IPM in the Big Boxes
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IPM in the Big Boxes
Date:
Fri, 17 Jan 2003 09:27:44 -0500
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Penn State's Pest Management Information Available at Retailers
December 17, 2002
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - How can you use fewer pesticides in the garden and around the home? Consumers can find out while shopping at their local garden centers and chain stores, thanks to a program based out of Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Free fact sheets on Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, and nutrient management from Penn State and other land grant universities is being distributed to county extension offices, county fairs, garden centers and chain retailers, says Steve Bogash, Penn State Cooperative Extension Agent in Franklin County. " Providing IPM educational materials to consumers where and when they buy plants or other garden materials will result in more informed consumer pest management decisions and decreased pesticide misuse," says Bogash, who is also the principle investigator of the project.
IPM aims to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. In the case of home plantings, proper plant variety selection and good site preparation can help avoid many future pest problems. The consumer needs this information at the time they are purchasing plants and planting them.
Bogash says one of the greatest challenges in reaching the consumer was getting extension materials to the places they shop. "We've had a great deal of success in reaching consumers through independent retailers, but until recently couldn't get our displays into the big box retailers like Lowe's and Wal-Mart. With the development our new rural mailbox display, we are now in the Chambersburg Lowe's and Wal-Mart stores," Bogash says. The fact sheets available at these new displays change with the seasons, and a sign on the mailbox informs consumers of what is available. "Our Franklin County Master Gardeners have adopted this project and will be servicing these displays to replace the handouts, change the handouts with the seasons and keep them looking clean and attractive," Bogash explains.
As the project develops, Bogash expects to be getting more requests for similar displays from other stores in these chains. Bogash hopes to expand the project into Adams and Cumberland County stores in the near future. Another recent success has been the adoption of the popular Poinsettia fact sheet by one of the larger greenhouse distributors the Franklin County area, Musselman'sGreenhouses in Adams County. "They liked the Poinsettia fact sheet so much that a bundle is being sent with every order of poinsettia that gets delivered to other greenhouses," Bogash explains. So far, the fact sheets have been sent to greenhouses in five different states.
Bogash is very excited about how the program has taken off. "The response from the retailers has been extremely positive. The fact sheets are written in "plain speak" and the displays are eye-catching. In fact, many of the retailers we've worked with are using the fact sheets for their employee training," Bogash says. They plan to survey retailers using the displays this winter to determine how the fact sheets are being used and how effective they are.
Funding for the project has been provided by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) and other funding resources.
For more information on the program, you can contact Bogash at (717) 263-9226 or email at smb13@psu.edu.
The Pennsylvania IPM Program is collaboration between Penn State and the PDA aimed at promoting IPM in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or visit web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.
Contact: Kristie Auman-Bauer (814) 865-2839 kma147@psu.edu
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