Pecan IPM Program Team Receives Superior Service Award
Bill Ree, center left and Dr. Marvin Harris, right center, receive plaques for the Superior Service Award - Team category for their work on Pecan IPM. Pictured with Ree and Harris are: Dr. Kyle Smith, Executive Associate Director for Texas AgriLife Extension and, far left, Dr. Craig Nessler, Director, Texas AgriLife Research far right.Pecans are one of the most important crops in Texas and the South. Insects and diseases can be devastating and cost the industry millions if these pests damage the crop.
The Pecan IPM team’s dedication to helping producers minimize damage from pests has earned them the distinction of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Superior Service Award in the team category. Three members of the group received their award during a faculty meeting in April.
The team members include Tom Isakeit, Joe Janak, Allen Knutson, Mark Muegge, Bill Ree, Jr. AgriLife Research Team Members include Andrew Birt, Alejandro Calixto, Marvin Harris and Neal Lee.
Since the early 1990s, the team has strived to find ways to detect the Pecan Nut Casebearer moth, a damaging insect that destroys the pecan nut, and inform growers of the moth’s presence before it strikes an orchard. Early efforts included developing pheromone-baited traps, communicating trap findings to growers, and creating a decision aid model predicting the moth’s appearance.
A 2005 survey returned by 200 Texas pecan producers revealed that 60%of the growers (80% of growers with orchard acreage of 100 or more acres) used pheromone traps to monitor PNC. The survey confirmed that grower use of pheromone traps to monitor and provide information to manage PNC had been widely adopted in Texas and had become an important part of pecan IPM programs.
With the more effective traps, the team began developing improved PNC management and information delivery systems, with Ree training growers to install and monitor traps in their orchards. The traps were delivered to County Extension Agents for recording the information and delivering the results to other producers in the county. The above concept grew into sharing the trap information electronically with a prediction modeling system that was launched in 2007 on the Pecan Kernel website.
The first site used first moth capture and calendar days to estimate a decision date on which growers should inspect pecan trees for the pest. In addition, a secondary website based on heat units was introduced by Muegge and Knutson, which was launched in 2008. The website, called PNCforecast, allowed growers to enter their trap data on-line, predict when PNC moths should be active in their orchards and plan when scouting and control may be needed. Grower training on the use of the PNCForecast system was conducted in county and regional meetings and in Pecan South Magazine.
In 2009, Harris and Ree collaborated with Calixto, Birt and Lee and created an internet platform, called Pecan IPM PIPE. The site provides near real-time pecan nut casebearer population emergence and decision window information for locations throughout the Pecan Belt. In addition, it provides information on management of all pecan pests.
The site has continually evolving information and updated real-time pest/disease predictions. Pecan IPM PIPE also features information on pest biology, damage and management.. Pecan disease and fungicide resistance management information, developed by Tom Isakeit (AgriLife Extension Plant Pathologist) is available on the website. The site also includes a frequently update pesticide database to help producers choose the safest and most effective product. Since the launch, the comprehensive website has been an important tool for pecan pest management and has resulted in positive responses by growers and orchard owners.
“We like the computerized information delivery system because it puts information on pest biology, damage, and management at our fingertips,” said Arthur Ivey, Jr., owner of Rio Bravo Farms. “The updated pesticide information available on these sites and best management strategies to avoid resistance development are very helpful as well, as we believe in and practice IPM methods on this farm.”
The team has had a positive economic impact on the industry overall, saving growers more than $4 million dollars per year in Texas alone. The program has also helped producers avoid unnecessary and poorly timed applications and a better use of natural enemies to manage pests in their orchards.