2015 Partnership Grants to Tackle Regional, Global IPM Issues
The Northeastern IPM Center has awarded over $400,000 for research and outreach through the 2015 IPM Partnership Grants, a competitive program supported by funds from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The Northeastern IPM Center began funding projects through the IPM Partnership Grants Program in 2004. Project types include communications, working groups, and research addressing regional issues. Applications have come from public and private institutions or organizations, businesses, commodity groups, and private individuals.
“We view these grants as true partnerships where we help investigators reach a wider audience with their projects,” said Steve Young, director of the Northeastern IPM Center. “This is one way our Center supports collaboration in the Northeast.”
This year’s projects address the priorities of the region put forward in the Center’s new Signature Programs: IPM and organic systems, rural and urban IPM, climate change and pests, next generation education, and advanced production systems. Projects funded this year include efforts to control the spread of ticks, investigate techniques that could reduce managed honey bee colony loss, help growers create better soil conditions for crops, and prevent antibiotic resistance in the pathogen that causes fire blight, a serious concern for growers of apples and pears.
Through the 2015 IPM Partnership Grants Program, the Center has funded:
Communications: three grants, $43,499
Working groups: five grants, $140,539
Research addressing regional issues: five grants, $216,712
The projects:
IPM and Organic Systems
- Multitasking Marigold to Strengthen Organic IPM in Lima Bean and Other Bean Crops, Dilip Venugopal, University of Maryland, $25,000.
- Using Organic Methods and Restricting Brood Nest Size to Improve Honey Bee Colony Health and Control Varroa Mites, Dennis vanEngelsdorp, University of Maryland, $45,870.
Rural and Urban IPM – Livestock
Rural and Urban IPM – Agriculture
- Cranberry Fruit Rot Working Group, Peter Oudemans, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, $39,915.
- Brown Marmorated Stink Bug IPM Working Group: Addressing Consumer and Pest Management Professional Needs and Coordination, Tracy Leskey, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, $20,333.
- Enhancing Soil Resilience Through No-till Production Systems, John Jemison, University of Maine, $49,994.
- Monitor and Prevent Streptomycin Resistance in Erwinia amylovora Populations in New England, Quan Zeng, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, $49,988.
Rural and Urban IPM – Landscape
- Northern New England Pollinator Habitat Working Group, Amy Papineau, University of New Hampshire, $29,546.
- Manipulation of Winter Soil Conditions as an IPM Tool for Blacklegged Tick Ixodes scapularis Control, Laura Hayes, Maine Medical Center, $45,860.
Rural and Urban IPM – Structural
Next Generation Education – General Public
Next Generation Education – Professionals/Landowners