Newsletter of the
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture 126 Soil Tilth Building, Iowa
State University, Ames, IA 50011- 3120
Phone: 515-294-3711
Fax: 515-294-9696
Internet address: leocenter@iastate.edu
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HEADLINES
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REGIONAL IOWA CONFERENCES
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
CENTER REVIEWED
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
EARTHWORMS AT FARM PROGRESS SHOW
ANIMAL WASTE MANAGEMENT KEY TO SWINE
INDUSTRY
IPM AND APPLES
NEWS AND NOTES
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REGIONAL IOWA CONFERENCES
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Building on the success of regional conferences held last winter in
Calmar, Mason City, and Sioux Center, the Leopold Center will
cosponsor six conferences and workshops in Iowa this winter.
Conference locations include Cedar Rapids, Sioux Center,
Burlington, Algona, Calmar, and Oakland.
These locally planned conferences combine presentations
about Leopold Center-funded projects with discussion of critical
issues facing Iowa farmers and rural communities. ISU Extension,
community and private colleges, foundations, and local
organizations are helping to organize and sponsor these events.
Crop management issues will highlight the Cedar Rapids
conference planned for Friday, Jan. 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
at Kirkwood Community College. Focus will be on Integrated
Crop Management with concurrent sessions on alternative crops
and on fertility, weed, and compaction questions facing Iowa
farmers after the 1993 flood.
With the livestock industry remaining a dominant force in
northwest Iowa, animal waste management will be the theme of a
conference scheduled for Monday, Jan. 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. at Dordt College, Sioux Center. Planned topics include
nutrient management, manure sampling and testing, waste
management regulations, and waste storage design.
The Burlington conference is slated for Thursday, Jan. 13,
from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Southeast Iowa Community College.
Although flooding was a serious problem for all of Iowa in 1993,
southeast Iowa was especially hard hit, with additional heavy rains
coming in September. The conference program will feature
discussions on how southeastern Iowa farmers can cope with some
of the fertility and compaction problems caused by the summer
floods along with presentations of Leopold Center-funded projects
on weed and tillage interactions, multiflora rose, and corn
rootworms. A session on the life of Aldo Leopold, who was born
and raised in Burlington, is also planned.
The Leopold Center will cosponsor a crop clinic Tuesday,
Feb. 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church in
Algona. Planned topics include animal waste management, soil
compaction, updates on the late-spring soil test for manured soils,
and alternatives in soybean cyst nematode management.
Intensive grazing management will be the focus for the
Calmar conference scheduled for Friday, March 4, from 12:30 to
4:00 p.m. at Northeast Iowa Community College. This is a follow-
up to the successful sustainable agriculture conference held last
January at Calmar.
How can diversified farms use manure as a resource to
reduce off-farm costs and remain competitive with large, intensive
livestock enterprises? The Oakland workshop scheduled for
Tuesday, March 8, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Oakland
Community Center in Pottawattamie County will attempt to
answer this question. Participants will complete a survey about
their farms ahead of time and receive and review a copy of their
farm nutrient balance sheet when they arrive. Sessions will cover
regulations, nuisance suits, and water quality considerations of
manure handling.
All of the conferences and workshops will charge a
nominal registration fee to help cover meals and defray local
expenses. For more information on these events, call the contact
persons listed in the following calendar or contact Rich Pirog,
Leopold Center education coordinator, at (515) 294-3711.
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CALENDAR
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Jan. 7--Integrated Crop Management Conference, Kirkwood
Community College, Cedar Rapids, 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Contact:
Jim Fawcett, ISU Extension Crops Specialist, (319) 377-9839.
Jan. 10--Animal Waste Management Conference, Dordt
College, Sioux Center, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Contact: David
Spotanski, Sioux County Extension Director, (712) 737-4230, or
Ron Vos, Dordt College, (712) 722-6285.
Jan. 13--Southeastern Iowa Crop Clinic, Southeastern
Community College, Burlington, 4:00 - 9:00 p.m. Contact: Jim
Jensen, ISU Extension Crops Specialist, (319) 385-8126, or Arlyn
Musselman, agriculture programs coordinator, Southeastern
Community College, 1-800-828-7322, ext. 153.
Feb. 1-- Kossuth County crop clinic, Methodist Church, Algona,
9:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Contact: John Ley, Kossuth County
Extension Director, (515) 295-2469.
Feb. 10-11--Soil and Water Conservation Society conference,
Arlington, VA, "When Conservation Reserve Program Contracts
Expire: The Policy Options." For information contact: SWCS,
7515 NE Ankeny Rd., Ankeny, IA 50021-9764; phone (515) 289-
2331 or 1-800-THE SOIL.
March 4--Intensive Grazing Management Workshop, Northeast
Iowa Community College, Calmar, 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Contact: Connie Hvitved, Continuing Education Coordinator, 1-
800-728-2256, ext. 219.
March 8--Nutrient Management Workshop, Oakland
Community Center, Oakland, 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Contact:
Marco Buske, ISU Extension Crops Specialist, (712) 323-2300, or
Darrell Busby, ISU Extension Livestock Specialist, (712) 482-
6449.
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CENTER REVIEWED
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Feedback is favorable from reviewers who visited the Leopold
Center Oct. 31 - Nov. 3 to conduct a formal academic evaluation,
according to Dennis Keeney, Center director.
During the four-day review, evaluators visited with many
groups involved with the Leopold Center, including farmers,
interdisciplinary research issue teams, competitive grant recipients,
educators, agribusiness representatives, and university
administrators.
On the review team were David Schlegel, coordinator of
the Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) program at the University of California,
Oakland; Steven Radosevich, professor of forest science at Oregon
State University, Corvallis; Lorraine Merrill, a columnist for
Hoard's Dairyman and co-owner and operator of a New Hampshire
dairy farm; and Vivien Allen, professor of crop and soil
environmental sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, Blacksburg.
During an exit interview, the team indicated that the Center
has done an excellent job to date but is at a pivotal point in its
development.
The team was particularly supportive of the Center's
interdisciplinary research issue teams and felt that this model can
play a key role in the future success of the Center. The reviewers
encouraged the Center to find more ways to involve the users of
Center research in developing its agenda.
The team also encouraged the Center to continue
developing ways to reach its audiences through expanded
education and information programs.
A full written report from the review team will be
submitted to the ISU College of Agriculture and to the Leopold
Center, and recommendations will be reviewed and incorporated in
the Center's strategic plan. Copies of the review report and the
Center strategic plan will be available when they are complete.
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GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
By Dennis R. Keeney
Leopold Center Director
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Integral to understanding Iowa agriculture is an awareness of other
countries and their markets. In the past three years I have been
fortunate to visit agricultural regions in Ukraine, Russia, China,
and Malaysia. These regions, which differ markedly in
infrastructure, natural resource base, and culture, trigger a host of
thoughts and observations.
We are most familiar with the situation in the former
communist states. Wise use of the vast natural resources of
Ukraine and South Russia could bring that region nearer to
sustainability. However, current misuse of the soils and waters in
those regions threaten to sharply curtail agricultural productivity.
When I was in Ukraine, my impression was that a mood of
pessimism prevailed; this mood included much of the agricultural
sector.
I was in China last September to participate in an
international conference on sustainable agriculture. The
conference was set in the city of Beijing, which was undergoing a
facelift in preparation for a bid to host the Olympics. The
countryside was brimming with optimism and industry. Bricks
were being moved everywhere as construction projects for homes
and factories dominated the landscape.
In contrast with the progressiveness of this scene, the rural
areas face serious environmental problems associated with the
Chinese food production system. Most of China's cities are short
of water, and the water quality is compromised because of poor
sewage treatment and agricultural pollution.
China's historical reliance on organic fertilizers has been
replaced by modern technologies. China now uses 2.5 times as
much fertilizer per acre as the United States. Energy use in
agriculture has increased nine-fold. Pesticide use is high and often
indiscriminate. The land base is declining rapidly because of
urbanization, erosion, and salinization. Over-irrigation in such key
areas as the North China Plain is rapidly lowering groundwater
tables and exacerbating the salinization problem.
We in the United States often turn to the extension service
to deal with problems such as these, but in China, the extension
system is ineffective because of communication gaps and loss of
credibility. China does have many concerned, forward-thinking
agricultural scientists who see that the government policy is not
sustainable. They have developed concepts such as "ecological
agriculture" that closely parallel our concept of sustainable
agriculture. The question is whether China will be able to sustain
the projected 3 to 3.5% per year growth in production needed to
meet the population growth of 1.6% per year while also delivering
a higher standard of living.
While in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I presented a paper at
the international conference of the Palm Oil Research Institute of
Malaysia. This country has one of the most vigorous economies in
the world. The signs were unmistakable: skyscrapers were under
construction everywhere, traffic was impossible, and confidence in
the future seemed supreme. With only 18 million people, a
standard of living approaching that of Western countries, and
excellent natural resources, sustainability has not been a prominent
issue for Malaysians. Regardless, the conference devoted
significant time to this issue, not only in terms of Malaysia but
with respect to the rest of the world and its markets and
competition.
I came away from this conference impressed with the palm
oil industry. The plantations are remarkably productive, inputs are
relatively low (except for potassium), and profits currently are
high. The palm tree stays productive for 25 years or longer and
acts as a carbon dioxide sink. The products made from palm oil
rival those made from other oil sources; the industry claims its
healthy properties rival soybean oil and are far superior to other
tree oils such as coconut. Palm oil is an important component of
the market in much of Asia, India and Africa, and it must be
regarded as a formidable competitor to the edible oil industry in the
United States.
My travels to these countries have prompted some new
thoughts about international agricultural sustainability in the next
century. It seems that if Eastern Europe can put its political house
in order, it will shortly become self-sufficient and an exporter.
China, India, and other populous countries in Asia are currently
exporting, but this might not be a long-term trend as their natural
resource bases decline. Still, these nations continue to confound
the experts in their ability to increase food production at rates more
than sufficient to sustain the population's needs.
While U. S. and European agriculture may get an
opportunity to "feed the world" in 50 or 60 years, a more
immediate role may be helping other countries in their quest for
sustainable food supplies by sharing technologies that encourage
agricultural sustainability. We must maintain the land for future
generations while reaping the harvest of farming in a fashion that
preserves the land and the livelihoods of those who occupy it.
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EARTHWORMS AT FARM PROGESS SHOW
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"Ernie Earthworm" and his cohorts were a hit at the 1993 Farm
Progress show as hundreds of visitors of all ages visited the
Leopold Center's display in the Extension tent.
Leopold Center staff fielded a variety of questions about
earthworms and their relationship to soil health, the focus of an
educational display featuring simulated earthworm environments
under reduced tillage and conventional tillage. Each visitor to the
booth could place a guess on how many worms research tells us
one might expect to find under these conditions (those who took
some time to review the educational brochure at the booth were
able to make a very "educated" guess!). Three of the correct
guesses were drawn and winners received framed photographs of a
Loess Hills landscape by Iowan Carl Kurtz.
The information provided at the booth was compiled with
the assistance of researchers at the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth
Lab, where the Leopold Center is housed. Dr. Ed Berry of the
Tilth Lab was technical advisor to the Center in preparing this
brochure. Information in the brochure included the effect of tillage
practices and ag chemicals on earthworms, how to get earthworms
in your fields, how to tell that earthworms are present, and what
effects earthworms' presence have on crop yields.
A few questions came up repeatedly at the Leopold Center
booth at the Farm Progress Show:
Q. What happens to earthworms during flooding? Do they
drown?
A. Research from 1993 from several areas of Iowa have shown
that in locations where rivers or creeks have overflowed for a short
period of time, earthworm populations were not affected.
However, in those areas that were inundated for long periods,
earthworm populations were decimated. Likewise, in long-
standing potholes, earthworms were not present at the time of
sampling. In general, earthworms do not drown if provided a
source of oxygen and the temperature of the water is not extreme.
Q. If I switch to worm-friendly practices (reduced tillage,
cultivation, banded herbicides, etc.), how long will it take for
worms to come back to my fields?
A. Tillage tends to reduce earthworm populations by altering
freezing and drying rates of the soil and reducing the food sources
that are required for earthworm growth and reproduction. The time
for earthworm populations to reach a stable population under
favorable conditions ranges from three to eight years.
Q. Is adding earthworms to the soil an effective way to improve
soil health?
A. Seeding earthworms in no-till fields with low existing
populations is being studied in several states. Results are
inconclusive. It's desirable to start with earthworms in various
stages of their life cycle to enhance establishment. It's also
important to consider whether the species of earthworms being
seeded are appropriate to your area.
Q. How many species of earthworms are there in Iowa?
A. Earthworm species have been surveyed in several different
Midwestern cropping systems, but the results are incomplete,
according to published research on the subject. Species found in
Iowa include Lumbricus terrestris (commonly known as night
crawlers), Aporrectodea trapezoides (common name "red worm"),
A. turgida, A. tuberculata, A. rosea, and Octolasion tyrtaeum.
Q. How can I find out more about earthworms?
A. You can receive a free copy of the earthworm facts brochure
handed out at the Farm Progress Show by contacting the Leopold
Center. The Center has also funded a competitive grant project led
by Eldon Weber, education coordinator in the ISU Department of
Agricultural Education, called "The Living Soil," which offers
secondary students a look at the many biological components that
affect the soil environment. The curriculum and video developed
by this project may be purchased; for more information contact
Kathy Vavra, Dept. of Ag Education, 217 Curtiss Hall, ISU, Ames,
IA 50011. The Center also has a list of journal articles on the
effects of earthworms on crop yields. For a copy, call the Center at
(515) 294-3711.
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ANIMAL WASTE MANAGEMENT KEY TO SWINE
INDUSTRY
By E. Anne Larson
Communications Specalist
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Iowa's swine industry is nearing a point of reckoning: news of
producers in conflict with their neighbors is reported almost
weekly, federal regulations loom on the horizon, and state
legislators continue to struggle with public policy. In the
meantime, consolidation of the swine industry is in hot contention:
Is it good or bad for Iowa? What is the next step?
The Leopold Center's Animal Waste Management Issue
Team is in a key position to contribute a scientific framework for
these discussions. Since 1991, the team--led by Stewart Melvin,
ISU agricultural and biosystems engineer--has been exploring
how an integrated animal/cropping system can play a role in
ensuring the sustainable future of Iowa's farmers. "The only way
the individual producer will be able to compete in this economic
environment is to take advantage of the symbiotic relationship
between animals and crops," Melvin says. "Our team is positioned
well in a very dynamic process," he adds.
Iowa farmers, policy makers, and communities face a host of
concerns. At the crux of current public debate is not only whether
putting animals back into Iowa operations will put farmers on
firmer financial footing, but whether utilizing manure as a nutrient
source is environmentally sound.
Iowa is in an excellent position to lead the livestock
industry, Melvin explains; it has both the grain for feeding and the
land for recycling the manure. Some other states, such as Utah,
which are entering livestock production are "dead ends" for
nutrients; they simply don't have the cropland to recycle the
manure.
But one of the critical issues involved with recycling these
nutrients in Iowa is the environmental effect, both to ground and
surface water and to air quality. Melvin thinks that producers and
communities need to reach agreement on what is acceptable. "Any
time you have organic waste, you will normally have some odor,"
Melvin says. But a producer can take steps to manage the waste
and its odors.
One obstacle to expanding livestock industry is public
understanding. For instance, Melvin says many Iowans believe
that the state's swine industry is increasing by leaps and bounds;
not true, he says. Numbers of swine have remained fairly constant
in Iowa over the past 30 years. "We need to work with farmers,
rural communities, and urban audiences to inform them on what
the health of the livestock industry means to them," Melvin
explains. "If we grow the swine industry toward vertical
integration (consolidating feed, finish, and processing within large
corporations), we will not be growing Iowa communities." Melvin
thinks communities also need to realize the implications if the
livestock industry moves to other states. "There is simply not
enough income from a corn/soybean agriculture for a community
to survive," Melvin says.
The team is addressing these issues through a three-fold effort.
First, it is conducting economic studies to evaluate the impact of
animal production to Iowa farms. The studies, led by Mike Duffy,
ISU economist and Leopold Center Associate Director, have
already been able to show that adding a swine operation to a
farming system increases the return, regardless of the soil quality
of the farm.
That study, highlighted in the Winter 1992 Leopold Letter,
looked at the economic return for four scenarios: 400 acres in
corn/soybean rotation; 1,000 acres in corn/soybean rotation; 400
acres in continuous corn with 120 sows; and 400 acres on
corn/soybean rotation with 120 sows. The most favorable return
was for the last of these scenarios. The study showed that while
addition of a swine enterprise increases labor, it generates enough
income to increase the return per hour of labor. In addition, use of
animal manure as a fertilizer source helps reduce consumption of
fossil fuel.
Duffy has now begun a similar analysis for operations
integrating beef cattle.
In another phase of the issue team's work, the optimum
rates of swine manure on corn and soybeans in rotation are being
studied. Led by Randy Killorn, an ISU agronomist, this research is
breaking new ground by determining how manure application
affects the yield of soybeans and the environment. Research
findings have been readily available concerning the use of manure
on continuous corn; adding the option of applying manure on
soybeans following corn would nearly double the number of acres
available for land application of manure.
Application of manure on soybean fields would be
advantageous because soybeans are effective in scavenging
nitrogen from the soil. In addition, with this system the manure
could be applied in the fall on corn ground, because a higher
residue cover exists, reducing the potential for soil erosion nutrient
loss.
This study was begun in 1992 with plots receiving spring
broadcast, spring injected and broadcast ammonium nitrate. Data
on rainfall, soil temperature, and air temperature are being
collected, and the effects of the treatments are being measured as
investigators analyze yields and nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium uptake.
The third focus of the team's research is an actual farming
operation that produces grain and swine and monitors energy,
nutrients, and natural resources. This project is being conducted at
the ISU Swine Nutrition and Management Research Center
(SNMRC) near Ames. The researchers expect that the 200-sow
farrow-to-finish operation will supply the plant nutrients for the
entire farm (except for a tract on which court-ordered restrictions
prohibit manure application).
The system study at the SNMRC uses an array of
sophisticated environmental measures to determine what happens
to nutrients applied as liquid manure. A Geographic Information
System records all cropping, fertilizer and pesticide use.
Groundwater monitoring equipment is in place; surface water
monitoring equipment is now being installed. Since the research
site is uniquely situated on a self-contained watershed (all but
about 50 acres of the farm drains to the area where equipment is
installed), these monitoring devices will be able to provide a very
good idea of how manure application affects the environment. Air
quality sampling has also been initiated to monitor odors from the
storage unit as well as animal production facilities.
Melvin expects that the data generated from this farm will
help Iowa producers adopt integrated animal and crop systems that
are not only profitable but proven as environmentally friendly.
Producers who have animals and crops "quickly understand the
meaning of 'system'," he says. The system must maintain a
balance in the input and output of nutrients. Inputs in the form of
feed, energy, fertilizer, seed, pesticides, and labor leave the farm in
the form of animals, grain, runoff, and pollutants. The ideal
system maximizes animal and grain production while minimizing
loss of nutrients in runoff and pollutants.
"We can show that recycling these nutrients isn't just
loading nutrients onto the cropland," Melvin says. The data
already show that the system at SNMRC can provide a nutrient
balance. In 1992, on approximately 400 acres of cropland, the
farm had a net loss of 500 lb nitrogen, and addition of 3,400 lb
phosphate and 14,100 lb potash.
When surface water monitoring equipment is installed, the
project will not only be able to account for nutrients that leave the
farm in the form of grain or animals; it will also be able to measure
the amount lost in runoff. The Waste Management Issue Team
will help address the public's water quality concerns through the
data it collects and the practices it develops.
The multidisciplinary approach has proven particularly valuable in
the Animal Waste Management Team's work by providing a
"reality check" on the applicability of their research. Melvin says
that the three farmers on the team are excellent contributors to the
team's efforts because they approach issues from a pragmatic,
producer standpoint. "We have a very frank group. They're not
afraid to tell us what we should be doing," Melvin says.
Now that the team's work is underway, momentum is
building to take research information back out to the producers
who can use it. A proposal for Iowa Department of Natural
Resources "Section 319" grant funds (nonpoint source water
pollution funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
has been submitted for an education project in partnership with the
Iowa Pork Producers that could provide information to producers
in every county of the state. Melvin says the audience for this
research is vast: last year his team made more than 25
presentations to 850 people interested in the work of the team,
including a display at the World Pork Expo last summer.
The team is investigating other funding to expand its reach.
According to Melvin, the team's data about the effects of using
manure as a fertilizer on crops will help the federal government to
develop rules for the Clean Water Act.
The Leopold Center was created to provide a scientific
framework for making crucial decisions about Iowa agriculture.
Melvin believes that this animal waste management research
wouldn't be happening if it hadn't been for Leopold Center
funding. The work of the Center's Animal Waste Management
issue team is just one example of how science can provide the
framework for addressing real life issues.
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IPM AND APPLES IN IOWA
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Comparing apples with apples--and integrated pest control with
traditional approaches--is paying off for Iowa orchardists.
In Iowa and elsewhere, public concern about pesticide
residues and environmental contamination is pressuring fruit and
vegetable growers to reduce their pesticide use. Since 1988, the
Leopold Center has funded applied research and on-farm trials
using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tactics and biological
control to help Iowa fruit and vegetable growers produce apples,
tomatoes, strawberries, and potatoes while cutting back on
chemical pesticides and improving their profitability.
Apples have been a very pesticide-intensive crop in Iowa
because they have a long growing season and many pests. Center-
funded projects have field-tested the most promising IPM
techniques and put them into growers' hands through on-farm
trials. Project leaders have also developed educational materials
about the value of IPM. Over the past five years, these efforts have
taken apple IPM in Iowa from the realm of wishful thinking into
practice.
To determine which IPM techniques are the most practical and
affordable for Iowa growers, a field test--led by Mark Gleason,
ISU Extension plant pathologist; Donald Lewis, ISU Extension
entomologist; Paul Domoto, ISU Extension horticulturist; Mike
Duffy, ISU Extension agricultural economist; and graduate student
Mahmoud Ali--targeted apple scab and codling moth, the two
most significant pest problems in Iowa orchards.
This three-year trial was conducted in a Red Delicious
orchard at the ISU Horticulture Research Farm near Gilbert. Two
IPM programs--one using relatively expensive "high-tech"
weather-monitoring equipment and the other using simpler
equipment in a streamlined approach--were compared with a
traditional, protectant spray program. The "high-tech" IPM
treatment used the Belfort Leaf Wetness Recorder to provide
weather information to gauge the risk of an outbreak of apple scab,
a fungus disease. The streamlined IPM tactic for scab, called the
Integrated, Reduced-Spray Program, doesn't require any weather
monitoring. In both of these IPM treatments, insecticide sprays for
control of codling moth were timed by counting the number of
male moths caught in pheromone traps and measuring the average
daily temperature, which influences timing of insect life cycles.
Treatments using these two IPM strategies resulted in
substantially fewer pesticide sprays than the protectant program--
an average saving of three fungicide and two insecticide sprays per
season. Furthermore, control of scab and codling moth was just as
good with IPM methods as with the more pesticide-intensive
method, and yields did not differ significantly. (A no-fungicide
treatment had significantly more scab and lower yield than the
other three treatments.) The sprays saved with the IPM methods
mean reduced potential for groundwater pollution and fewer
pesticide-related health risks.
Both of the IPM tactics that were tested controlled scab and
codling moth with far fewer pesticide sprays than in a traditional
program. Either method will enable growers to maintain high fruit
quality standards while using pesticides only when they are clearly
needed. However, the cost of IPM varied by method. The "high-
tech" method was more expensive than the traditional protectant
method for orchards smaller than 20 acres--a size range that
includes most Iowa commercial orchards. The streamlined IPM
program was less expensive than the protectant program whether
the orchard was 5, 10, 20, or 40 acres. Ultimately, the most cost-
efficient IPM approach for scab and codling moth control in Iowa
will depend in part on orchard size. The less expensive
streamlined program in particular has exciting potential for helping
Iowa growers to reduce the number of pesticide sprays while they
improve profit margins.
The truest evaluation of any farming method is how well it works
on real farms. A three-year project funded by the Leopold Center
and USDA/Extension is trying out some of the most promising
IPM methods on Iowa fruit and vegetable farms. Project leaders
Gleason, Lewis, Domoto, and Gail Nonnecke (an ISU Extension
horticulturist) have involved 19 commercial apple growers as
cooperators in trials aimed at controlling codling moth and fire
blight, a devastating bacterial disease. Cooperators agreed to set
aside a portion of their orchards for the IPM trial and to spray
pesticides on the remainder according to their standard practices.
Scouts from ISU visited cooperators regularly during the growing
season to monitor pest problems in these orchards.
Pheromone traps were used to monitor codling moth
populations. Degree-day models, which are based on average daily
air temperatures, were used to calculate when the moths were
likely to attack apples. Mild, wet weather during the bloom period
sets the stage for fire blight outbreaks, so cooperators recorded
rainfall and daily high and low temperatures before and during
bloom. After they phoned the numbers to ISU on a toll-free line, a
technician punched them into a computer program called
MARYBLYT. Developed by Dr. Paul Steiner at the University of
Maryland, MARYBLYT advises growers to apply an antibiotic
spray when the weather conditions favor infection of apple
blossoms by the fire blight bacterium. When MARYBLYT
recommended a spray, the ISU technician alerted the grower via
telephone. With MARYBLYT, sprays were applied only when
needed, eliminating guesswork.
In 1992, MARYBLYT cooperators saved an average of one
antibiotic spray with IPM and had excellent control of the blossom
blight phase of fire blight. In 1993, cooperators on the codling
moth trial saved an average of three insecticide sprays with IPM in
comparison with their normal spray practices while holding the
incidence of codling moth-injured fruit below one percent--an
excellent level of pest control. These savings clearly amount to a
more cost-effective apple production system. In addition,
cooperators have emphasized that regular interaction with the ISU
scout has helped them keep a closer eye on pest problems.
These on-farm IPM trials will expand over the next two
years so that growers throughout Iowa can take advantage of
scouting services and start to see what IPM can do for their
orchards. The project is designed to train and motivate growers to
perform their own scouting once they gain experience and
confidence in IPM.
Growers don't need a crystal ball to see that pesticide-intensive
methods of growing apples are quickly becoming obsolete. One of
the best long-term strategies to minimize pesticide dependence is
the use of pest-resistant varieties. More than a dozen new apple
varieties with excellent disease resistance have been released over
the last 15 years. The common denominator for the new varieties,
developed by Cornell University and a consortium of Purdue,
Rutgers, and the University of Illinois, is that they are all immune
to apple scab. Several of them have excellent taste and other
horticultural qualities as well as good resistance to fire blight,
cedar apple rust, and powdery mildew. Some of the new varieties
are already being sold commercially; others are still being tested.
Disease-resistant varieties can be grown with very little
need for fungicides and bactericides, and a few growers are starting
to experiment with them. But some barriers remain: Most growers
are reluctant to invest in new varieties because they are unsure
about their hardiness, productivity, and commercial acceptability in
Iowa.
To help overcome these barriers, ISU researchers Gleason
and Domoto established a series of trial plantings in 1993 (with
funding from the Iowa Nurserymen's Research Committee). The
plantings, including 13 of the most promising disease-resistant
varieties, are located at eight sites in Iowa. In addition to
replicated test blocks at ISU's Horticulture Research Farm and the
Castana Research Farm in western Iowa, other demonstrations are
ongoing at other ISU research farms at Crawfordsville and
Calumet, in commercial orchards, and with Des Moines Area
Community College and the Polk County Master Gardeners.
All eight plantings will be rated twice yearly for the next
ten years for winter hardiness, yield, fruit quality, disease
problems, and other traits. The project will also gather grower
reactions to performance of the new trees. At the Horticulture
Farm and Castana, the project will experiment with disease-
warning models for a late-season disease called sooty blotch and a
non-chemical IPM strategy called mating disruption for codling
moth control. The goal is to achieve excellent pest control with
almost no pesticide sprays.
By supporting these experiments, demonstrations, and on-
farm trials, the Leopold Center has helped growers and researchers
find the most cost-efficient, practical IPM tactics for Iowa
conditions.
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NEWS AND NOTES
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The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has received
$20,000 from the Ford Foundation in recognition of its novel
approach to preserving the environment while encouraging
profitable farming.
The Center was one of 25 finalists selected from more than
1,600 applicants in the seventh annual Innovations in State and
Local Government Awards Program coordinated by the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The
Center was one of 15 finalists receiving $20,000 grants. The other
ten of the 25 finalists won $100,000 grants to encourage replication
of their innovative ideas in other areas of the United States.
The Center plans to enhance its communications and
information transfer capabilities with the Ford Foundation funds.
* * *
Leopold Center Director Dennis Keeney has been invited to be a
member of the Technical Review Committee for the USDA Soil
Conservation Service's appraisal of the status, condition, and
trends of natural resources on non-federal lands. This third
appraisal is authorized by the Soil and Water Resources
Conservation Act of 1977. The Technical Review Committee
reviews various methodologies and documents produced in the
appraisal process.
* * *
Ralph and Joyce Neill of rural Corning have been selected by the
National Cattlemen's Association for an Environmental
Stewardship Award for Region III. Their Douglas Center Stock
Farm is recognized for its work in soil conservation, use of
erodible land for pasture, and improvement in natural water
supplies. All regional winners will receive free trips to NCA's
annual convention in January, when a national winner will be
announced. Ralph Neill is a member of the Center's Animal
Management Issue Team.
* * *
Former Leopold Center Advisory Board member and farmer John
Miller of rural Cedar Falls has been honored by the Iowa chapter
of the Sierra Club with its Steward of the Land award. Miller has
produced a conservation ethic slide tape for the USDA on corn and
hog farming, and he has been active in speaking to numerous
college and other school groups about conservation, land use, and
sustainable agriculture. He has also been active in the Soil and
Water Conservation Society.
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