Web-based Decision Tools for Nursery IPM Len Coop, Assistant Professor (Senior Research) Integrated Plant Protection Center, Botany & Plant Pathology Dept. Oregon State University /

Problems of pest management in Commercial Nurseries: Diversity - Huge variety of plants and potential pest problems Chemical drift potential - Proximity between plants leads to unwanted drift, causing plant toxicity, secondary pest outbreaks Low cosmetic thresholds – need for near perfect appearance of plants and intolerance for pest damages

IPM has unique aspects in the Nursery industry Potential to change environmental conditions for some nursery crops ● Need for sustainability beyond nursery setting – Example: control spruce spider mite w/miticide harmful to predator mites = short term control

Integrated Pest Management – common sense principles 1.No silver bullet ● There is no single best pest control method or approach 2.Treat causes, not symptoms ● Is that browning of leaves caused by a mite, virus, or ? ● Understand the biology – e. g. increasing humidity a bit could be the long term solution with spider mite problems 3.Pest presence ≠ pest problem ● A few aphids in the spring could be attracting predators, not threatening your plants 4.Wait-and-see vs just-in-case ● Preventative pesticides as “insurance” is not healthy 5.If you kill the natural enemies, you inherit their work ● Predators and parasites do a great job – let them!

Bio Control Cultural Control Pesticides biorationa l conventional INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT Sampling & thresholds Which species? How many? Where are they? Is the damage significant

JuneMay Infestation Level August spray SPRAY with control DO NOT SPRAY EIL ET without control July Thresholds – wait until sprays are cost effective

Typical IPM questions and representative decision tools: Who? and What?: Pest identification keys, diagnostic guides, management guides ● Good online support for nursery crops When?: Phenology models (crops, insects, weeds), Risk models (plant diseases) ● Limited online support for nursery crops If?: Economic thresholds, crop loss models, chemical selection, sequential and binomial sampling plans ● Some online chemical selection support information ● Virtually no online support other areas Where?: GPS, GIS, precision agriculture ● No online support (most crops)

Google search strategies: - be specific (2 – 4 key words often works well) - Google can spell for you -use “+” and “-” in front of a word to force inclusion/exclusion

Google search “greenhouse whitefly poinsettia”

Online decision guidelines and models for the NW Nursery Industry – insects and mites

Example toxicity ratings of selected compounds to mite predator and key biocontrol agent, Neoseiulus fallacis for use in ornamentals

PNW Pest Management Handbooks -online editions

Online decision guidelines and models for the NW Nursery Industry - Weeds

Nursery IPM pest alerts and lists

Navigation: -search engine, -menus, -previous/next page, -table of contents

Search results: section links plus version with “highlight matches”

“highlight matches” result

Ken gray photos - additional photos search engine

Key Gray photo search results “borer” - need to scroll down to species of interest

Poplar and Willow borer - numerous additional damage diagnostics slides for this species beyond the one linked from the PNW Insect Handbook

Adult stage photo linked from handbook

Features of Ken Gray photos enlarged unretouched standard

Numerous damage diagnostic photos available

Fact pages (pdf)available for many insects

Fage pages from R.E. Berry's book “Insects and mites of economic importance in the PNW”

“yellow bar links” to selected websites of relevance to the chapter and section

WSU Extension “Hortsense” biology and management of Horticultural crops including ornamentals (primarily for home gardeners)

Links to crop profiles and “pest management strategic plans” (PMSPs)

Online decision guidelines and models for the NW Nursery Industry – Plant Diseases

Example material from the BC Ministry of Environment Online IPM for landscape pests - manual+lessons

Disease risk models: Like insects, plant pathogens respond to temperature in a more-or less linear fashon. Unlike insects, we can measure development in degree-hours rather than degree-days. In addition, many plant pathogens also require moisture at least to begin an infection cycle.

Some generic disease models applicable to a variety of diseases and crops: ModelDisease Crops =================================================================== Gubler-ThomasPowdery Mildewgrape, tomato, lettuce, cherry, hops Broome et al.Botrytis cinereagrape, strawberry, tomato, flowers Mills tables scab, powdery apple/pear, grape mildew TomCast DSVSeptoria, celery, potato, tomato, Alternariaalmond Bailey ModelSclerotinia,peanut/bean, rice, melon rice blast, downy mildew XanthocastXanthomonaswalnut

Practical disease forecasts ==================================================================== FIVE DAY DISEASE WEATHER FORECAST 1537 PDT WED, OCTOBER 01, 2003 THU FRI SAT SUN MON DATE 10/02 10/03 10/04 10/05 10/06...SALINAS PINE... TEMP: 74/49 76/47 72/50 72/49 76/49 RH %: 66/99 54/96 68/99 68/96 58/96 WIND SPEED MAX/MIN (KT) 10/0 10/0 10/0 10/0 10/0 BOTRYTIS INDEX: BOTRYTIS RISK: MEDIUM LOW LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM PWDRY MILDEW HOURS: TOMATO LATE BLIGHT: READY SPRAY READY READY SPRAY XANTHOCAST: WEATHER DRZL PTCLDY DRZL DRZL DRZL TODAY'S OBSERVED BI (NOON-NOON): -1.11; MAX/MIN SINCE MIDNIGHT: 70/50; ALANFOX...FOX WEATHER...

Online decision guidelines and models for the NW Nursery Industry – insects and mites (cont.)

Weather and Degree-day Concepts in IPM Degree-days: a unit of accumulated heat, used to estimate development of insects, fungi, plants, and other organisms which depend on temperature for growth. Calculation of degree-days: (one of several methods) DDs = avg. temperature - threshold. So, if the daily max and min are 80 and 60, and the threshold is 50, then we accumulate  (80+60)/ = 20 DDs for the day

Weather and Degree-day Concepts 1) Degree-day models: accumulate a daily "heat unit index" (DD total) until some event is expected (e. g. egg hatch) daily: cumulative: Eggs hatch: 152 cumulative DDs Eggs start developing: 0 DDs 70 o -50 o =20 DD

IPPC weather data homepage (

Degree-day models: Examples in pest management Nursery crops - Eur. Pine Shoot Moth: Begin sprays at 10 percent flight activity, predicted by 1,712 degree-days above 28 F after Jan. 1 st. Tree Fruits - Codling moth: 1 st treatment 250 DD days after first consistent flight in traps (BIOFIX). Vegetables - Sugarbeet root maggot: if flies are collected in traps by 360 DD from March 1 then treat.

Degree-day models: standardized user interface

Link to IWIN forecasts (by zipcode)

Degree-day models: EPS moth example (cont.)

Key events: degree-day look up table results

Degree-day models: EPS moth example (cont.) Features: -missing data estimation, -max-min temperature forecasts, -historical average forecasts

Degree-day models: EPS moth example (cont.) Summary graph; current forecast vs historical average trends

Thinking in degree-days: very little predator mite activity Oct-Mar

DD Models map – select weather station from map (example for 10 Stations in Hood River Network – codling moth model) Weather station selected

Weather data and maps index page (

US and maps / grasslinks index page Current DDs Historical average DDs Difference between current and normal DDs

Grasslinks interactive GIS example – NE USA

Data tables by state or region to 3600 stations (ex. 696 stations in SW US) Weather station selected Calculator Link to daily maps

Typical IPM questions and representative decision tools: Who? and What?: Pest identification keys, diagnostic guides, management guides ● Good online support for nursery crops When?: Phenology models (crops, insects, weeds), Risk models (plant diseases) ● Limited online support for nursery crops, more on the way If?: Economic thresholds, crop loss models, chemical selection, sequential and binomial sampling plans ● Some online chemical selection support information ● Virtually no online support other areas Where?: GPS, GIS, precision agriculture ● No online support (most crops)

Additional (bonus) slides ->

Hazards of chemicals first and foremost for pest control: ● Expensive ● Poisonous ● Temporary ● Lead to pest resurgence and secondary pest outbreaks (replace one pest w/another) ● Lead to pesticide resistant pests ● Tend to exclude other options (biological, cultural, resistant plant varieties) ● Get caught in a “pesticide treadmill”

IPM is an information-intensive systems approach that is both cost effective and environmentally sustainable ● Not IPM: – ID a symptom, select a broad-spectrum chemical ● IPM can include: – Design production system to exclude, prevent, tolerate or otherwise mitigate pests and losses – ID a problem to species, research its biology (life cycle, population dynamics, natural biological control, host plant susceptibility, potential for pesticide resistance development, more), research management options. – Sample to determine current and future levels, potential impact on the plant, biocontrol agents, use thresholds – Evaluate all possible controls based on efficacy, compatibility, costs, and potential side effects

Biological Cultural / Host Plant Resistance Pesticides enhance reduce need for least-toxic Sampling & Thresholds determine need for INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

OSU Entomology Ken Gray Slide Collection: Ken Gray worked for Pacific Supply in Portland and took over 30,000 photos of insects and other arthropods, then donated them to OSU Entomology With help from HP, OSU had over 5000 slides digitized and input into a database. Web versions made via automated Photoshop adjustments The insect handbook links to the collection by scientific name. You can search the full online collection by common or scientific name The database has not been updated, so new pests and name revision updates have not happened