Abstract

The effort to encourage the nursery industry to adopt IPM practices has met with varied success. In 2000, a survey was conducted to assess the monitoring and control practices for arthropod pests by the nursery industry in Pennsylvania, a state that ranks fourth in the nation in the number of certified nursery and greenhouse producers. Most respondents were the owner or partner of the operation and were responsible for the monitoring and pest management decisions for the firm. Most respondents reported that they identify the specific insect or mite when monitoring, but their ability to do this increased with their level of formal education. Most respondents did not keep permanent records of pest problems, although record keeping increased as total sales increased. Commonly reported cultural control practices included isolation of plants with pest problems for treatment, planting and selling plants hardy to the area, and selling resistant cultivars, although the use of these practices increased with more formal education. Over half of the respondents indicated that they often use cultural practices and select pesticides that conserve beneficial insects, yet 62% never release beneficials. Respondents that earned less than $50,000 in 1998 were least likely to spray whether pests were present or not or to characterize their use of chemical pesticides as ‘ often. ’ However, a majority of respondents reported that they ‘often’ use chemical pesticides (61 %) and ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ use less toxic alternatives such as horticultural oils, insecticidal soaps, or natural products, with some exceptions; 55% of landscape nurseries and 47% of garden centers reported often using oils and natural products, respectively. Although the nursery industry in Pennsylvania has adopted several cultural practices that are important components of IPM, results from the survey indicate that demonstrations of and education about the use, cost-benefits, and efficacy of less toxic alternatives to chemical pesticides and release of beneficials for the control of insects and mites are needed to convince the nursery industry to increase their adoption of these IPM tactics.