Organic insecticides a major tool for growersBy Dr. Ayanava Majumdar (Dr. A)Extension Entomologist and State SARE Program Coordinator,Alabama Extension, Auburn UniversityOrganic farming can provide good quality local produce and can sustain family farms. However, insect pests are one of the major limiting factors for organic and sustainable vegetable crop production systems. Insect pests are a major threat to ma-ture crops; that is why action thresholds are almost zero for crops near harvest due to fear of direct crop loss and produce contamination. That also means that the best way to manage insect pests is to use PREVENTION TACTICS that prevent ma-jor crop disaster on small family farms. This article is based on many years of successful on-farm and research studies done across Alabama since 2010. The Alabama Vegetable IPM/Small Farm program is one of the most strategic Extension projects in the state, supported by research and educational grants exceeding $4 million. For more details, visit www.aces.edu/vegetableipm.

The USDA National Organic Program recommends three lev-els of pest management, namely, systems-based practices (va-riety selection, sanitation, trap crops, etc.), mechanical practic-es (pest exclusion, vacuum control, etc.), and use of biorational insecticides as the last resort. Biorational insecticides are com-mercial formulations that pose minimum risk to non-target organisms, including beneficial insects and pollinators. These insecticides are the last resort but are critical to farms that have chronic pest issues. Use of integrated pest management tactics as pest prevention and avoidance strategies is also acceptable by nationwide agencies like NRCS that use their PAMS ap-proach to conservation incentive programs (PAMS = Preven-tion, Avoidance, Monitoring, Suppression).

Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.

What’s insideCCD webinars page ........... 3 High tunnel workshop ....... 3

Coming upApril 16 - Third Thursday Thing, Kentucky State Uni-versity Farm, Frankfort, KY. Click here for details.

April 16 - Grant Writing Workshop, Aquaculture Research Center, Kentucky State University, 103 Ath-letic Drive, Frankfort, KY. To register, please contact Richard Bryant at 502-330-8676. For more information, click here.

April 16 - Discerning Pal-lets: Growers’ Experiences Selling Their Crops Through Food Hubs webinar, 3:30-4:45 p.m. EDT. Click here for more information.

April 17-18 - 2015 Union College Redbud Festival of Appalachian Culture, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Union College, Barbourville, KY. For details, click here.

April 2015

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND KENTUCKY COUNTIES, COOPERATING

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Miranda Hileman Combs, EditorChristy Cassady, Editor/Designer

its the material deep into the crop canopy. If you are using a boom with a single nozzle, then it is a good idea to spray from bottom-to-top, target-ing the underside of leaves to protect the insecti-cide from forces of nature and also to maximize exposure of pest insects hiding underneath. Allow excess insecticide solution to drip to the ground where insect pests jumping off the plant may get contaminated.

Frequent spraying at the right time: Don’t lose faith in using university-recommended and ap-proved insecticides. Many of the bioinsecticides containing live microorganisms are slow-acting; they must be used when insects are small or in low numbers. Bioinsecticides are slow when there is a pest outbreak and damage is already done! In our research trials, weekly treatment of Xentari, PyGanic or the tank-mix of the products in the fall can reduce yield loss in cabbages by about 50 percent (photo above, assessment under high cab-bage butterfly pressure in open field crop). Stop using any organic insecticide when not needed – so constant scouting is vital to judicious and eco-nomic use of these products. When in doubt about a pest, contact your coun-ty Extension office and always start with proper identification before taking any control measures. Alabama Extension IPM project has a bioinsecti-cide training module and videos located at www.aces.edu/vegetableipm. To stay informed about ag events and updates, subscribe to the Alabama IPM Communicator newsletter (www.aces.edu/ipmcommunicator). Email: bugdoctor@auburn.edu.

Overall, organic insecticides fall into four catego-ries: 1. Physical poisons (examples, diatomaceous earth, kaolin clay); 2. Contact poison (examples, pyrethrum, spinosad, paraffinic oils, vegetable oils and many others); 3. Stomach poison (examples, Bt products); 4. Volatile compounds/masking agents (examples, cinnamon, garlic). A detailed descrip-tion of products in the above categories for com-mercial vegetable producers and home gardeners can be found at http://goo.gl/CpgxkF (Extension Bulletin ANR-1428). Below are some general tips for maximizing your benefit from organic insecti-cides based on many years of research and dem-onstration.

Use insect pest monitoring systems along with scouting: Insect monitoring tools like the phero-mone traps are very effective in alerting to upcom-ing danger. Together with direct crop scouting, sticky traps with pheromones can be very effective to use bioinsecticides preventively. Such is the case with squash vine borers in the South, which can devastate home gardens and crops on small farms. Use of Bt (Xentari) in rotation or tank-mixed with natural pyrethrum after first detection of moths in traps may reduce pest pressure and allow vines to live longer for better fruit production. Use of yellow sticky traps (especially in greenhouses and high tunnels) can be very effective for trapping out aphids and trigger insecticide spray such as Beauveria bassiana – a beneficial fungus (Mycotrol) and paraffinic oil (Suffoil or JMS Stylet oil).

Spray in evening hours: Always spray insecticides in the evening hours when bees are absent from the crop. Never use any organic insecticide over the top of bees and other pollinators because it can be risky. Foliar treatment of liquid insecticides during evening hours allows the solution to dry out on the leaves, which dramatically reduces the risk to pollinators.

Spray bottom-to-top: Typically, all liquid insecti-cides are sprayed from top-to-bottom with a sin-gle boom. This deposits much of the insecticide on top of leaves and leaves them vulnerable to rapid degradation from rain and sunlight. In the major-ity of our small plot research, we use a backpack sprayer with three nozzles mounted on a long boom that gives good spray coverage and depos-

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Photo courtesy of Dr. Ayanava Majumdar

New webinars page features recordings of high tunnel seriesThe Center for Crop Diversification is pleased to announce that our six-part High Tunnel Webinar Series has been completed and all of the record-ings are available on our new webinars page: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CCD/webinars.html. Each of the recordings is available, along with the resources presented during each webinar. Feel free to contact the Extension and research special-ists who presented information during the series – their contact information is available in each presentation. They are happy to help you move forward with your high tunnel questions. Overall, the series went very well; we had a great response from participants, and hope that this information has helped you get started growing in your high tunnel this year! These webinars will be available to you anytime, for free. Enjoy, and we hope they are helpful!

Check out the KDA CSA DirectoryA CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture program, is a program in which a community of individuals share both the bounty and the risk of a farm or group of farms. Typically, members of the CSA pay the farmer(s) in advance for weekly shares of the farm’s harvest. Many CSAs in Ken-tucky offer a variety of vegetables, small fruits and herbs; some even include egg and meat shares. Each CSA is unique, so as a consumer, it’s a great way to learn more about your farmer(s) and how

you are connected to the land. The Kentucky De-partment of Agriculture maintains a list of CSAs that have registered with them. The list is avail-able at http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/docu-ments/CSA_Directory.pdf. Feel free to contact any CSA you may be interested in. For further in-formation, or to list your own CSA with KDA, vis-it http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/CSA.html.

OAK, KSU team up to hosthigh tunnel best practices eventThe Organic Association of Kentucky has been hosting field days to engage more folks in the con-versation about organic in Kentucky. On Thurs-day, April 16th, OAK and Kentucky State Univer-sity’s Third Thursday Thing will offer a program on organics and high tunnel best practices. The program, which will be held at the KSU Research Farm at 1525 Mills Lane, Frankfort, runs from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., and lunch will be provided. There is no charge to attend. You’ll learn about growing organic berries and pawpaws, small-farm grants and money for building high tunnels, high tunnel production and construction, and you will visit a farm with high tunnels to see how a real producer is utilizing them in Kentucky!

On April 28th, OAK will feature a workshop on transplant production and transplanting tech-niques at the University of Kentucky Horticulture Research Farm, 4321 Emmert Farm Lane, Lexing-ton. The workshop, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will feature information and techniques to increase the scale and efficiency of transplant systems. Topics will include: potting media and tray selection; using vacuum seeders; greenhouse fertility and pest management; and mechanized transplant techniques. Then, on May 7th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a workshop on cover crops and fertility management will be offered at Berea Col-lege. For details and to register for these events, click here.

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CSAs provide members with a variety of fresh produce and other products during the growing season.

Photo courtesy of Kara Keeton, Kentucky Farm Bureau

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