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Nursery and Greenhouse Integrated Pest
| Name | Suzanne Holmes | | Situation | The ornamental horticulture industry in the Aiken-Edgefield regions employs in excess of 1500 people and represents an estimated $50 million dollars in income to the local economy. The industry includes nurseries, greenhouse producers,garden centers, and landscape and maintenance companies.There is a large economic loss each year to pest problems
including fungal, bacterial, viral, and nematode pathogens. Pest
control failures can be attributed to the manager's lack of knowledge of the biology of the pest, and improper use in applying pharmaceuticals relating to timing and overapplication. Also, the local extension advisory committee had requested additional education related to integrated pest management. | | Response | An Integrated Pest Management grant proposal was written to address the issues related to pest control failures. A $4,000 grant was awarded. A Nursery and Integrated Pest Management meeting was held on July 21, 2004 at the Aiken County Extension Office. The major objective was to teach better scouting techniques, biology of pest, and different management
techniques which would increase the use of IPM strategies in nurseries and result in more judicious use of pesticides. The speakers and their topics were as follows: Dr. Steve Jeffers-Disease Management, Dr. Ted Whitwell-Weed Management, Tony Watson-Scouting Techniques, and Dr. Will Hudson (Georgia Extension Specialist)-Insect Management. A hands-on scouting session was held afterward at Woodlanders Nursery. The attendees received Integrated Pest Management for Floriculture and Nurseries, the 2004 Georgia Pest Management Handbook, and a hand lens.Twenty four people attended the meeting. | | Impact | In evaluating the program, we used a pre-test and post-test and an evaluation sheet. The results are as follows:
Twelve people took the pre-test and post-test.
Eleven people made 50 or below on the pretest. Of these eleven, all passed the post-test with a score of 90 or above. Only one person passed the pre-test and increased his score by 10 points on the post test.
The participants also completed an evaluation on the speakers and
effectiveness of the program. All of the participants rated the seminars as good. A follow-up interview was also conducted three months after the meeting and revealed that all of the participants had used their hands lens and Pesticide Handbooks. Seventy percent had used the integrated pest management reference book. Scouting more often was the one procedure that all the nurseries said they were doing a better job of as a result of the meeting. One nursery had hired a person to scout their nursery. All of them said they were doing a better job of the cultural practice of grading and discarding liners. Fifty percent were doing a better job of record keeping. Comments were made that the meeting was helpful in that they conversed with other nurserymen about pest problems. All of them said the meeting was worth their time and had implemented some of the
principles taught at the update meeting.
Overall, this program was very effective in getting Integrated Pest Management to the growers and supplying them with information that will make their nurseries more productive and at the same time decrease the amount of pesticides they use by better and earlier pest identification and more judicious use of pesticides.
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Last update7/11/2008
This website is maintained by Vickie Browder.
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