Regional Integrated Pest Management Program

Providing competitive grants for research and extension activities related to integrated pest management (IPM) administered through regional networks

Program Basics
A competitive grants program for research and extension activities related to integrated pest management (IPM) is administered through the four Regional IPM Centers, located at land grant universities in the region. This program funds projects amounting to about $2.8 million annually.

Projects may span the spectrum from development of new IPM tactics to combined research-extension implementation projects to extension education and training. Because production systems and specific pest management problems vary significantly across the country, each of the four regions is given maximum flexibility in setting research and education priorities. Each region runs its own competition, establishing regional priorities for funding of projects.

Some priorities are crop-specific; others are based on various approaches to problem solving through IPM. Collaborators are encouraged in both programs. However, this program can only award funds to land grant universities as per funding authorization.

Project Examples
$64,062 was awarded to Clemson University to implement a regional fungicide resistance monitoring and brown rot disease management program for sustainable peach production in southern states. This joint research-extension project addresses emerging fungicide resistant strains of Monilinia fructicola, which threaten southern peach production as addressed in the recently updated Pest Management Strategic Plan for Eastern Peaches. Resistance to benzimidazole and demethylation inhibitor fungicides have already caused disease control failures in commercial orchards.

Purdue University was awarded $93,990 to address integrating late-season weed control into Midwest vegetable production. Since most Midwestern row crop producers do not manage weeds late into the season, a gap in weed management results as fields are rotated to vegetable crops. Late season weeds increase the weed soil seed-bank which put additional weed pressure on the following vegetable crop. Adopting management strategies that close this gap and reduce weed soil seedbanks has the potential to reduce the need for intensive weed management in some vegetable crops and to contribute to the sustainability of vegetable crop production in the North Central region.

A project to study using double crops of winter grain and short-season corn forages as an integrated weed management strategy for organic dairies was funded for $53,459 at the University of Maine. Since sustainable organic dairy production is largely dependent on production of high quality feed while minimizing weed pressure and with high feed costs, producers must maximize on-farm forage and grain production. The study aims to show organic dairy farmers who grow corn that adopting such a feed production system can improve weed management and production of high quality forages, leading to increased milk production and improved economic and environmental sustainability.

A project to improve adoption of IPM principles in schools was awarded to the University of Florida, with collaborators from regional land grant universities. This grant for about $150,000 over two years addresses adoption of integrated pest management in public schools, capitalizing on the current interest in building green schools to increase awareness of IPM as a green technology.

Eligibility, Uses, and Restrictions
Only staff of land grant universities in the U.S. may apply for this competition. Other organizations and individuals may work as collaborators or as subcontractors. This is highly encouraged by NIFA.

Application and Financial Information
Requests for proposals are available at:
www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/integratedpestmanagementcenters.cfm

Your regional contact person can suggest the best means to obtain information on funding opportunities, priorities for research and extension projects, and application deadlines.

Proposals are evaluated through a peer review process and ranked according to the goals and objectives of the program, scientific merit and appropriateness of budget.

Website
www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/integratedpestmanagementcenters.cfm

Contact
Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, Co-Director
Northeast Region IPM Center
Phone: (607) 255-8879
Email: ckk3@cornell.edu

John Ayres, Co-Director
Northeast Region IPM Center
Phone: (814) 865-7776
jea@psu.edu

Susan Ratcliffe, Director
North Central Region IPM Center
Phone: 217-333-9656
sratclif@uiuc.edu

Jim VanKirk, Director
Southern Region IPM Center
Phone: (919) 513-8179
jim@sripmc.org

Rick Melnicoe, Director
Western Region IPM Center
Phone: (530) 754-8378
rsmelnicoe@ucdavis.edu

National Program Office
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mail Stop 2220
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20250-2220
Phone: (202) 401-4939
Fax: (202) 401-4888

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