1 Precision Agriculture for Insect and Plant Disease Management

2 Purpose To use updated information that will help the farmer make decisions to:  Save Time  Save money

3 Insect Management Techniques Prevention  Crop rotation  Resistant hosts  Planting Times  Planting crops to specifically attract problem insects Economic Injury Level (EIL) (Pedigo, Rice, p. 255, 2006)  Is the cost of fixing the problem going to eat into your profit.  EIL =Gain Threshold/ Loss per Insect x Amount of loss avoided (Pedigo, et al p.259, 2006) pic_croprotation.jpg

4 Insect Management Techniques Growing Degree Days “... a minimum temperature or threshold temperature below which no growth or development can take place” (Berberet, Mulder, p , OSU Current Report) For every day that is over 50° F, growing degree days are accumulated. Alfalfa Weevil (Berberet, Mulder Current Report)  30 stem count of larva  Height of alfalfa  GDD

5 Insect Management Techniques Mesonet Different models to use for making decisions on when to spray. Has growing degree days already calculated. Easy to use, and fast. Advantage to Oklahoma growers.

6 Insect Management Techniques Soil Sampling  Knowing the soil in the field is crucial for many aspects of farming, including insect management. Soil Map (Berberet, 1986) Lesser Cornstalk Borer prefers sandy soils. Corn Root Worm prefers loam soils. 

7 Insect Management Techniques Border Sprays (Berberet) Insects can overwinter next to the field. No need to spray the whole field. Damage by grasshoppers moving in from the border of an alfalfa field.

8 Insect Management Techniques Spraying specific areas where pests are prevalent is more efficient. Direct Sprayers Row Banding

9 Global Positioning System Can be used to determine the amount of insect damage. Not efficient for determining the early stages of insect infestation. May be developed for more direct use in pest management sometime in the future.

10 Disease Control in Crops Certified Seed Resistance to disease Clean up of crop debris Crop rotation Fungicide Mesonet (Agrios, pp )

11 Old Sprayers 

12 Sprayers Air-Curtain Sprayer

13 Sprayers Hooded Sprayer

14 Conclusion The use of precision in insect and plant disease management is profitable and smart. Decisions that are based on reliable and accurate information increases the quality of farming. Having an open mind to new ideas and technologies can help conquer the challenges of the future.

15 References Dr. Richard Berberet, OSU Entomology Department Agrios, G.N. (2005). Plant pathology (5 th Edition). Burlington, Massachussetts: Elsevier Academic Press Berberet, R.C.,Peters, D.C., Wall R.G. (1986). The lesser cornstalk borer in peanuts (Bulletin B- 778). Department of Entomology Agriculture Experiment Station Division of Agriculture Oklahoma State University Berberet, R., Mulder, P. Current report (CR-7177). Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Pedigo, L..P., Rice, M.E. (2006). Entomology and pest management (5 th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc pulled 4-/5/2006 (p.5) pulled 4/5/ pulled 4-/5/

16 Questions?