BUILDING DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS TO ENHANCE SUSTAINABILITY OF POTATO AND VEGETABLE CROPS

Developing integrated pest management (IPM) tactics is critical for sustainable crop production. To control insects and vector-borne pathogens in potato, however, most growers use prophylactic treatments of neonicotinoids at planting, followed by calendar-based sprays of foliar insecticides. This has created problems with pest control due to resistance evolution and has been met with opposition from major retailers that are pushing producers to adopt more sustainable practices. Many growers have been unable to transition away from a prophylactic program, however, as IPM tools are unavailable. Our project addresses these shortcomings by developing models of insect pests that will be linked with local weather data to inform pest management for growers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our project will build new tools for producers that will aid them sustainably manage insect pests and the pathogens they transmit and includes an extensive outreach program to educate producers. Our project has three objectives: (1) create models that estimate phenological events for three insect pests; (2) assess how variation in pesticide-spray timing affects management outcomes, and (3) conduct outreach to train growers on how models and our platform can aid their pest management decisions. As many crop systems seek to develop sustainable practices, and as digital technology expands, this study will contribute to the growing fields of ecoinformatics, IPM, and agricultural decision support. This project will thus contribute to the AFRI Farm Bill Priority of Plant Health and Protection by developing models and decision support tools to reduce pesticide inputs and increase sustainability.