Vegetable Pest Management Strategies in North Florida

Insect pests cause serious damage to spring and summer vegetable crops in North Florida. These pests include., silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii; the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae; southeastern green stinkbug, Nezara viridula; brown stink bug, Euschistus servus; potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae; leaf footed bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus; western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis; melon thrips, Thrips palmi; eastern flower thrips, Frankliniella tritici; Florida flower thrips, Franklniella bispinosa; tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca; southern armyworm, Spodoptera eridania; beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua; yellowstriped armyworm, Spodoptera ornithogalli; pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii; kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria; squash bug, Anasa tristis; Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata; leafminer; Liriomyza sativae, L. trifolii; tomato pinworm, Keiferia lycopersicella; and tomato fruitworm or corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea. Insect pests that carry vegetable diseases were considered most serious which included thrips and whiteflies species. To provide necessary skills and hands-on training to stakeholders and clienteles, Florida A&M University initiated an extension IPM project in 2010 to implement integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in specialty crops and communities. Since then, we have organized several workshops, field days and on-site demonstrations with a view to manage pests using IPM strategies. These commodity-wise strategies include regular scouting or monitoring for pest problems, identifying pests & beneficial species, and their life stages, keeping good records of pests, use of proven best management practices, use of plant-mediated pest management tactics, practicing good sanitation, conservation of biological controls agents, and application of minimum use of selective pesticides. Every year, seasonal vegetables were cultivated and training & demonstrations were carried out and underserved communities were served. Indeed, by adopting IPM strategies, participating growers in the target counties including Leon, Wakulla, Gadsden, and Jefferson were able to produce various vegetable crops successfully. Our stakeholders include small scale growers, students, extension agents, pesticide applicators, hobbyists, community gardeners, and school gardeners. The major aim of extension activities focused on two components of the national roadmap of IPM., i) Implementation of IPM in specialty crops, and ii) Implementation of IPM in communities (schools and community gardens). These participatory approaches were proven very successful in promoting up-to-date knowledge and necessary skills to stakeholders and clienteles. In addition, these tools were found very useful in training small scale growers and for student recruitment in the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences.