticide use and increased reliance on biological and cultural controls such as crop rotation, sanitation, and conservation of natural enemies.
Production and distribution of Korean versions of basic pesticide safety material such as the UC Davis booklet Pesticide Safety for Small Farms and the EPA pesticide safety poster. Production of a small color pest identification booklet in Korean.

Justification

Growers with poor English skills often cannot interpret the terminology on the pesticide label that explains safe handling and disposal of the pesticide. Many growers are unaware of proper calibration methods for pesticide application equipment. By providing growers with the skills to handle and apply pesticides properly, the risk is minimized that growers will expose themselves and the public to pesticides. Training will include orientation in re-entry intervals and post harvest intervals, concepts with which many growers are unfamiliar. This will reduce the likelihood that produce is sold with unacceptable pesticide residue levels. This information will be provided through a cycle of four half-day training sessions, each of which will be repeated four times during the year.
Pesticide training alone will not result in reduced pesticide use by immigrant farmers. Pesticide misuse is often a result of a misdiagnosed crop health problem. Growers may apply an insecticide to deal with a disease problem, or mistake a nutrient deficiency for a pathogen. Many growers are unable to recognize common beneficial insects and are unaware when they are being assisted by natural enemies. In order to reduce pesticide use, growers must be able to diagnose pest problems properly, and know how to access state and university crop protection specialists when they are unsure of a pest problem. In addition growers must be aware of the options they have other than applying pesticides. Integrated pest management orientation touches on pesticide resistance management, host plant resistance, cultural and biological control options. This information will be provided during the workshops, and supplemented through farm visits.
The Korean growers will require assistance applying the training they have received to dealing with the specific problems on their farms. Some of the growers who still cultivate ginger have begun to experiment with crop rotations, alternating ginger with other root crops such as sweetpotato and taro. These in turn have their own pest complexes, such as sweetpotato weevil and various taro diseases, which must be addressed. The primary pests of ginger are nematodes, which have led to excessive use of Vydate and Nemacur by some growers. Cultural control methods to manage nematodes will be presented as options to the growers, and in some instances tested on-farm. These will include soil solarization, sanitation (removal of crop debris), and rotation with non-hosts and nematode suppressive crops such as sunhemp. Other crops grown include green onions, cucumber, and zucchini. Growers will be assisted in the development of appropriate integrated pest management programs for these crops.
Information on pesticide handling and pest management provided in workshops and farm visits must be reinforced with reference material that growers can use later. Reference material in Korean will also allow better educated growers and members of the community to assist less literate growers in dealing with pest and pesticide problems in the absence of a crop protection professional. Reference material that can be pinned on a shed wall or filed with other records will allow continuity of the information provided during the training. Otherwise information provided during the workshops will be delivered in a vacuum. The purpose of reference material is to reinforce training on pest diagnosis and safe pesticide handling.

Literature Review

There is very little literature dealing with the phenomenon of Asian farmers in Hawaii and the American Pacific, although this is an issue that merits increased attention. With the disappearance of the sugar plantations in Hawaii over the past twenty years, many Filipino workers have become vegetable farmers. Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese refugees from the war in Indochina came to Hawaii in the 1970s and established mixed vegetable farms on the large acreages that became available as sugar departed. The Korean growers are part of this broader phenomenon.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has identified immigrant farmers with poor English and literacy skills as "at-risk" farmers because of their high dependence on pesticides and limited knowledge of proper pesticide application. The Hawaii Department of Health has determined that non-English proficient farmers have a pesticide violation rate (based on residue tests) that is twelve times the national average (Brennan and Swift 2001). Initial efforts to provide pesticide and pest management training to Asian farming communities on Oahu are bearing fruit (Rattanasamay 1998, Brennan and Swift 2001). The method developed by the University of Hawaii is described by Brennan and Swift (2001), and will be outlined in Part V. The high rates of pesticide violations among Korean growers on the Big Island are consistent with the trend demonstrated among immigrant farmers on Oahu, but funds have not yet been allocated to address this problem.

Nematodes and other soil pests in ginger have typically been managed using highly toxic, restricted pesticides (Colbran 1972, 1977, Williers 1996). However there is evidence that the nematode complex affecting ginger can be managed using neem cake (Azadirachta indica) and other organic soil amendments (Dohroo et al. 1996, Mohanty et al. 1996, Das 1999). Hot water treatment of rhizomes prior to planting could help ginger growers reduce initial nematode populations (Vidhera et al. 1998). Other options of nematode management include crop rotation and solar sterilization of soil (McGovern and McSorley 1997, McSorley 1998).

Approach and Methods

The program will focus on the development of trust with the Korean farming community, and providing its members with useful, accessible information. Central to the success the project is Mr. James Yoon, who came to Hawaii from South Korea sixteen years ago, and who currently works as an office manager for a medical doctor in Hilo. Mr. Yoon has worked informally as a liaison between the Korean farming community and the Department of Agriculture for fifteen years. During that time he has assisted in providing limited pesticide application training based primarily on reading pesticide labeling, and has helped several growers become certified. Mr. Yoon believes that about one out of five of the Korean growers speak English well enough to interact with crop protection specialists without his assistance.

Mr. Yoon has successfully organized the Korean farmers to meet with Derek Shigematsu, pesticide specialist for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture on the Big Island, and Hugh Smith, entomologist with the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, so that the growers could express their primary interests and concerns related to pesticide and pest management training. During the course of the program, Mr. Yoon will help organize growers into groups to attend the four session pest management workshops, each of which will be offered four times during the course of the year to ensure high participation. Mr. Yoon will act as a translator both for the training sessions and farm visits. Workshops will alternate with visits to farms by Mr. Yoon and Dr. Smith to help growers learn to identify their pest problems, and develop a management plan based on cultural techniques.

The four sessions are:

Integrated Pest Management
Monitoring pests; identifying problems; identification of insect pests, diseases, weeds; Various methods of control, alternatives to chemical control; Field monitoring and pest identification.
Understanding the pesticide label
Brand name and common name; Manufacturer and common name; EPA registration number; Signal words and their significance; Statement of practical treatment; Precautionary statements; Personal protective equipment; Environmental protection statements; Restricted entry intervals, preharvest intervals; Directions for use, including early entry PPE requirements, understanding mixing rates; Types of formulation; Storage and disposal.
Calibration of sprayer and calculations
What is calibration and how often do you calibrate; Field calibration testing, using farmers' equipment if available; Different nozzle output, nozzle clean up, preparing equipment before use; Calculation and unit conversion.
Pesticide exposure and environmental risks
Routes of exposure, how to prevent exposure; Symptoms of poisoning, heat stress;
How to handle spills, cleaning empty pesticide containers; Groundwater contamination; Drift management.

These topics are discussed in "Pesticide Safety for Small Farms," produced by the UC Davis Small Farm Center. This will be translated into Korean and distributed to the growers.

By receiving both formal instruction and farm visits, growers will have the opportunity discuss what they have learned within the context of their specific farm problems. We hope that this will be a successful way to reinforce the messages conveyed in the training, and increase the likelihood of long term adaptation of safe pesticide use and integrated pest management techniques.

Impact Assessment

We hope this program will lead to the reduction if not the elimination of pesticide violations on the part of Korean farmers on the Big Island. In addition we hope to observe the adaptation of integrated pest management techniques by the growers during the course of the year. Specifically, growers will be given a questionnaire upon completing the four session cycle of workshops and asked how the training has influenced their decision-making relative to pesticide use and pest management. Evaluations from Filipino and Laotian growers who completed the training on Oahu indicated an enhanced awareness of how to handle pesticides safely, calibrate accurately, and diagnose pest problems.

Literature Cited

Brennan, B. M., and S. Swift. 2001. Final Report. Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Risk Reduction Training for At-Risk Farmers in Hawaii. University of Hawaii at Manoa. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Honolulu, HI.

Canevari, M., J. Weber, and R. Mullen. Undated. Pesticide Safety for Small Farms. University of California Small Farm Center. University of California, Davis.

Colbran, R.C. 1972. Studies of root-knot control in ginger with non-volatile nematicides applied at and after planting. Queensland Journal of Agricultural and Animal Sciences. 29: 275-280.

Colbran, R.C. 1974. Nematode control in ginger with nematicides, selection of planting material and sawdust mulch. Queensland Journal of Agricultural and Animal Sciences. 31: 231-235.

Das, N. 1999. Effect of organic mulching on root-knot population, rhizome rot incidence and yield of ginger. Annals of Plant Protection. 7: 112-114.

Dohroo, N. P., O. Sharma, M. Sharma, and R.S. Sarlach. 1994. The effect of organic amendments of soil on rhizome rot, nematodes, and rhizosphere microflora of ginger. Annals of Biology. 10: 208-210.

McGovern, R.J., and R. McSorley. 1997. Physical methods of soil sterilization for disease management including soil solarization. Chapter 12 in Environmentally safe approaches to crop disease control, N.A. Rechcigl and J.E. Rechcigl, eds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

McSorley, R. 1998. Alternative practices for managing plant-parasitic nematodes. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture. 13: 98-104.

Mohanty, K.C., S.N. Mahapatra, and P.R. Patnaik. 1992. Integrated management of root-knot nematode infecting ginger. Indian Journal of Nematology. 22: 70-71.

Rattanasamay, P. 1998. Mutual Assistance Associations Center Survey of Kahuku-Waialua Laotian Farmers. Mutual Assistance Associations Center, Honolulu, HI.

Vadhera, I, S.P. Tiwari, and G.S. Dave. 1998. Plant parasitic nematodes associated with ginger in Madhya Pradesh and denematization of infested rhizome by thermotherapy for management.

Williers, P. 1994. Occurrence and control of plant parasitic nematodes in propagation material of subtropical crops. Inligtingsbulletin – Instituut vir Tropiese en Subtropiese Gewasse. 262: 17-20.

Timetable

September 2002	Training Workshop 1 (each training session is offered twice in a given month Initiate farm visits Interview farmers Determine pest management priorities Initiate translation of "Pesticide Management for Small Farms" into Korean
October 2002	Training Workshop 2 Continue farm visits Initiate design of IPM plans for interested growers
November 2002	Training Workshop 3 Continue farm visits Initiate on-farm control tests (hot water treatment, solarization, crop rotation) with interested growers
December 2002	Training Workshop 4 Continue farm visits Monitor on-farm tests Design pest management booklet based on farm experience
January 2003	Training Workshop 1 (repeated) Continue farm visits IPM and diagnosis training Work on pest ID booklet Distribute translation of "Pesticide Management for Small Farms" Distribute pest ID booklet
February 2003	Training 2 (repeated)
March 2003	Training 3 (repeated)
April 2003	Training 4(repeated)
May 2003	Continue farm visits, IPM, and diagnosis training
June 2003	Based on gall counts and disease incidence, evaluate experimental control methods in collaboration with growers
July 2003	Based on written and verbal evaluations of perogram by growers, assess success of training program
August 2003	Hold meetings with growers to present results of IPM programs designed and evaluated on their farms.

Major Participants

Following is a list provided by Mr. James Yoon of Korean growers interested in receiving pesticide and pest management training.

Mr. James Yoon did not have a CV at hand. He is currently employed as the office manager for Dr. Hoon Park (tel 808-935-4533; email: jimyoon66@yahoo.com). Mr. Yoon has also worked as a translator for the Circuit Court in Hilo, Hawaii for ten years.

Derek M. Shigematsu
P.o. Box 1466
Honokaa, Hawaii 96727
Phone: (808) 775-9210

Hugh Adam Smith
Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
99-193 Aiea Heights Drive
Aiea, Hawaii, 96701
tel: 808-486-5304
hsmith@harc-hspa.com

Project Budget

Budget Category	Grant Funding	Other Funding	Total Funding
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Travel
Equipment
Publications Professional translation services for "Pesticide Management for Small Farms." 400 copies.
Translation	3,000		3,000
Production	2,000		2,000
Color Pest ID Guide	8,000		8,000
Contractual
Hugh Smith
Personnel (560 hours work)	9,729
Fringe benefits	4,539
Travel (24 round trips Honolulu-Hilo)	3,600
Lodging ($70 x 30 nights)	2,100
Vehicle
Maintenance/Rent (4 WD for farm access - Hawaii Dept. of Ag vehicle not always available)	2,400
James Yoon	3,600
Personnel ($150/day x 24 days)
Other
Total	38,969		38,969