MID-ATLANTIC INFORMATION NETWORK FOR PESTICIDES AND ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES - DE (DEinPAS)

Contract # 2013-UD-USDA-9759

Accomplishments of the Delaware Information Network for Pesticides and Alternatives Strategies were: Crop Profiles were written on apple, green pepper and wheat; Pest Management Strategic Plans were written for lima bean and spinach; Two meetings were held with the DEinPAS Advisory Committee; requests from federal agencies for information on selected pesticides were filled; and the Pesticide Briefs Newsletter was made available to members of the agricultural community in Delaware.

The Delaware Information Network for Pesticides and Alternatives Strategies program was established to:

Major activities of the Delaware Information Network were:

The Mid-Atlantic Information Network for Pesticides and Alternative Strategies - DE (DEinPAS) has coordinated its activities with Mid-Atlantic partners New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, and New York. To facilitate communication across state lines, the New Jersey Network Project Director set up a listserv, "MAinPAS Partners," in March 2002. Members have used this listserv to transmit meeting minutes; announce and coordinate pesticide surveys, crop profiles, and pest management strategic plans (PMSP’s); as well as announce the release of state newsletters such as Delaware’s "Pesticide Briefs". Coordination has also included a home page for MAinPAS at: http://www.pestmanagement.rutgers.edu/NJinPAS/PesticideRegistration/MAINPAShome.htm.

MAinPAS Project Leaders have met three times to update each other on progress and upcoming projects of their respective information networks. The first meeting was at the NE PMC Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD in March, 2002. At that time, members of MAinPAS discussed cooperation across state lines. The second meeting was after the NE TriAgency Meeting in July, 2002 in Portland, ME. Each state gave a progress report. Project Leaders made plans for creating a regional Lima Bean Pest Management Strategic Plan developed by cooperators from Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. A workshop was planned at the Delaware State Fairgrounds for January, 2003 with the DEinPAS Project Director coordinating the regional plan. A third meeting was held at the National Pesticide Applicator Certification and Training Workshop in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 2003. In attendance were: George Good (New York), George Hamilton (New Jersey), Amy Brown (Maryland), John Baniecki (West Virginia), and Susan King (Delaware). Each state gave a progress report with updates on Crop Profiles and PMSP’s. The West Virginia Project Director announced the meeting scheduled for the Apple PMSP. The DEinPAS Project Director, King, announced the Spinach PMSP Workshop scheduled for January, 2004. Discussion was held on future RFA’s and coordination across state lines. It was decided that the NJinPAS Project Director would continue to lead the MAinPAS.

Links have been established between federal/ Delaware agencies and agricultural researchers, extension specialists, and other stakeholders so that information on pest management practices can be made available to federal/ Delaware agencies in a timely manner in response to issues raised by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) or other regulatory decisions. Requests for information on pesticide use in Delaware have been routed by the DEinPAS Project Director, King, to extension staff for the following pesticides: diazinon, endosulfan, lindane, methyl parathion, Nemacur, corn seed treatments, dimethoate, guthion, cypermethrin and disyston. Responses from extension staff have been provided to federal agencies by King. Direct links to Delaware Extension professionals can be found at: http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/pesticide/Pesticide%20info%20Network/contacts.htm.

Crop Profiles are descriptions of crop production and pest management recommendations. They are written by University of Delaware Extension Specialists.

Crop Profiles have been written for Delaware apples (http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles/docs/DEapples.html), green pepper (http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles/docs/DEgreenpeppers.html), and wheat (http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles/docs/DEWheat.html). Extension Specialists for insects, diseases, and weeds contributed sections to each Profile. The DEinPAS Director, King, compiled the information, wrote introductory material, and transmitted the Profiles to the NE IPM Center for publication on the web.

PMSP’s describe the impact of pest control losses and present priorities for research, extension, and regulation. They are developed by growers, commodity associations, food processors, crop consultants, and EPA with assistance from UD Extension staff. These plans address pest management needs and priorities for individual commodities. Two IPM/ Discussion "stakeholder" meetings composed of growers, consultants, and processors were held. The Spinach meeting was held December 13, 2002 in Milford, DE. The pickle meeting was held in conjunction with the annual Vegetable Growers Meeting on January 10, 2003 in Harrington DE. These meetings laid the groundwork for future PMSP’s.

The Lima Bean PMSP (http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/pmsp/pdf/MidAtlLimabeans.pdf) was written during a workshop held in Harrington, DE on January 23, 2003; the Spinach PMSP (http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/pmsp/pdf/despinach.pdf) was written during a workshop on January 5, 2004. The working groups for each workshop were composed of growers, processors, and crop consultants, as well as state, regional, and federal regulatory staff and extension specialists. King compiled the information and edited each PMSP. She then transmitted both PMSP’s to the NE IPM Center for publication on the web.

The Delaware Pesticide Information Home Page (http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/pesticide/) has a link to the "Pesticide Briefs" Newsletter (http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/pesticide/pesticide%20briefs/briefs.htm). Short news articles from EPA, USDA, and the Pesticide Industry are printed in this newsletter to promote informed regulatory decisions on registered pesticides. E-mail announcements of new postings are sent to the pesticide-user community in Delaware. The editor of the extension newsletter, "The Weekly Crop Up Date," and the editor of the "Ornamental Hotline" newsletter use articles from Pesticide Briefs in their newsletters. Extension agents are encouraged to use this information in presentations and one-on-one communications with clientele. The Pesticide Briefs web site has an e-mail link to the DEinPAS Project Director, King, for those who wish to have their name added to the e-mail list to receive notifications of new postings. Pesticide Safety Education sessions include an on-line lesson in how to use the "Pesticide Briefs" web page.

The web site for DEinPAS is at: http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/pesticide/Pesticide%20info%20Network/midatlantic.htm. In addition, the Delaware Pesticide Information web site provides links to several federal and state partners at: http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/pesticide/Pesticide%20info%20Network/contacts.htm.

2002 meting: The DEinPAS Advisory Committee was restructured in 2002 to include new members. Key new members were Dr. Bruce Richards and Ms Nancy Pettit. Richards, Executive Director of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, was added to provide a perspective on environmental protection. Pettit, Secretary of the Delaware Food & Farming Association and Market Coordinator with the Delaware Department of Agriculture, was added to bring an organic farming perspective to the Advisory Committee. She and her husband operate Delmarvelous Farms, producers of organic Chestnuts.

The 2002 meeting was held on November 26 in Dover, DE. Minutes and list of attendees are shown in Attachment A.

The Committee recommended:

The Committee discussed the following commodities for future Crop Profiles and Pest Management Strategic Plans: green peppers; carrots; cucumbers and pickles; greens; strawberries; watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkin; soybeans; and dry beans. The Committee recommended that extension specialists be surveyed for crop profile preferences among these commodities with Kid’s Foods as a high priority

2003 meeting: The DEinPAS Advisory Committee met on November 10, 2003 in Georgetown DE. The agenda, list of attendees, and minutes of this meeting are shown in Attachment B. Discussion was held on the make-up of the Committee and how to obtain more grower input. Suggestions were to meet with County Extension Advisory Committees and/or commodity organizations, such as the Vegetable Growers Association. King, presented a progress report on 2003 Committee recommendations: