The Pesticide Risk Mitigation Engine (ipmPRiME.com): A user-friendly online tool for field-specific risk assessment and mitigation

Pesticides are invaluable tools for food and fiber production, but pesticide use presents risks that must be carefully managed.  The Pesticide Risk Mitigation Engine (ipmPRiME.com) is a web application designed to help mitigate the environmental impacts of pesticide use by improving the selection of pest management options and conservation practices. Using a novel approach to risk calculation based on site-specific conditions, pesticide properties and empirical field impact data (where available), ipmPRiME.com estimates risk to workers, consumers, birds, small mammals, earthworms, pollinators and aquatic ecosystems.  IpmPRiME.com weighs impacts of application methods and the quantity and frequency of application, and uses NRCS soils data and other site-specific information, such as conservation practices and the presence of sensitive areas, to improve the accuracy of risk calculations and help the user make informed decisions about pesticide use and risk mitigation.  Using state-of-the-art pesticide fate and transfer modeling and a suite of environmental risk indicators, ipmPRiME.com can be useful in supporting IPM programs by helping to minimizing the environmental risks when chemical suppression is necessary, it is already part of Whole Foods Market’s Produce Rating System.  This poster will describe the science behind ipmPRiME.com risk modeling, features of the web application and an example of how ipmPRiME.com works.