About Beltwide Pecan ipmPIPE

The Pecan ipmPIPE program was organized during 2008 and winter/spring of 2009 by scientists (S-1049) and pecan producers (Pecan ipmPIPE Producer Advisory Board with representatives from pecan producer organizations) to plan, develop and launch the initial Pecan ipmPIPE Web site in April 2009. The organization/planning phase included poster and oral presentations by pecan scientists to introduce the program to pecan growers at annual meetings across the pecan belt.

The stakeholder organizational structure that resulted from this process is documented in papers presented in producer-oriented publications (i.e., Pecan Grower--Fall Issue 2008; Pecan South--April 2009). The organization now includes an extensive (120+) Pecan ipmPIPE producer network that provides near real-time information from the field on pecan nut casebearer, which is the target of Phase I risk assessment to aid decision making by producers.

The Pecan Advisory Board and the producer network also provide ongoing input on how to improve the present program and what additional needs should be addressed. Feedback is also solicited from the producer community by using producer organized venues like the annual meeting of regional organizations (there is currently no belt-wide producer meeting for pecan producers).

Mission

The mission of the Beltwide Pecan ipmPIPE Program is regional participation in a dynamic, integrated national system that provides useful, reliable information and tools for IPM practitioners throughout the "pecan belt," the principal states where at least some commercial pecans are grown. Our vision is to develop the ipmPIPE to help maximize economic returns, and improve social welfare and environmental health by promotion of efficient and coordinated IPM decision support systems. Read more about the national system's background and mission.

Objective

The objective of Pecan IPM PIPE is to familiarize users with the primary nuisance and beneficial arthropods associated with pecans. The ability to identify them combined with a knowledge of their biologies will allow pest management decisions to be made in time to minimize damage.

History of PIPE

The Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE) began as a USDA-initiated Internet-based response to the discovery of soybean rust in 2005 in Louisiana. The program activated interactions and informed soybean stakeholders (producers, advisors, scientists, industry, agencies, consumers and others) of disease risk posed by this pathogen in near real time throughout soybean fields across the nation in the 2006 and subsequent years to the present. The program was expanded in 2007 to include the soybean aphid in risk assessments in the soybean pest complex, and to key pests of other commodities (legumes, cucurbits and pecan) in 2008.

People

Peer Cooperators

  • Jamshid Ashigh, Ph.D. - Extension Weed Specialist, Herbicide Specialist, Assistant Professor, Dept of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University
  • Jim Dutcher, Ph.D. - Department of Entomology, University of Georgia
  • Henry Fadamiro, Ph,D. - Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University
  • Elena Garcia, Ph.D. - Department of Horticulture, University of Arkansas
  • Mike Hall, Ph.D. - Pecan Research/Extension Station, Louisiana State University
  • Ken Hunt, Ph.D. - Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri
  • Brad Lewis - Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Science, New Mexico State University
  • Russ Mizell III. Ph.D. - University of Florida, Professor of Entomology, North Florida Research and Education Center
  • Phil Mulder, Ph.D. - Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University
  • Monte Nesbitt, Ph.D. - Texas AgriLife Extension
  • Bill Ree - Texas AgriLife Extension
  • Bill Reid, Ph.D. - Department of Entomology, Kansas State University
  • Damon Smith, Ph.D - Turfgrass and Horticulture Crops Pathology, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University

Associate Members

Universities and system components

Producers

Project Director

Marvin K. Harris, Ph.D. - Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University

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