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.
Connecting Wyoming and Hawaii with Agricultural Domes
At first glance, agriculture in Wyoming and agriculture on Hawaii or Guam don’t have much in common. But growers in both the tropical Pacific and the northern prairie can benefit from enclosed production spaces – structures like hoop houses, high tunnels or geodesic domes – which is why Wyoming-developed domes will soon be popping up in the islands.
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.
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.
Bed Bug Website and Work Group Share Knowledge and Resources
Through a website or workshop, the members of the Western IPM Bed Bug Work Group can teach you everything you ever wanted to know about bed bugs – and then some.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.