Guam

Here are summaries of some of the IPM research, innovations and projects going on in Guam, or benefitting Guam agriculture, communities and natural areas. Projects listed here are not necessarily funded by the Western IPM Center.

 

Using Giant Hornets' Chemical Communications Against Them

When the Northern Giant Hornet was discovered in Washington state, state and federal officials mobilized quickly to try to eradicate it. Due to the efforts of that team, which included Dr. Jacqueline Serrano, an expert in detecting, decoding and synthesizing insect chemical signals, no nests or hornets have been found in the state since 2021.

Guam hasn't been so fortunate. Invaded in 2016 by a different giant hornet, the Great Banded Hornet, the island is in danger of having the invasive, predatory insect become firmly established, which could damage Guam's apiculture and agricultural industries. So it will be harder to eradicate – but with Western IPM Center funding, Serrano and Christopher Rosaria from the Guam Department of Agriculture’s Biosecurity Division are going to try.

Getting the Diagnosis Right: Guam Training Focuses on Foliar Fungal Diseases

In farming, as in medicine, an accurate diagnosis is critical. For a doctor to prescribe the correct treatment, they need to know the specific disease causing a patient’s symptoms. The same is true for growers. When they see disease symptoms in a field, they need to know the underlying cause in order to correctly treat their crop.

Recent trainings in Guam helped improve the ability of agricultural professionals and others in the Pacific islands to make those diagnoses.

IPM Experience is Helping Schools Plan for Reopening Amid COVID Concerns

As students return to classrooms in the fall of 2020, coronavirus is very much on people’s minds. In the West, having an IPM program in place seems to be helping schools plan for reopening.

Protecting the Trees that Protect Guam

On the island of Guam, species as different as cucumbers, sea turtles and bananas are all protected in one way or another by ironwood trees, a type of evergreen native to Australia. The problem is many of those trees are dying.

Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle

In 2015, the Invasive Species Insects Subgroup focused on coconut rhinoceros beetle, an invasive insect spreading across the Pacific. In March of that year, a work group gathered after the Hawaiian Entomological Society meeting to share the latest information and research on the beetle.

Team Helps Combat Decline of Guam Ironwood Trees

In 2002, a local farmer noticed several Guam ironwood  trees planted in a single-row windbreak were dying.  By 2005, what became known as Ironwood Tree Decline was  widespread across the island, with some sites seeing more  than half of their ironwoods in distress.  Now researchers are beginning to understand why - and reverse the decline.

School IPM Protects Kids from Pests and Pesticides

Both pests and pesticides are potentially harmful for kids and adults in schools. Common schools pests like the German cockroach or mice can carry disease and cause allergic responses. And children can be more at risk for harm from sprayed pesticides because of their behavior – playing on the floor or in grassy fields, for instance – and because of their developing physiology.

IPM Adoption is Widespread in the West

Many integrated pest management practices are so widely adopted in Western agriculture they have become conventional pest management. That is one of the key findings of a new report by the Western Integrated Pest Management Center titled Adoption and Impacts of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture in the Western United States.

Toolkit for Assessing IPM Outcomes and Impacts

The Western IPM Center’s IPM Adoption and Impacts Assessment Work Group, a collection of natural and social scientists from across the country, created online resources showing IPM researchers how to conduct basic impact assessments.

Pollinator Protection in the Pacific

The need to protect and conserve beneficial insects - especially pollinators - is being increasingly recognized. The Western IPM Center led the Pacific Pollinator Protection Program, a Center signature project, to help Pacific Island growers protect these valuable species.

Water Quality Protection

To protect water sources from pollution by pesticides, one of the first Western IPM Center signature projects created training materials for proper pesticide application for agriculture, professional landscapers and homeowners. In a little more than one year, the slides were downloaded 106 times in 20 U.S. states and one Canadian province, and used to train more than 1,400 people.

VIDEO: Functional Agricultural Biodiversity
Farmers embracing functional agricultural biodiversity incorporate habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife on their farms - and benefit from the ecosystem service that habitat provides.
Eco-Label Programs Promote IPM, but Aren't Perfect

Eco-label programs  have clear benefits and promote more sustainable pest-management and growing practices. They also provide certain benefits for growers but have downsides as well. Significant differences between the programs can make judging eco labels challenging for consumers, and with dozens of similar yet competing certification programs and standards, chaos is likely for the foreseeable future.

VIDEO: Urban Farm Pest Pressures and Solutions
Learn about the pest pressures faced by urban farmers -- and how integrated pest management provides economical solutions -- with Ariel Agenbroad, Local Food & Farms Advisor with University of Idaho Extension.
VIDEO: Where to Get Good Gardening Advice
In this video, Ariel Agenbroad from University of Idaho offers great tips for home gardeners about where to get good pest-management advice.