05/30/1995

Auburn University Working to Control Pests in the Next Century

AUBURN, Ala. - When the year 2000 rolls around, many new federal regulations will be rolling down on the farming community. Scientists at Auburn University are trying to prepare for the future so those regulations will not steam roll producers.

According to Paul Backman, director of Auburn's Biological Control Institute (BCI), and Geoff Zehnder, associate professor of entomology, by the year 2000 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hopes to see 75 percent of the nation's (and Alabama's) agricultural acreage implementing integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. IPM is an approach that utilizes all available methods for managing crop pests in a way that is least harmful to the public and the environment. With IPM, pesticides are used only when necessary and biocontrol agents, such as beneficial insects, fungi, and bacteria, also are employed against pests whenever possible.

Backman and Zehnder are combining the forces of researchers in Auburn's Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) and extension specialists in the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service (ACES). These scientists and specialists are working to develop IPM systems for Alabama's major crops and also to inform growers about these systems.

"Recent events have focused much public attention on pesticide use in agriculture," said Backman. These incidents include the controversy about the use of Alar on apples, reports that pesticides may be contaminating groundwater and also reports that chemical residues on fruits and vegetables may be harmful to small children. The result of these events is that pesticide and chemical use in agriculture has come under close scrutiny by consumers and public action groups who have put more pressure on the federal government to limit pesticide use.

Another focus for this concern has been the Delaney Clause, which prohibits the use of carcinogenic pesticides in processed food products. Many modern pesticides are known to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and a state supreme court recently ruled that the EPA must comply with the Delaney Clause by banning more than 30 pesticides. Congress is considering rewriting the Delaney Clause to include a judgement of reasonable human health risks in the criteria, but even if rewritten, the clause is likely to further limit the selection of pesticides available to farmers.

"These changes mean that farmers will have to find alternative methods of producing a crop with limited pesticide use. How do you reduce chemicals and still produce? You make what you do use count," said Backman.

"IPM strategies reduce overall pesticide use by using pesticides more effectively through IPM crop monitoring programs, and by developing alternative control methods, such as cultural and biological control" said Zehnder, who is the IPM coordinator at Auburn. "Growers need to learn about IPM methods, but these methods have to be cost-effective before they can adopt the technology."

Backman, who has conducted research on IPM programs for various row crops, explained that the BCI, which is striving to find environmentally-friendly forms of pest control, is a natural partner in this effort. The BCI is an interdisciplinary, science-based organization that is exploring biologically-based controls for various pests. Biological control is one way to provide natural, nonpolluting alternatives to traditional chemical controls in agriculture and reduce chemical residues on food, while still providing consumers with a high-quality, affordable product.

But the BCI is just one of the players and is working with the AAES and ACES to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's and USDA's goals of reduced pesticide use, use of pesticides only when necessary and development and registration of biologically-based alternatives to chemical pesticides.

The first step toward helping farmers in Alabama was taken with the establishment of IPM teams to address IPM strategies for eight major commodity areas. Those areas include: cotton, peanuts, vegetables, turf and ornamental crops, tree crops, forestry and forage crops. There also is an urban IPM team that will look at structural and household pest control.

These commodity teams are pooling the expertise of research and extension personnel at Auburn and also at other educational institutions in the state. They also are forming partnerships with producers and government agencies.

The organization of these IPM teams began last year when an open forum on IPM was held at Auburn. Enhancing IPM organization at Auburn also will allow Alabama groups to be more competitive for funding under the new USDA IPM initiative.

"The urban and vegetable crop IPM teams recently submitted grant proposals under the new USDA initiative for development of IPM programs in the southern region," said Zehnder. "The Auburn IPM teams plan to involve producers, commodity groups, consumer organizations and private industry in the development of these programs. This joint involvement will be vital to the success of IPM programs."

"Our goal is to increase the level of IPM adoption in the state by demonstrating to clientele that IPM methods work and are cost-effective," said Zehnder. He added that the IPM teams' grant efforts have already resulted in getting about $20,000 in federal IPM funds through ACES to fund five IPM projects. These funds will be used to organize research and extension programs in high priority IPM areas.

For more information about Auburn's IPM program, contact Backman at (334) 844-1957 or Zehnder at (334) 844-6388.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu

May 30, 1995