New York IPM Program Slated To Be Cut
February 24, 2010 The New York state Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program will not be funded in the proposed New York budget. The IPM program reportedly saves millions of dollars for growers and consumers.
According to New York grower Doug Mason, who enrolled his 325 acres of sweet corn, tomatoes, and potatoes in IPM nearly 30 years ago, his savings the first year in the program were dramatic.” “Last year we didn’t use a single spray on our 200 acres of sweet corn because IPM’s trap network showed the pests weren’t there,” he says. According to Mason, he saved about $18,000 on sprays he didn’t use.
Vegetable crops won’t be the only ones impacted. New York’s apple crop-30 million bushels of apples a year-could suffer “millions of dollars” in losses without IPM research and education, notes Deborah Breth, a fruit specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Codling moths alone could cause upward of $500,000 in damage. IPM’s on-farm demos show that investing an extra $150 per acre in “mating disruption” can prevent losses of $1,000 or more per acre. “Mating disruption works better the longer you use it,” says Breth. “By the third year growers can cut insecticide use by about 65%.”
The New York IPM program will end in July 2010 if funding is not reinstated. Click here for more information.