Carlos Bogran talks about Spanish IPM workshops

Q. How many Spanish IPM workshops have you conducted?

A. I have conducted more than 20 programs in Texas and have done two in Florida and one in New Jersey . The workshop curriculum is applicable and available for both greenhouse and nursery operations. In Texas , as in other Southern states, many companies grow both floriculture and nursery crops at the same sites.

At this point, more greenhouse workers have been trained -- perhaps due to the more complex nature of the production systems, the short production cycles and the value of the crops grown. These factors may increase the need and value of worker education programs.

Q. In terms of knowledge of pest control issues, in what areas have you found most workers to be lacking?

A. Most lacking is knowledge on biology and identification of insect pests and the factors that influence disease development. Most workers do not have formal education in plant production and plant protection. Once they understand the value of these concepts they can make a more significant contribution.

Q. Has anything surprised you about workers’ actions, knowledge or misconceptions about pest control issues?

A. I have been pleasantly surprised at the workers’ abilities to make connections between simple concepts and their potential application in crop production. Most workers have not had many educational opportunities and yet they quickly get into the learning mode and are able to initiate discussions, ask great questions and complete written tests. With their general lack of formal education, it is easy to have misconceptions about the origins of pests and diseases. However, it does not take much for most of them to make these connections.

Q. Of the five workshops offered, is there one particular session that you are teaching more often?

A. Yes, the session on IPM concepts, which forms the basis for the rest, is the most often requested. I am not surprised because it is the starting point and where the greatest need exists.

Q. Which session has been the hardest for the workers to understand?

A. The hardest session for the workers has been the pesticide management one -- perhaps because of the diversity of pesticides based on how they work, how they are applied and how they interact with the plant. This session also includes concepts that may be harder to grasp without a basic biology background, such as the different ways toxins affect the insects’ normal functions and life cycles.

Q. You are developing a set of instructional videos based on the workshop programs. When will these be available?

A. The videos are part of a two-year project funded by the USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Southern Region IPM Program that started this summer. The first video of the series is expected to be ready sometime next year. The videos are designed to be an alternative to in-person teaching, but because of the limitations of this type of delivery, the videos will not initially cover all subjects of the program.

Once the initial set is completed, there are plans to design an interactive Web-delivery system which may include a self evaluation and reporting system to provide successful participants the ability to obtain completion certificates.

Q. Is there any topic that is currently being covered in an existing workshop that you could see being split out and taught in a separate workshop?

A. The workshop session provides basic concepts and their application. Any of the topics covered may be dealt with in more detail and may warrant additional or complementary workshop sessions.

One topic that may warrant a separate session is pest/disease monitoring, which may require specific examples tailored to each production system and major crop. As interest in biorational products and biological control increases, a session covering these topics may also become appropriate.

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For more: Carlos Bográn, Texas A&M University , Texas Cooperative Extension, (979) 458-3036; c-bogran@tamu.edu; http://cebogran.tamu.edu/index.htm.