Transcript IPM vs. Sudden Oak Death

IPM vs. Sudden
Oak Death
By: Anna Billiard
IPM
What is IPM
 IPM
is an approach to remove harmful
organisms
 IPM approach is based more on smarts
and less on squirting pesticides at the
wrong tree.
Why Use IPM

While chemicals can be part of the IPM
program, they are not always the best or the
only solution to a pest problem. Chemicals
can be costly and dangerous or inefficient
when used incorrectly. We need to
understand the behavior of a pest to manage
it efficiently. Part of IPM is targeting the pest
location rather than wasting time and money
guessing where it may be and covering a
larger area that really doesn’t need to be
treated. This reduces pesticide use and
directs management to the proper site.
The Six Steps to IPM
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Identify the pest's): Look at it, take a picture, look it
up.
Understand the pest: what’s its life cycle? What does
it eat?
Monitor the pest: Watch and learn
Establish the consequences of the infestation: Is it
worth the time and money to exterminate? What if
you don’t exterminate it? What will happen? What
will be lost?
Find your strategy: Mechanical? Chemical?
Biological?
Evaluate and improve: How did you do? What could
you have done better?
The Six Tactics of IPM
 How
many is too many? Control vs.
eradication. Acceptable numbers are site
specific. It might be acceptable to have
10,000 pests at the racetrack, but not at
your home.
 Preventing the spread. You need to do
more than wash your hands. Remove the
diseased plants before they infect others.
The Six Tactics of IPM (cont.)
 Observation,
Observation, Observation!
Write observations down (temperatures,
species of tree, etc.) Identify your pest,
then draw conclusions. Finding out the life
and reproduction cycles of your pest can
help you to determine the best time to
eliminate your infestation.
The Six Tactics of IPM (cont.)
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Mechanical controls are the easiest way to
get rid of your pest. They include erecting
insect barriers, using traps, and vacuuming.
Don’t use the canon to kill the mosquito!
Instead, use the fly swatter.
Biological controls are low cost and have
minimal impact on the environment. They
include natural pesticides and bringing in a
natural predator to your infested area. Bring in
the cat to kill the rat.
The Six Tactics of IPM (cont.)
 Chemical
controls should be your last
resort. They harm the environment and
often leave traces on the plants fruit.
Synthetic pesticides are made in a factory
and are the best example of a chemical
control.
Sudden Oak Death
Introductions
We aren’t sure where Sudden Oak Death
is from. The most likely answer, however, is
that it is non-native originating in
Germany and the Netherlands.
 The scientific name of Sudden Oak Death
is Phytophthora ramorum
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Appearance
 When
infected, the tree will
start to “bleed”, or leak a dark
substance from the base of the trunk
 Hard, golf-ball size, dome-shaped fungal
bodies, which start out green and turn
black
 Leaves will rapidly change color
from green to brown.
Life Cycle
 Sudden
Oak Death’s life cycle includes
an airborne phase, where spores float in
the air until they land on an acceptable
tree, particularly where water is available.
Sudden Oak Death survives in soil for long
periods, when a host isn’t present. After
penetrating the leaf surface or bark of its
host, Sudden Oak Death spreads through
host tissue, producing leaf spots, dying
twigs, and bleeding on the tree’s trunk.
Life Cycle
Impact
 No
current impact in Pennsylvania,
however, it is possible that we may be
infested later.
How to use IPM against
Sudden Oak Death
 The
chemical approach is the only one
that seems to be working