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Reducing Pesticide Use by Floriculture Professionals in the Inter Mountain Western Region of the United States Through Education

Steven E. Newman, Ph.D., A.A.F.
Greenhouse Crops Extension Specialist and Associate Professor

Colorado State University Cooperative Extension

Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1173

970-491-7118
970-491-7745 (fax)
steven.newman@colostate.edu

Executive Summary

The floriculture industry is one of the most rapidly growing components of agriculture in the United States. The wholesale value of floriculture crops, $4.88 billion, increased 2 percent nationally for the year 2002 compared to that of 2001. Traditional consumers of floral products produced by the greenhouse industry continue to maintain high standards of quality. Pest and disease damage on ornamental products is not tolerated by consumers requiring a sizeable investment in pesticide applications. To maintain profitability, floral crop growers are relying on softer, more environmentally friendly pesticides, integrated pest management (IPM), and beneficial organisms to manage pests and diseases. The overall objective for this project is to develop and implement educational and training tools for the floriculture and greenhouse industry specific to the inter mountain western region of the United States describing IPM practices that focus on reduction on the reliance of pesticides, which are easily adaptable to the greenhouse industry. To meet this overall objective, a series of extension and educational publications describing IPM practices adaptable to the greenhouse industry as well as the development of specific guidelines for calibration and conversions for pesticide application equipment specific to the greenhouse industry will be completed. Finally, web-based training modules for professionals in the floriculture and greenhouse industry will also be developed. The anticipated outcomes include: That greenhouse professionals will better implement IPM strategies in their greenhouses resulting in reduced use and reliance on pesticides and will incorporate the use of beneficial organisms as a standard component of their pest management strategy. In this manner, greenhouse professionals will benefit by less exposure to pesticides and not be seriously impacted by future losses of pesticide products and formulations.

Project Description and Objectives

The overall goal for this project is to develop and implement educational and training tools for the floriculture and greenhouse industry specific to the inter mountain western (IMW) region of the United States. The proposed educational and training programs will emphasize integrated pest management (IPM) practices that focus on reduction on the reliance of pesticides, which are easily adaptable to the greenhouse industry. Three objectives will include the design and development of these training and educational tools.

Objective 1. Design and develop a series of extension and educational publications describing integrated pest management practices adaptable to the greenhouse industry.

The first objective will be to develop of a series of extension educational publications appropriate to the IMW describing IPM practices easily adaptable to the greenhouse industry. These materials will be primarily web based for easy dissemination and rapid updates. Yet with industry support, a limited number may be printed. These publications will include, but will not be limited to: Incorporation of beneficial organisms for pest management in greenhouses; Effective insect and disease scouting in the greenhouse; Effective rotation practices for pesticide resistance management; and Greenhouse environmental manipulation for pest and disease control.

The tasks outlined for this objective will be complete by the conclusion of the third quarter of the project. The fourth quarter of the project for this objective will be devoted to assessment. The primary component of assessment will be to track those individuals who download the web based guides and evaluate what IPM practices they have implemented in response to the publications. Reduced or wiser pesticide use, as well as the implementation of a beneficial organism program in their greenhouses will be used to measure successful implementation of this objective. The publications developed from this component will continue to be available to growers long after the termination of this project.

Objective 2. Design and develop of specific guidelines for calibration and conversions for pesticide application equipment specific to the floriculture and greenhouse industry.

The second objective will be the development of specific guidelines for the floriculture and greenhouse industry for calibration and conversions for of pesticide application equipment specific to the floriculture and greenhouse industry. To complete this objective, the following products will be developed: A publication or publications outlining guidelines and procedures for calibrating pesticide application equipment specific to the floriculture and greenhouse industry; and An interactive web-based tool for calibrating pesticide application on floriculture and greenhouse crops. The tool will include the majority of the available active ingredients registered for use in the IMW as well as the current technologies available to apply them. The tool will use a multidimensional data base and hosted on a web site using an intuitive user interface.

The tasks outlined for this objective will be complete by the conclusion of the second quarter of the project. The third quarter of the project for this objective will be devoted to assessment and scrutiny of the effectiveness of the user interface. The primary component of assessment will be to track those individuals who use the web based guides and evaluate what changes they have implemented towards equipment calibration. Reduced or wiser pesticide use in their greenhouses will be used to measure successful implementation of this objective. The products developed from this component will continue to be available to growers long after the termination of this project. For future iterations of the guides, pesticide application equipment manufacturers will be solicited for sponsorship.

Objective 3. Design and develop web-based training modules for professionals in the floriculture and greenhouse industry.

The third objective will be to develop web-based training modules for professionals in the floriculture and greenhouse industry. To complete this task: An informal survey of greenhouse professionals will be conducted to determine appropriate training modules that would be in demand and marketable. From these informal surveys, a series of topics for web-based training modules will be developed. Training modules will include topics that will qualify for continuing education credits for pesticide applicator licensure where appropriate. The web-based training modules will be hosted on the Colorado State University WebCT server. Enrollment will be managed by the Colorado State University Continuing Education department. Enrollment fees will be collected to encumber hosting expenses and for maintenance of the site after the conclusion of this project. Topics may include, but will not be limited to: Environmentally friendly pesticide options for pest management in greenhouses; Applicator safety in the greenhouse; Incorporation of beneficial organisms for pest management in greenhouses; Effective insect and disease scouting in the greenhouse; Effective rotation practices for pesticide resistance management; and Greenhouse environmental manipulation for pest and disease control. It is assumed that these training modules will continue into the future and income from on-line fees will provide sufficient income for this component to be self sustaining.

The tasks outlined for this objective will be complete by the conclusion of the fourth quarter of the project. Assessment will be conducted at the conclusion of each individual grower’s module completion. The primary component of assessment will be changes in the grower’s knowledge on IPM practices comparing pre- and post-tests. Reduced or wiser pesticide use, as well as the implementation of a beneficial organism program in their greenhouses will be used to measure successful implementation of this objective.

Justification

Objective 1. Design and develop a series of extension and educational publications describing integrated pest management practices adaptable to the greenhouse industry.

Very few IPM extension publications exist for the western United States specifically for greenhouse and floriculture crops. Also, the amount of extension training and effort devoted to IPM in the inter mountain western (IMW) region of the United States is limited or relies on information generated from crop agriculture.

Objective 2. Design and develop of specific guidelines for calibration and conversions for pesticide application equipment specific to the floriculture and greenhouse industry.

There are few products available that illustrate proper calibration for greenhouse equipment and what few products are available, have been adapted from agronomic applications.

Objective 3. Design and develop web-based training modules for professionals in the floriculture and greenhouse industry.

Colorado and the IMW (Montana, Utah, Wyoming) represents approximately 12.3% of the land mass of the United States. In these states, there is little duplication of extension specialists with commercial greenhouse responsibilities. On line or web based training provides an excellent opportunity to provide outreach to those clients under served within this region.

Literature Review

The floriculture industry is one of the most rapidly growing components of agriculture in the United States. The wholesale value of floriculture crops, $4.88 billion, increased 2 percent nationally for the year 2002 compared to that of 2001 (NASS, 2003). Traditional consumers of floral products produced by the greenhouse industry demand high standards of quality. Pest and disease damage on ornamental products is not tolerated by consumers requiring a sizeable investment in pesticide applications. These practices led to a total of 5.36 million pounds of active ingredients applied to nursery and floriculture crops in California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas alone for the year 2000 (NASS, 2002). Of that total, 39% or 2.1 million pounds of active ingredient were applied to floriculture crops. Recognizing that these six states represent 55% of the national reported value of the nursery and floriculture industry (NASS 2003), one can project on a national scale, 9.75 million pounds of active ingredients, are applied to floriculture and nursery crops annually. Of that total, 3.8 million pounds of active ingredient are applied to floriculture crops.

Many pesticides traditional to the floriculture industry have been eliminated from this market due to loss of registration or due to regulatory pressures to reduce the environmental impact from organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. One such product that has recently not received a re-registration for greenhouse use is chlorpyrophos. This loss of this effective insecticide has left a marked void in the pesticide arsenal for a floral crop grower and there are many other products that will not be re-registered for this industry. To maintain profitability, floral crop growers are relying on softer, more environmentally friendly pesticides, integrated pest management (IPM), and beneficial organisms to manage pests and diseases.

Of nursery and floriculture enterprises surveyed in 2000, only 19% reported using beneficial organisms in an integrated pest management IPM program and only 52% reported that they deliberately scouted for pests on a scheduled basis (NASS, 2002). Approximately 40% of Colorado greenhouse growers have adopted some form of IPM strategies (Pottorff, 2003). These growers are documented to use IPM practices such as resistant cultivars, pot spacing, relative humidity control strategies, sanitation or removal of debris, soil testing, alternative plant location and dates to reduce pest pressure, water management, and chemical rotations.

Very few IPM extension publications exist for the western United States specifically for greenhouse and floriculture crops. The University of California Cooperative Extension has published a single, albeit extensive publication, for IPM in floriculture and nurseries (Dreistadt, 2001). Yet there are few other extension publications, which are readily available to greenhouse growers. Also, the amount of extension training and effort devoted to IPM in the inter mountain western (IMW) region of the United States is limited or relies on information generated from crop agriculture. The IMW represents a vast territory, 25.6% of the continental U.S., which makes traditional extension workshops cost prohibitive. There is a need to generate and coordinate a series of publications and pest management training tools specific to the floriculture and greenhouse industry for the IMW.

Approach and Methods

The overall objective for this project is to develop and implement educational and training tools for the floriculture and greenhouse industry specific to the inter mountain western region of the United States. These products will describe IPM practices that focus on reduction on the reliance of pesticides and are easily adaptable to the greenhouse industry. Products developed from this work will primarily be marketed through Cooperative Extension, however, they will be promoted and provided through industry functions including the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association as well as greenhouse supply vendors.

Proposed Tasks:

All educational and training products to be developed will include current research-based results in the literature from recognized entomologists and pathologists focusing on the greenhouse and floriculture industry. The latest results and information from the Society of American Florists Annual Pest Management workshop will be included for the benefit of those growers and professionals not able to attend. It is anticipated that products resulting from this work will be readily adaptable to the ornamental nursery industry as well as the greenhouse vegetable industry.

Impact Assessment

All individuals who either purchase a printed copy of the publications or download the publications will be contacted to review their current status and level of implementation of IPM principles. One month later, those same individuals will be contacted to determine what management practices they have modified in response to the educational material. Those participating in the web site training modules will be required to complete a pretest and post test as part of the module. Data will be collected on knowledge gained as well as an assessment of behavior modification. As previously stated, after six months, participants will be contacted to determine what management practices they have modified in response to the educational material.

The anticipated outcomes include: That greenhouse professionals will better implement integrated pest management strategies in their greenhouses resulting in reduced use and reliance on pesticides; That greenhouse professionals will implement formal scouting practices to better target pests for appropriate control measures rather than broad spectrum use of pesticides; that greenhouse professionals will incorporate the use of beneficial organisms as a standard component of their pest management strategy; and that greenhouse professionals will not be as seriously impacted by future losses of pesticide products and formulations.

Literature Cited

Dreistadt, S.H. 2001. Integrated pest management for floriculture and nurseries. Univ. of Calif. Div. Agric. and Nat. Res. Pub. 3402.

National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2003. Floriculture crops: 2002 summary. U.S. Dept. of Agric.

National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2002. Agricultural chemical usage: 2000 Nursery and floriculture summary. U.S. Dept. of Agric.

 

Timetable

 

Major Participants

Project Coordinator: Steven E. Newman, Ph.D., A.A.F.

Graduate Research Assistant: To be named later

Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Growers Association (CNGA)
Formerly known as the Colorado Nursery Association and the Colorado Greenhouse Growers Association
The Association maintains a key role in education and outreach for the commercial industry of Colorado. Through their Education Committee and educational programs, promotion and support of the products developed with funding from this project will be conducted.

Colorado State University Continuing Education Department
Upon the completion of training materials, Continuing Education will add them to Their online offerings, market them, and provide registration and other logistical support as needed.

Project Budget

Funding Request
Budget Category Funding Requested Matching Non-Federal Funds Matching
Federal Funds
First Year Funding
$39,999
0
0
Second Year Funding
0
0
0
Total Funding
$39,999
0
0

Project Duration: October 2004 through September 2005

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