EXTENSION IPM IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM FOR NEW JERSEY

Specialty Crops1. Reach over 90% of NJ blueberry, wine grape and tree fruit growers with IPM updates,recommendations and research results and interpretations from state, regional and national pestmanagement projects.2. Demonstrate and promote practices that replace and reduce conventional pesticide use.3. Train farm employees and farmers in IPM practices for these crops.4. Establish and continue efforts to manage invasive fruit pests, including spotted wing drosophila,African fig fly, brown marmorated stink bug and spotted lanternfly.5. Answer grape grower needs by establishing a wine grape IPM program built on our past 3 yearpilot program.IPM for Pollinator Health1. Establish a honey bee health monitoring system for beekeepers and blueberry growers.2. Provide recommendations to mitigate the negative impacts of pesticide use on bee health.3. Establish a pollinator working group to benefit both beekeepers and fruit growers.4. Write a NJ Pollinator Protection Plan used to educate fruit growers and the public.5. Adjust beekeeping and pest management practices to reduce negative impacts on honey bees.IPM Support for Pest Diagnostic Facilities1. Provide a portion of the costs of one technical employee trainedto perform basic diagnostic tasks including fungal culturing, insect identifications, ELISA, PCR,and other common tasks associated with insect pest and disease diagnostics.2. Provide training SOP for pests and diseases of concern in our region in USDAprograms, in the RU Lab, or in collaboration with other labs within the NEPDN region.3. Train the next generation of plant diagnosticians, government regulators, and IPMspecialists by participatingin the training of graduate student interns,undergraduate students, NPDN First Detectors, and Master Gardener volunteers.IPM Education for Pesticide Applicators1. Develop IPM training materials for use in-person meetings and self-study materials.2. Develop surveys to evaluate IPM training provided at statewide and county-based grower and commercial applicator meetings.3. Provide IPM training at statewide and county-based grower and commercial applicator meetings using the materials developed.4. Evaluate IPM specific self-study materials used by stakeholders to obtain a state pesticide applicatorlicense by working with the NJDEP to review and revise IPM specific questions used in state licensing exams. Those questions deemed to defective willeither be rewritten, or the self-study materials will be modified to better present the information.IPM Training and Implementation in Housing1. Investigate the current pest control practices and impactsof current COVID-19 pandemic has on pest infestations in low-income communities.2. Deliver training and continuous assistance to low-income housing staff to increase the adoption of IPM in low-income communities.3. Compare the effectiveness of two resident education strategies.