Web site offers integrated pest management advice--21st Century style

In the not-so-distant past, producers who encountered insect pests or plant diseases faced time-consuming research in order to find management recommendations. Now, that same information is accessible, searchable and downloadable at http://HighPlainsIPM.org

The site is a partnership of MSU, the University of Nebraska, University of Wyoming and Colorado State University. MSU's Will Lanier, an Extension Entomologist, took the reins for converting the previous source of data--a large three-ring binder full of integrated pest management (IPM) information--into a Web site.

The on-line material can be updated continuously, unlike the binder, which required mailing out each new insert. And, says Lanier, the site includes chemical, cultural and biological information, so that a producer looking for, say, how much insecticide to spray on army cutworms, might also get advice on monitoring for cutworms <Cutworm.org> and alternative cultural controls as well as a list of which crop cultivars, if any, are resistant.

Although the number of Agricultural web users is increasing rapidly, Lanier says the site is innovatively designed to accommodate producers without computers. A “shopping cart” or "checkbox" feature allows paper-copy information to be sent via regular mail. So, a consultant or Extension agent can request that a specific fact sheet be mailed to a producer who doesn't have easy Internet access.

Lanier said the site design also considers the most technical: people who want to download information into handheld computers for use in the field. Thus, different files types and images are available, but optional, in order to decrease the need for bandwidth.

Finally, said Lanier, the site serves as an archive for specialists who want easy access to update their written documents.

The site has been on-line and under continuous development since 2000. Contributing authors from MSU include, Extension specialists Sue Blodgett, Greg Johnson, Jack Riesselman, Martha Mikkelson and Barry Jacobsen. MSU professor Bill Grey also wrote articles for the site.