IPM Voice Newsletter                                                                                                           August 2015

EPA Proposes New, Stricter Regulations for Restricted Use Pesticides
On August 5, US EPA released a proposal to standardize certification and application requirements for restricted use pesticides. All applicators will be required to recertify every three years and a new minimum age for certified applicators will be set at 18 years old. Specialized certification prerequisites will apply for fumigation and aerial applications because of their high-risk nature.
 
The intent of the changes is to reduce exposure incidents from incorrect or high-risk application practices. Additionally, this regulation aims to standardize certification rules across the country. Many states already have equivalent rules in place. This change would allow certified applicators to operate in multiple states without undergoing separate certification processes. The proposal is open for public comment until November 23 under Docket No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0183. Additional information is located on EPA's website
Western IPM Center Report featured in National Trade Press
Last month the Western IPM Center published a report on the impacts of federal Regional Integrated Pest Management (RIPM) competitive grants program, which was then featured in Growing Produce, an aggregator for several national publications including American and Western Fruit Grower and American Vegetable Grower. The story published on growingproduce.com summarized the findings of the Western IPM Center report which attempted to quantify and qualify the benefits of RIPM grants from 1996 to 2013. The regionally focused program ended when it was folded into the national consolidated Crop Protection budget during the restructuring of FY 2014.
 
The Center report detailed outputs from 66 RIPM-funded projects in the Western region including 57 pest-management tools and models, 149 scientific papers, nearly 500 Extension and training publications, 316 presentations and grower trainings attended by 8000 people and four new pest-management products on the market or in development. "Those 149 scientific papers RIPM researchers published in peer-reviewed journals have since been cited in other journal articles nearly 2300 times. They created new scientific knowledge others are now building on to continue to benefit American agriculture," said Jim Farrar, director of the Western IPM Center. Access the full document on the Western IPM Center's website. 
Breakthrough in Bee Biology Holds Potential for Bee Vaccines
Scientists from universities in the US, Finland and Norway recently discovered that honey bees can transmit immunity to diseases through a blood protein called vitellogenin, unlocking potential for manufactured bee vaccines. In nature, bees can carry bacteria back to the hive in pollen they collect. Some of the pollen is then used make food for the queen bee called "royal jelly." Bacterial proteins contained within the royal jelly are stored in one of the queen's internal organs, where they can be carried by blood to the developing eggs, priming immune systems in the new generation to fight the disease. The missing link until now has been the carrier that transmits the proteins from the mother's organs to the eggs - vitellogenin.
 
This has important implications for agriculture and the broader economy in the United States which relies on pollinators for significant revenues from pollination. As has been much reported in the news, these essential pollinators have been struggling against a host of environmental traumas, including diseases. If scientists can develop vaccines to pass from queen to offspring using vitellogenin, it could help bees combat disease threats to their survival. The full study was published in PLOS Pathogens. Read more about the broader implications of this research and comments from the authors here

Join IPM Voice!

Renew your IPM Voice membership for 2015 (or become a new member) and check out our new donation options by visiting https://ipmvoice.org/join.htm

Upcoming IPM-Related Meetings and Conferences

Sept. 20-22, 2015. First Global Minor Use Priority Setting Workshop: Seeking Pest Management Solutions for Growers Around the World. Chicago, IL 

Sept. 22-23, 2015. IR-4 Food Use Workshop (FUW). Chicago, IL

Sept. 24, 2015. IR-4 BioPesticide Workshop. Chicago, IL 

October 20-23, 2015. PestWorld 2015. Nashville, TN

November 15-18, 2015. Entomology 2015, Synergy in Science: Partnering for Solutions. Minneapolis, MN 

September 25-30, 2016. XXV International Congress of Entomology. Orlando, FL

IPM Voice is an independent, non-profit organization advocating for integrated pest management (IPM) that is genuinely progressive and seeks continuous improvement of environmental, social and economic conditions through application of accepted scientific principles.  IPM Voice was formed in 2010 by more than 35 professionals working to expand the benefits IPM has provided to agriculture and communities for more than 40 years.

IPM Voice, Inc. / 1020 Regent Street  Madison, Wisconsin 53715 / 608-232-1410 / www.ipmvoice.org