Oregon IPM Center Newsletter - Vol I Iss 2 - Summer 2020 - Biocontrol

New collaborative project aims to assess and promote biocontrol in Oregon

Chris Hedstrom, Oregon IPM Center

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon IPM Center are part of a new USDA PPA-7721 funded project to assess the current use patterns of biological control across Oregon. The overall goal of this project is to survey stakeholders to find out their opinions, experiences and usage patterns of biological control in the state. Stakeholders include growers, researchers, consultants, insectaries, land-use managers, and anyone else interested in biocontrol as a pest management strategy. Using this information, a document similar to the IPM Strategic Plans that exist for various commodities will be created to identify critical needs related to biocontrol across a number of different commodities. This information will also be used to shape the arthropod biocontrol program at ODA and to help provide suggestions for future biological control research.

A secondary goal is to collect information about biocontrol resources (expertise, private suppliers, and insectaries) in order to create a central resource for interested parties to seek information quickly and efficiently.

The project is being led by Dr. Max Ragozzino of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Max was recently hired as the new Biological Control Specialist in the Insect Pest Prevention and Management program. He recently earned his Ph.D. from the Entomology department at Virginia Tech where he studied biocontrol of emerald ash borer. Chris Hedstrom, who developed the initial proposal, will be contributing to the project for the Oregon IPM Center at Oregon State University.

The project organizers are currently looking for suggestions and comments in terms of how to best reach different stakeholder groups and maximize survey responses. If you work in or are interested in biocontrol and would like to contribute opinions or suggestions for the project, you are encouraged to contact Max Ragozzino, mragozzino@oda.state.or.us.

 

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This article appears in Oregon IPM Insider, Vol 1 Iss 2, Summer 2020.