It may not be a household concept, but integrated pest management (IPM) is the talk of the farm. About 90 percent of the state's growers or producers use at least one form of IPM, while hundreds of the state's growers rely completely on these practices, according to the recently released New York State Integrated Pest Management Program's 1996 Annual Report.

"Agriculture isn't the same as it was 10 years ago," said James P. Tette, director of the program. "Producers understand IPM and biological control, and they want to incorporate these practices into their production systems." Integrated pest management is the multistrategy approach agriculturists employ to reduce pesticide use, while obtaining high yields in the orchards and fields. Tactics include crop rotation, the use of natural/biological control methods, pest-resistant plant varieties, biopesticides, and pest attractants and repellents.

This year's annual report features IPM's "Ten Benefits for New Yorkers," which include more businesses and jobs, better application technology, improved food quality and reduced loss, as well as more judicious pesticide use.

Examples of IPM success abound. Last year, in Orange County, 49 onion producers participated in a disease-forecasting project developed by the IPM program. Those growers made 39 percent fewer fungicide applications than growers who did not use disease forecasting, according to the annual report.

Many squash, melon, cucumber and pumpkin growers in New York who followed IPM protocols last year saved an average of three insecticide applications in the season.

"Consumers have changed in the past 10 years, too," Tette said. "They still want blemish-free fruits and vegetables, but they also seek a food supply that has fewer synthetic pesticides. I think we have exceeded their expectations of this program by reducing pesticide use and bringing alternatives to our producers."

The New York Legislature appropriated $837,000 for IPM last year, bringing the state funding to $7.9 million over the past decade. IPM researchers also have attracted more than $800,000 in federal funds. New York growers have contributed more than $2 million over the past decade, while in 1995 dairy and field crops farmers paid $500,000 for regional and private IPM scouting services. Forty-five IPM projects were funded in the state last year, extending to producers in 33 counties, according to the annual report.

"As the New York state IPM program matures, it continues to stimulate New York's economy with the creation of jobs, increased business opportunities and the leveraging of non- state funds," said Donald R. Davidsen, D.V.M., commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in that annual report. "It continues to offer a proactive educational approach to the issues surrounding pesticide use related to health and environmental concerns." Some of the major 1995 IPM projects included:

IPM for grain corn production. New York IPM research showed that crop rotation could eliminate the need for certain insecticides, that moldboard tillage practices could reduce the need for herbicide use by up to 60 percent, and that these practices increase grower profitability.

• The use of bees to control a strawberry disease. Honeybees and bumblebees are being used to successfully carry the beneficial fungus Trichoderma harzianum to control botrytis cinerea, commonly known as gray mold on strawberries.
• Controlling onion maggots. For more than two decades, researchers and onion growers in New York have been waging a winning battle with the onion maggot. The onion market value is worth between $50 and $75 million, and it costs the average grower between $2,500 and $3,000 an acre to plant the onions. By using proven IPM strategies, such as rotating onion crops with sudan grasses and planting genetically pest- resistant onion varieties, researchers have significantly reduced the need for pesticides.
• Controlling European corn borer in sweet corn. Sweet corn in New York faces threats from many problems, including pests like the European corn borer, the fall army worm and the corn earworm. Over the past 13 years, Cornell researchers have developed methods for reducing commercial pesticide use by as much as 65 percent and saving the New York corn growers as much as $500,000 annually.
• Using IPM methods on potatoes: This humble plant is susceptible to a variety of problems, including the Colorado potato beetle and late blight, which is the fungus responsible for the Irish potato famine. Researchers have found that crop rotation and trench traps reduced the incidence of the beetle. IPM strategists work closely with extension agents and researchers to pinpoint outbreaks of potentially devastating late blight.