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Integrated Pest Management Florida Newsletter - V1N1

Computer Programs Combat Crickets and Flies

Help is on the way for UF/IFAS researchers who are battling mole crickets and whiteflies. MCRICKET and WHITEFLY, two IBM compatible software packages contain knowledgebases and tutorials on the pesky critters that plague Florida.

The mole cricket knowledgebase provides information on all 10 species found in North America, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Distribution, description, life cycle, damage and biological controls are included as well as an identification key that contains graphics and photographs. A separate control section lists information on damage for various crops, and chemical and biological control methods.

Tutorials acquaint the user with the basic concepts of mole cricket control. The proper calibration of equipment and spray mixtures is emphasized in a chemical tutorial. Two others, one on the mole cricket nematode and another on the Brazilian red-eyed fly, introduces users to the necessary concepts required for the proper use of these natural organisms. Concepts range from training personnel in basic identification of a fly or nematode to the necessary procedures for optimizing the use of the specific fly and nematode species that control mole crickets.

Technical and scientific terms throughout the program are defined through the use of hyperlinks. These are words or buttons that users can click on with a mouse or keyboard to access popup windows providing the definitions. All definitions are crosslinked for reference and many have photographs of mole crickets, body parts, nematodes, redeyed fly and turfgrass related subjects.

To run the program users must have a VGA monitor and video card. Other than that, any personal computer with 3.3 MB of hard disk space, 640 KB of RAM and one floppy drive can run MCRICKET. Text can be printed on any printer. Graphics printing is not built into the program. However, a $20 shareware program called LJVGA allows the user to print graphics and photographs on a Hewlett Packard compatible printer with at least 1 MB of RAM by simply pressing the print screen key. LJVGA can be obtained by calling Ares Technologies at (813) 572-7453. Order forms for LJVGA can be requested by E-mail from Tom Fasulo by sending a request to his VAX account: GNV::FASULO or to fasulo@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu over the Internet.

MCRICKET, available from the UF/IFAS Software Support Office, is free to UF/IFAS faculty and Cooperative Extension offices. For nonIFAS faculty the cost is $30 plus 6 percent tax for Florida residents and educational institutions, $40 for all others. Prepayment by check or VISA/MasterCard is required. Checks should be made payable to the University of Florida. Orders should be sent to: University of Florida, IFAS Software Support, P.O. 110340,Gainesville, Fla. 32611-0340. For more information, call the UF/IFAS Software Support Office at (904) 392-7853. MCRICKET was developed by UF entomologists Howard Frank, Don Short and Tom Fasulo and Extension agents Harold Jones of Duval County, and LaRue Robinson of Pinellas County.

WHITEFLY is a computerized, hypertext knowledgebase on the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius). The program contains information on sweetpotato whitefly identification, biology, life cycle, damage, management, and control. WHITEFLY also contains information on the bandedwinged whitefly, Trialeurodes abutilonea (Haldeman); the greenhouse whitefly, T. vaporariorum (Westwood); and the silverleaf whitefly, B. argentifolii Bellows & Perring.

Users can identify which species is causing them problems by pressing a graphical key. The key works for every stage in the whitefly life cycle, egg through adult. However, only the fourth instar/pupa stage key allows competent identification of silverleaf or sweetpotato whiteflies.

Whitefly experts in California, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas provided information, graphics and photographs contained in the WHITEFLY knowledgebase. While the program contains management information specific to several diverse geographical locations in the United States, it has a feature, called Reader's Notes, that allows users to add and edit their own information on every screen. The feature even allows users to save these notes to ASCII files for printing.

Text highlighted in blue can be "clicked on" to call a popup definition. Text highlighted in red is linked to over 70 screen graphics and color photographs. Many are full screen in size. The program also contains a number of scanning electron microscope photographs that show high resolution detail.

WHITEFLY comes with a self-install program that checks for system requirements, creates directories, and loads files onto your system's hard drive. Text can be printed on any printer. Graphics or photographs can be printed on any Hewlett-Packard LaserJet or compatible printer. The knowledgebase runs on any IBMcompatible personal computer with 640 KB of RAM, 4.7 MB of hard disk storage space, and a VGA monitor and video card.

The cost is $30, plus $5 shipping and handling in the United States. Prices vary for international orders. Payment may be made by check or credit card. To order send payment to: Formedia, Inc., 448 W. 16th St., Third Floor, New York, N.Y. 10011. For more information, call (212) 6756444 between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or fax (212) 675-9006.

IPM on the Internet

Tired of "surfing" the Internet in search of materials on Integrated Pest Management? Then check out these locations which can be accessed via e-mail, or through the GOPHER browser to GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU, or through the World Wide Web.

CITExtension

An ES-USDA bi-monthly newsletter focusing on communications and technology. CITE includes announcements of new extension resources available over Internet. To subscribe, send a message via e-mail to almanac@esusda.gov with the command: subscribe usda.cite. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to almanac@esusda.gov with the command: unsubscribe usda.cite.

Electronic Journal of Extension

The Journal of Extension is the official refereed publication of the Cooperative Extension System. Article retrieval and searching is available beginning with the Winter 1987 issue. To subscribe send a message via e-mail to almanac@joe.uwex.edu with the command: subscribe joe. To unsubscribe send E-mail to almanac@joe.uwex.edu with the command: unsubscribe joe. For more details send an E-mail message to almanac@joe.uwex.edu with the command: send joe catalog.

Pesticide Information Profiles (PIPS)

Information on the health and environmental effects of specific pesticides is provided. Send E-mail to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu with the command: send pip catalog. To receive a profile, send E-mail to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu with the command: send pip and the file name, for example: send pip 2-4-d.osu to get the profile for 2,4-D.

Center for Integrated Pest Management

CIPM provides information on basic and applied research and related implementation projects in IPM, training, and public awareness for IPM at the state, regional, and national level.

National IPM Network

The National IPM Network is a University/Extension/Government/Industry supported WWW system to provide the most accurate urban and agricultural IPM information.

Entomology Bulletin Boards

Pesticide Special Review and Reregistration Information System is a public access BBS brought to you by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The files center around the progress and decisions resulting from reexamination of data on existing pesticides, many of them having been on the market for years, and many of them being high-use or well-known chemicals in agriculture, industry, and the home. (703) 308-7224.

Potato, Sweet Corn, and Tomato Growers Adopt IPM

Potato, Sweet Corn, and Tomato Growers Adopt IPM Most of Florida's potato, sweet corn, and tomato growers have adopted IPM programs. Sustainable Agriculture Surveys conducted by IFAS in 1994 show that IPM has been adopted in over 80% of Florida's acreage of these vegetables. IPM strategies include a combination of biological, cultural, and chemical controls. Scouting for insects, diseases, nematodes, and weeds is an important component. Control methods rely on a combination of appropriate techniques, including the use of natural enemies, planting of resistant varieties, limited use of pesticides, among others.

Sarasota County's Mandatory IPM Program Update

Sarasota County government implemented a mandatory IPM program for inside and outside all of its facilities in 1991. It is the first county in Florida, and perhaps the nation, to institute such a comprehensive program designed to reduce usage and exposure to pesticides. The program uses least toxic IPM procedures to control insects, weeds, and diseases at all county government facilities, roadsides, and stormwater canals. Components include a detailed administrative directive, an interdepartmental working group, employee training, and advice from a citizen Environmental Pest Management Advisory Group. Program results include an annual savings of $20,000 in interior pest control, by switching from a set spray contract to an in-house approach using bait stations, and reduced pesticide usage by about 50%. The program is becoming a model for the nation and sets an example for the citizenry in environmentally sound pest management.

Now, the School Board and the city of Sarasota are pursuing implementation, and several area commercial pest control companies are offering IPM services. The Sarasota County Cooperative Extension Service and the Environmental Pest Management Advisory Board are preparing a detailed IPM manual for the Sarasota County government. A model IPM Administrative Directive, based on the one used in Sarasota, has been prepared so that other Florida counties can adapt it for their use. Four IPM brochures have been produced: The Smart Way to Avoid Landscape Pests and Other Problems, What's Bugging Me?, A Homeowner's Guide to Indoor Pest Control, A Homeowner's Guide to Integrated Plant Disease Management. For additional information, contact Michael Holsinger, Director of the Sarasota County Cooperative Extension Service, 2900 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, Fl 34237.

UF Discovers Biopesticide

COMMON NAME OF BIOPESTICIDE: PFR-97 TM

LATIN NAME: Paecilomyces fumosoroseus

COMMODITIES AND SITES: Ornamentals and vegetables

TARGET PESTS: two-spotted spider mite, silverleaf whitefly (other pests to be evaluated, when available)

FORMULATION: 20% WDG (20% active ingredients)

Dr. Lance S. Osborne, a UF entomologist at the Central Florida Research and Education Center, has discovered a fungus that attacks insects, in Apopka, Florida. A patent has been issued and the technology has been licensed to W.R. Grace and Co. - Conn. The formulation, developed in cooperation with the University of Florida, is now being used in Europe for the management of pests attacking both vegetables and ornamentals in greenhouses. Because of its safety to beneficial organisms, one of Europe's largest producers of beneficials, Biobest Biological Systems, is marketing the product throughout Europe. Although submitted to the EPA for registration in February 1994, the product's registration is still pending. Studies show that this biopesticide is effective on a number of pests, including the two-spotted spider mite and the silverleaf whitefly.

UF Scientists Set Trap for Pests

A new "trap" designed to shut the door on annoying pests in the citrus and foliage industries may be of use to home gardeners who prefer not to use toxic pesticides, says UF/IFAS entomologist Russ Mizell.

Mizell, of the North Florida Research and Education Center in Monticello, has redesigned a trap to help control pesky insects. The Tedders trap --renamed after original inventor Louis Tedders--uses an integrated pest management approach.

"The darker Masonite base of the new trap fools insects into thinking it's a tree," said Mizell. Once the critters climb to the top of the 4- foot, pyramid-shaped device and fall into a funnel collector, they can't get back out. "The trap is inexpensive and easy to use," Mizell said. "It catches both male and female insects, so it can help suppress pest numbers by removing females from the population."

UF/IFAS scientists are researching how changing the color of the trap and adding different baits, such as alcohol or turpentine, may affect the variety of insects the trap can collect. "This method offers homeowners and organic growers alternative control measures," Mizell said. "Removing pests with a few traps that are inexpensive and easy to use is an effective and safe solution."

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