Western Integrated Pest Management Center

 

These projects were funded by the Western IPM Center's 2025 grants. 

For more details about a project, or to find one not listed here, see the Recent Projects page or use the search function on the IPM Projects Interagency Database

 

WORK GROUPS

Pulse Crops Work Group 2025

Project Director: Uta McKelvy, Assistant Professor Extension Plant Pathology, Montana State University

Pulse crops like field peas, chickpeas and lentils play a vital role in sustainable agriculture across semi-arid regions of the United States. These crops improve soil health through biological nitrogen fixation while requiring less water and fertilizer than traditional crops. However, increasing pulse crop production brings challenges including soil-borne diseases, herbicide-resistant weeds and fungicide-resistant pathogens.

The Pulse Crop Work Group addresses these challenges by fostering collaboration among researchers, extension professionals and industry stakeholders. Building on previous success that secured over $7 million in grants, the group will focus on several key objectives in 2025. These include promoting collaborative relationships through various meeting formats, encouraging participation from students and early career professionals, assessing grower and industry needs and developing educational materials. The work group will maintain an up-to-date website to share these resources and provide timely pest updates. Its work aligns with Western IPM Center priorities, particularly in pest resistance management, soil-borne pest control and building integrated pest management capacity.

Through its extensive network, the group serves as a key resource for addressing emerging pest and disease challenges in pulse crops. This continued collaboration supports the development and adoption of effective, sustainable pest management solutions for pulse crop production systems throughout the Western United States. By sharing knowledge and resources, the working group strengthens the pulse crop industry's ability to implement environmentally sound pest management practices.

Expanding the Possibilities for Crop Rotation in Annual Cropping Systems in the Sacramento Valley

Project Director: Whitney Brim-DeForest, Cooperative Extension Advisor, University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

California rice systems face the highest number of herbicide-resistant weed species in the United States. While crop rotation effectively manages herbicide resistance, it remains rare in California rice production due to water requirements, economic constraints and soil limitations. Despite these challenges, a 2020 study revealed significant grower interest in learning about rotation benefits. Currently, only about 12,000 of California's 500,000 rice acres rotate with annual crops. Processing tomatoes offer a profitable rotation option, but switching between irrigation systems creates logistical challenges. Some innovative growers have begun experimenting with drip-tape irrigation for rice following tomatoes, but research-based guidelines are lacking.

This project continues the work of an established Rice work group exploring the feasibility of crop rotation within existing drip-tape irrigation infrastructure as an integrated pest management strategy. Key objectives include conducting an economic assessment of tomato-rice rotation using drip irrigation, developing a crop-rotation decision support tool, and designing a long-term research and extension plan.

The work group brings together diverse stakeholders including growers, extension faculty, pest control advisors and industry members. Their collaboration ensures that research and decision-making tools address real-world needs. The project will enhance extension specialists' ability to provide educational resources through publications, workshops and field days. Ultimately, this work will strengthen networks among stakeholders, helping address future integrated pest management challenges in rice production while providing growers with essential information for implementing sustainable weed management through crop rotation.

Western Invasive Plant Risk Evaluation Network 2025

Project Director: Jutta Burger, Science Program Director, California Invasive Plant Council

The Western Invasive Plant Risk Evaluation Network brings together partners from Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona to assess non-native plants that may become invasive and to communicate early detections. Established in 2021 with Western Integrated Pest Management Center support, partners use assessment results to inform state evaluations and landscaping guidelines.

In 2025, the California Invasive Plant Council proposes expanding the Network to include university extension Master Gardeners, creating a powerful connection with urban communities. Two online workshops will be developed to provide information on horticultural invasive plants and risk assessments. Outreach efforts will specifically target underserved communities, including the Yurok and Karuk tribes of Northern California.

The Network uses the online Plant Risk Evaluator tool, originally developed by UC Davis and the University of Washington in 2015. Since 2020, the California Invasive Plant Council has maintained this tool, rebuilding it on a new web platform and updating its climate-matching capabilities. For 2025, the Network will facilitate evaluation of at least 18 plant species across the five partner states, train additional evaluators and horticultural reviewers, engage Master Gardener groups through educational workshops and make the database of evaluations accessible to the general public.

These efforts strengthen prevention as a key component of integrated pest management, which is particularly valuable because many plants experience a lag phase before becoming invasive and because invasiveness varies across environments. The Network serves as an early detection communication system supporting these evaluations, ultimately improving invasive plant prevention throughout the Western Region.

 

OUTREACH AND IMPLEMENTATION

Regional Education and IPM Implementation Program for Emerald Ash Borer in Urban Landscapes

Project Director: Kadie Britt, IPM Program Manager, Colorado State University

Emerald ash borer is an invasive, devastating pest destroying ash trees throughout North America. This beetle's larval feeding disrupts tree functions and can kill ash trees within just a few years when infestations remain undetected, resulting in significant economic and environmental losses that could be prevented with proper awareness and management. Within the Western Region, emerald ash borer has been present in Colorado since 2013 and Oregon since 2022. The situation in Colorado continues to worsen, while Utah, Montana and Wyoming have yet to detect this pest. This timing presents an ideal opportunity for an intensive outreach campaign targeting key stakeholders across these five states.

To conduct an impactful outreach campaign, the project team will implement four main objectives. They will convene a work group with project leaders and relevant stakeholders to establish a common communication strategy and recommendations for mitigating emerald ash borer impacts on urban forests. Additional objectives include organizing workshops and community events to educate homeowners and municipalities about integrated pest management practices, developing print and digital outreach materials in both English and Spanish, and creating a social media campaign to share information and recommendations.

By providing timely education and practical management strategies, this project aims to improve early detection, prevention and management of emerald ash borer, ultimately protecting urban forests throughout the Western United States from this destructive pest.

 

PROJECT INITIATION

Scorpion Targeted Intervention and Next Generation Solutions: S.T.I.N.G.S.

Project Director: John Agnew II, PhD Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant, New Mexico State University

Scorpions are predatory arachnids distributed worldwide except in Antarctica. While most of the 2,500-plus species are beneficial, approximately 104 species are medically relevant. The United States has only one medically relevant species, the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus) found from California to Texas with the highest prevalence in Arizona.

Originally problematic only in low-density housing near open spaces, these scorpions have become prevalent in high-density human populations. In suburban Phoenix, hundreds can be collected in areas less than a few hundred meters. This proximity has led to numerous envenomation incidents, with thousands reported to poison control centers annually – often exceeding combined snake and spider envenomations.

Arizona bark scorpions produce stings that can cause intense pain lasting days, local or regional paralysis, and potentially life-threatening symptoms including vital organ failure. Envenomation of infants or small children requires medical care and often hospitalization. Due to these health risks, there is low tolerance for scorpions in homes and workplaces, but most insecticide applications have poor efficacy.

This project proposes a multi-objective approach adapting strategies from related entomology fields for urban use. Researchers will determine scorpion activity during lunar fluctuations to develop spray techniques targeting active foraging periods through both field and laboratory studies. Additionally, they will evaluate resistance levels of urban versus natural scorpion populations to commonly used insecticides, primarily pyrethroids. Both objectives aim to create strategies for controlling Arizona bark scorpion populations and advance the development of integrated pest management techniques.

Organic Cotton: A Potential Path to Year-Round Sustainability and Profitability

Project Director: Macey Keith, Assistant in Extension, University of Arizona

Arizona is positioned to lead organic cotton production in the United States due to its certified organic acreage, favorable climate and agricultural infrastructure. Priced 50 to 100 percent higher than conventional cotton, organic cotton offers a lucrative rotational crop between spring and fall produce, benefiting both economic and environmental sustainability. However, effective pest management remains a critical challenge.

Building on summer 2024 trials at the University of Arizona's research centers, the proposed 2025 trials will address a fundamental question: Are organic insecticides effective against key pests like whiteflies, Lygus bugs and cotton fleahoppers, or do they disrupt beneficial insects and trigger pest resurgences? This research will investigate both the efficacy and ecological impacts of organic insecticides to inform sustainable pest management strategies.

The work is essential for validating organic pest control methods by assessing effectiveness, non-target effects and sustainability. Results will equip growers with tools to expand organic cotton production while maintaining ecological integrity and economic viability. Future research will explore broader integrated pest management strategies, such as using alfalfa borders to attract pests and support beneficial insects.

Organic cotton faces unique challenges compared to conventional systems, lacking advantages like genetically modified traits and selective chemicals that reduce pest populations while preserving biological control. As a long-season crop, organic cotton risks significant losses if pesticide use disrupts natural enemies, making evidence of organic insecticide efficacy essential.

Promoting Seed Plant Quality of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) in Guam and Micronesia Pacific Islands

Project Director: Yin Yin Nwe, Research scholar, University of Guam

Micronesia Pacific Island territories face increasing food and nutrition security challenges due to decreased local food production. Sweet potato serves as an important staple crop in these regions, playing significant roles in the economy and culture while functioning as a health-promoting food that helps prevent non-communicable diseases – a critical health issue in Pacific Islands.

Sweet potato offers great potential to enhance food and nutrition security because of its flexible cropping schedule, short growing season, lower labor requirements, and minimal soil nutrient needs. Despite these advantages, sweet potato yields and quality remain low in Micronesia. Virus-caused variety degeneration and lack of quality seed plants present major constraints to improved production.

This research project will conduct virus indexing, propagation and distribution of virus-tested quality seed plants from the University of Guam's in vitro sweet potato collection to farmers in Guam and collaborating insular institutions. The project will develop guidelines for sweet potato virus indexing and clean seed plant production for researchers and extension personnel throughout the Pacific region.

The project will provide initiatives for clean sweetpotato seed plant production and will be accessible to subsistence farmers in the geographically isolated underserved Pacific Islands through the local Land grant institutions. The regional partnership between stakeholders, researchers and extension personnel will benefit Pacific Islanders by facilitating access to popular varieties like Okinawan and advanced varieties with resistance to biotic stress.

Educational opportunities will include a workshop, fact sheets and presentations at local conferences. This network will enable information sharing between insular institutions, accelerating the production and distribution of clean seed plants to improve sustainable and efficient local crop production adapted to the climate in the Western Pacific.

Advancing Seedling Health: Evaluating Chitosan for Disease Management in Forestry Nurseries

Project Director: Lydia Tymon, Senion Director of R&D, Mast Reforestation

The Western United States faces an unprecedented demand for reforestation seedlings due to increasingly frequent and intense wildfires. In 2024 alone, wildfires impacted over one million acres in California, with significant losses also in Washington and Oregon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a six-fold increase in large wildfire risks by 2050, making reforestation efforts crucial for restoring environmental, ecological and economic services.

Private nurseries, which produce 83 percent of seedlings in the Western Region, face significant threats from soilborne pathogens like Fusarium and Cylindrocarpon species. For example, Cylindrocarpon caused a 74% loss of Douglas-fir seedlings at the Silvaseed Company in 2022. Current management options are limited, particularly in bare root nurseries where only two fungicides are available for Fusarium management and two for Cylindrocarpon management. Overuse of these products raises concerns about resistance development.

Chitosan, a polysaccharide derived from crustacean shells, offers a promising alternative for managing soilborne diseases. Studies show that chitosan can reduce fungal growth, alter pathogen morphology and trigger plant defense mechanisms. Applications have improved survival rates in forestry seedlings infected by damping-off pathogens and increased drought tolerance.

This project aims to evaluate the efficacy of chitosan compared to conventional fungicides in managing soilborne diseases in Douglas-fir seedlings. The research will be conducted in both greenhouse and field settings to determine practical applications for forestry nursery production.