Write your Own IPM Plan to Reduce Costs, Minimize Risk, and Prepare for the Unexpected Kathy Murray Maine Department of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources wwww.maine.gov/IPM

What is IPM and Why do I Need to Plan it? Integrated Pest Management (IPM): coordinated use of pest and environmental information with combinations of cultural, biological, genetic and chemical pest control methods, to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage while minimizing economic, environmental and human health risks. Why Plan? –Minimize pest-caused losses –Save time and money –Reduce health risks to yourself, your family, your workers –Produce a healthy, nutritious crop –Avoid expensive (time and money) surprises –Allows time to research all the options, so you can choose the best ones for your situation.

Keys to Effective IPM Understand your site management objectives; establish short and long term priorities. Prevent pests with good sanitation, cultural practices, barriers, etc Identify and monitor pest species, their biology, and conditions conducive to them Understand the physical and biological factors that affect the number and distribution of pests and their natural enemies. Conserve natural enemies when implementing any pest management strategy. Establish action thresholds at which point an approved management strategy will be implemented to reduce the pest population.

Keys to Effective IPM (cont) Review available tools and best management practices for the management of the identified pest(s). Tools can include: 1) no action, 2) physical (manual and mechanical), 3) cultural, 4) biological, and 5) chemical management strategies. Get training or teach yourself to recognize pests, damage, and new management methods Evaluate results of management strategies; determine if objectives have been achieved; modify strategies if necessary. Document decisions and maintain records.

Technical and Financial Assistance Available IPM (595) Practice Standard: EQIP incentive payments available to add new IPM practices to address identified resource concerns –Resource concerns: SWAPA: soil, water, air, plant, animal (incl. humans) ME 2012 Payment Rates range $57-$150/acre, $215/hi tunnel per year x 3 years. See your district NRCS Field Office to apply. Or, get planning worksheets, guidelines, pesticide screening tool, from NRCS website for DIY IPM planning.

IPM Planning: Step 1. State your Goals and Objectives Goals – big picture –Maximize income? –Protect property and/or business for future generations? Objectives – specific steps to achieve goals. –Diversify vegetable crops for retail and wholesale? Which crops and varieties do I want to add? Do I need to borrow or purchase equipment for these? Seed varieties and suppliers? etc –Convert dairy operation to certified organic? What are my first, second, third, etc steps to do this?

IPM Planning: Step 2. Map the Property Draw maps: identify fields, buildings, woodlots, roads, ditches, irrigation, etc. Add soil type info for fields Show planned usages of each field or location. Plan multiple years if rotating usages. –example: Year 1 Field 1: field corn. Field 2: mixed veggies. Barn 1: heifers; Year 2 Field 1:annual ryegrass. Field 2: field corn. Barn 1: heifers.

IPM Planning: Step 3. Write Down Common Pests and How you will Prevent/Avoid, Monitor & Control Them Tools available –IPM and Crop Production Guidelines (Extension publications) –Pest identification field guides and UMCE Pest Management Office diagnostic lab ( , –NRCS EQIP IPM Practice Guides, Jobsheets, –Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST) determine environmental risks of each planned pesticide and select different pesticides with lower environmental risk –Sweet Corn IPM Field Scouting Guide and Record Book (UMASS) –Cooperative Extension weekly updates for strawberries, blueberries, sweet corn, potatoes. –Sample IPM plans: apples –Pest scouting and trap capture record forms –Pesticide application logbooks –and more available: Internet, Extension, Crop consultants, field reps, books.

Some IPM Practices Pest Monitoring: –Inspect entire field regularly (usually 1-2x/wk) and systematically to assess number of pests and natural enemies, and pest-caused damage or disease –map weeds – draw fields. show location, species and density of weeds –Establish and regularly monitor insect traps –Monitor weather

Some IPM Practices Protect crops with pest-proof barriers: floating row cover, fences, mulch Conserve and encourage natural enemies: (for example: adjust timing, selection, application methods, spot-treatment of pesticides to minimize impacts) Plant field borders or leave unmanaged wildflowers for natural enemy habitat

IPM Planning: Step 4. Keep and Review Detailed Pest Management Activity Records Pest Scouting and trapping records by field or location, crop, variety. Pest management activity log Pesticide application records Soil test results and fertilizer records Irrigation records Annually review records and adjust and improve IPM plan.

Resources IPM Plan Jobsheets for vegetables, fruit, field crops at (click on Financial & Technical Assistance or call Kathy Murray Vegetable Management Guide and Pest ID Guide: Maine Board of Pesticides Control: or UMaine Cooperative Extension Pest Management Office: or Northeast IPM Center (searchable resource database – easy access to fact sheets, ipm guidelines and more) National Pesticide Information Center USDA NRCS field offices (check phonebook for closest)