06/26/1997

"Bugging" Bugs and Other Strategies Help AU Reduce Use of Synthetic Pesticides

AUBURN, Ala. - Bugging bugs with sensitive subterranean microphones is but one effort by Auburn University researchers to help Alabama farmers comply with federal guidelines designed to increase use of alternative pest management techniques and decrease the use of synthetic pesticides.

Kathy Flanders, assistant professor of entomology in Auburn University's College of Agriculture, recently received a Southern Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) grant of $119,960 for a study called "Eavesdropping on Soil Insects." Flanders will use an ultra-sensitive microphone to determine the below-ground insect population by analyzing their sounds.

"Soil insects are very difficult to study because we can't see what's happening,"she said. Understanding where the underground insects are will aid in further scouting and spot treatment.

This is just one of four relatively large new grants the entomology department received this year to fund IPM-related research, said Mark Rumph, IPM program assistant at Auburn. Also, 10 other projects were awarded IPM mini-grants this year, totaling more than $27,000, Rumph said.

Rumph and his colleagues define IPM as using two or more methods of pest control in production. The goal of IPM is to control insects, diseases, weeds and other pests with a decreased use of chemical pesticides.

The federal government has initiated guidelines to encourage these practices so that by the year 2000, 75 percent of all crop land in the nation should be using IPM methods.

Geoff Zehnder, Auburn associate professor of entomology and IPM Alabama Program coordinator, has conducted research with IPM use in tomatoes. He conducted a survey that found 60 percent of tomato growers use IPM methods.

"We're not quite up to 75 percent, but we're getting closer," he said. "Some areas (of the state) are further along than others. The Clinton administration's commitment to it has helped."

So, what efforts have Auburn University and the state of Alabama made toward this goal?

IPM Alabama has been in existence for several years, but it became more strongly organized in 1996. The organization is a joint effort between the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the AU College of Agriculture. According to Rumph, their goal is to make everyone aware of IPM, and to encourage everyone to use it, especially home owners.

The extension and experiment station systems play the role of educator to the state's producers by making information about IPM available. According to Rumph, the best method for getting information to producers is through direct contact with extension agents and through newsletters, but the Internet is becoming a more widely accepted system of communication.

"Through our web site, we get about 100 hits a week from producers and consumers, alike," he said. "As more people get on line, it will be easier."

IPM Alabama is working to form a bridge between the researchers who are developing new and better IPM methods and the producers who can benefit from these methods.

"We've put together a bunch of working groups for various crops and areas," Rumph said. "They're trying to get the producers, scientists and industry to come together and come up with some standards."

These "commodity teams" are made up of researchers, extension specialists and extension agents, working with producers to identify the pest problems that affect the state.

The research programs funded by grants are finding what IPM methods are most useful for certain crops, and how those techniques can be used most effectively.

Researchers are developing more specific pesticides to target one insect, rather than broad-based pesticides that can be more harmful, destroying beneficial insects. This makes insecticides more efficient and practical to producers, Rumph said. Also, labeling standards for produce grown using IPM methods should be in place for Alabama in the next five years, he said. With labeling, consumers could recognize IPM-grown products in stores.

The consumer values IPM because it provides a higher quality product with fewer health concerns associated with pesticide use, Rumph said, but producers benefit from the practices, too.

"The IPM practices we work with have to be economical, or the farmer can't use it," Zehnder said.

Because producers can provide that higher quality product, they are more competitive in the domestic and world markets, Rumph said. Also, using nonchemical methods to control pests reduces the cost of production.

"The bottom line for the producer is money," Rumph said.

The use of BollGard as an alternate form of pest control in 1996 saved Alabama's cotton growers $45.8 million, and cotton yields were near an all-time high in the state. BollGard, a variety of B.t. cotton, uses the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis to control tobacco budworm, which can destroy a cotton crop if not treated.

"That's a really good example of how IPM can be effective," Rumph said.

Acceptance of IPM practices has been growing for 25 years, and is becoming the standard for production in Alabama. "We think that most people are using IPM in some form or another," Rumph said.

Rumph says producers are excited by technology and using it for their own benefit.

"It's going to consistently continue to increase," he said. "It just takes a while to get people on the bandwagon."

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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
by Anna M. Lee

June 26, 1997