SCG > Sustainable Agriculture & Forestry Programs > Integrated Pest Management Program > Funding > 2000-2001 Final Reports > Keinath
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2000 - 2001 CUIPM Grants -
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Roger Francis Charleston County Extension Agent Gilbert Miller Bamberg County Extension Agent Hugh Gray Hampton County Extension & Cluster Director |
Marion Barnes Colleton County Extension Agent Joe Varn Barnwell County Extension Agent Sam Bass Chesterfield County Extension Agent |
Problem Addressed
Successful production of watermelon and muskmelon in South Carolina requires regular applications of fungicides to prevent and control leaf, stem and fruit diseases. "Melcast"" is a weather-based spray advisory program for watermelon and muskmelon developed at Purdue University in the 1980's. Melcast was demonstrated on-farm in South Carolina in 1999 in two counties and implemented in nine counties in 2000. Participating growers reduced their fungicide use by an average of 36%. The goal of this project was to increase participation in Melcast and hence, further reduce fungicide use on melons in South Carolina while maintaining good disease control and yields.
Methods
Melcast spray advisories were calculated daily at the Coastal REC and made available to growers as recorded messages via a toll-free number (1-877-SCMELON) or the Internet (www.clemson.edu/scmelon). No growers opted to receive information by e-mail or fax. Daily predictions were made from April 1 through June 30 for Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Chesterfield, Charleston, Colleton, and Hampton counties and from August 15 to October 15 for Beaufort County.
| Table 1: Number of days the SC Melcast 2001 phone system was called by growers at three locations* | |||
| Location | April | May | June |
| Edisto Island | 13 | 18 | 8 |
| Allendale | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Barnwell | 0 | 0 | 2 |
In addition to the phone system, at least three growers used the Melcast system online. Two of these growers, one each in Colleton and Beaufort counties, used Melcast for the second year. The third grower, the field manager of a large corporate tomato farm in Beaufort, used Melcast via the Internet on watermelon for the first time in Spring 2001. He was so pleased with the program that he requested Melcast for 60 acres of watermelon grown as a fall crop, which we provided from August to October.
Evaluation
Interviews with growers and Extension agents revealed several challenges to increasing participation in Melcast. Growers in Chesterfield County, where no grower used Melcast in 2000, were offered a simplified version of Melcast as a demonstration. A cooperating grower would receive notification only when it was time to spray, rather than having to record information daily. No grower opted to participate in this demonstration. A leading grower in the county commented that he has so much to keep up with, he sometimes "forgets to take his medicine,"" so he didn't have time to keep track of Melcast predictions. Thus, the time, or perceived amount of time, and the daily commitment to record keeping are deterrents to using Melcast for some growers. In past Extension meetings, I have suggested to growers that they delegate this responsibility to someone else in their operation. The sister of the grower on Edisto Island, who has used Melcast faithfully the past two years, is the one who accesses Melcast.
Another grower in Allendale, who has approximately 300 acres of watermelon, did not use Melcast either year. He said that his operation is not flexible enough to spray according to Melcast and cover all of his acreage within 24 to 48 hours. He would rather add a fungicide when he is applying insecticide or foliar nutrients, for example. Thus, the irregular spray intervals of Melcast predictions are another deterrent to using Melcast. In past Extension meetings, I have instructed growers to tally Melcast predictions for individual fields based on planting date and plant growth. Using this approach should prevent having to spray multiple fields at one time.
One of the cooperating growers in Barnwell County decided not to participate in the project because he was concerned that Melcast-driven sprays would not protect his crop from powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a new disease of watermelon that has been a problem throughout the southern U.S. since 1998 or 1999. The threat of diseases for which Melcast was not designed can deter growers from using Melcast. Additional research that I conducted in 2001 indicates that sprays made according to Melcast can prevent powdery mildew if fungicides effective against powdery mildew are used. Once this information is provided to growers (scheduled for Nov. 27, 2001), participation in Melcast may increase.
Questions or comments:
Amy Nichols
Associate Coordinator
IPM and
Sustainable Agriculture
Programs
Contact
Dr. Geoffrey Zehnder
Professor of Entomology, Soils & Plant Sciences
IPM and
Sustainable Agriculture
Programs
114 Long Hall, Box 340315
Clemson, SC 29634-0315
864 - 656 - 6644
Contact
Last revised:
8/4/2006
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