College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Above ↑ Michelle Miller and others at the College’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems have teamed with apple growers like Bill Stone of Burlington to create the Eco-Apple program, which helps growers use integrated pest management to minimize pesticide use.
Replacing Pesticides with Information
Apple growers earn more by spraying less
Their apples are as crisp and tasty as ever, but pesticide costs have dropped for growers who participated in the Wisconsin Eco-Apple Project.
The Wisconsin Apple Growers Association and College researchers have teamed up in this effort to help growers adopt Integrated Pest Management methods.
The Eco-Apple team is also exploring the idea of creating an “eco-label,” which participating growers could use to market apples at a premium price to environmentally conscious consumers.
With IPM, growers use a combination of cultural and chemical methods to control pests. They decide whether to apply pesticides by analyzing information about pest levels, weather, plant stage and other factors. Growers who use IPM correctly can improve their profits by reducing pesticide costs while maintaining apple quality.
Michelle Miller of the College’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems directs the program. She helps growers build informal information-sharing networks and finds them resources to reduce the economic risk of trying something new.
It’s not a top-down directorship.
“It’s a grower-led initiative. We’ve got a lot of growers taking the lead in telling us what they need, and what works and what doesn’t,” she says.
The Eco-Apple project began in 2003 and now has about 40 growers participating. During 2004 and 2005, 11 of those growers joined in a trial run of ecologically sensitive apple production standards in Door County and southeastern Wisconsin. Each orchardist worked with an IPM coach, who helped evaluate existing practices and suggested ways to implement IPM. The coach’s assessment gave orchardists an opportunity to rethink their approach to pest management and learn about innovative tools and techniques.
Project coach John Aue (B.S. Entomology, 1982) puts it this way: “Growers don’t trust what they don’t see in the field — it’s my job to confirm that the pests aren’t there.”
The program is producing results. Participants in 2004-2005 increased IPM adoption by 14 percent and decreased their pesticide use by 44 percent. The project’s success was noted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when it named CIAS an Environmental Stewardship Champion in 2005.
Miller is working to help growers sign up for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which can help pay for coaching and new conservation practices. She’s also helping to train county UW-Extension agents to support growers in their efforts to use IPM.
“Many growers are committed to reducing pesticides and have innovative ideas for ways to do it,” Miller says. “With a little coaching and support, especially in how to collect data and analyze it, they are better positioned to take the risks inherent in changing their management approach to include a pesticide-reduction goal."