Packaging and delivering IPM through collaboration across state and regional boundaries: the Bugwood Center experience

IPM implementation requires extensive knowledge of IPM philosophies, methodologies and management options to maintain pests at levels that are economically sound. Decision-makers must have ready access to appropriate and correct information on the pests and their population dynamics in the crop that they are producing. Although explicit knowledge of the local situation and conditions is essential, there are many components of an IPM system that are common across cropping system and geographical location such as how to identify insect, symptoms of a disease, the life cycle of a disease organism or of an insect, how to survey, and so forth.

Historically because of the clientele being served and for numerous political reasons, IPM programs have typically been developed and delivered at the state level typically through the State Land Grant University system.

The World Wide Web, Social Media and other Information Technology systems offer Extension educators new tools and ways of delivering information and programming to our clientele. The authors believe that these systems can be built in ways that enable extension specialists to collaboratively build, access and utilize information that can be used “as is” or modified as needed to support IPM program needs.

In this presentation, we will describe the evolution of The Bugwood Network and how the IT resources and tools that are available to users through it have been developed, modified and is being used to deliver IPM programs to users in several states.