Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Agronomic: sunflower

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, cultural control, host resistance, pesticide application timing, pesticide resistance management, pesticides

• Crop Production: crop rotation

• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

Approximately 85-90% of the 2.0 M acres of sunflower in the U.S. are planted in the North Central States. According the National Sunflower Association, diseases are the most significant biological yield-limiting factor for sunflower production, yet few pathologists work on sunflower and until recently, limited reference and Extension materials on sunflower diseases were available. As a consequence, disease identification and management consistently have been challenging and some growers resort to a ‘spray and pray’ approach to disease management. To address this problem, a small group of pathologists formed a Sunflower Pathology Working Group (SPWG) in 2013 with support from the North Central IPM Center. The mission of the SPWG continues to be to develop reference and Extension materials and events that will help growers and stakeholders better identify diseases and facilitate their ability to use IPM, and to deliver that information in the forms they are most likely to utilize.  The objectives in 2022 are to; 1) increase communication among pathologists working on sunflower, 2) submit an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) proposal (anticipated 100% Extension), and 3) create a ‘How to Diagnose Plant Diseases’ Diagnostic Card Set.  Objective 1 continues to build relationships among scientists among the NC states with those in the international sunflower community.  Objective 2 is designed to deliver information about through three-state coordinated demonstration plots (and events) through Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In addition to summer events, short video clips will be created in the trials for use at winter meetings and hosted by the National Sunflower Association. The anticipated outcome of the CARE project is that growers make the best management decisions.  Objective 3 is designed to aid consultants, agents, growers and young pathologists improve their ability to diagnose a disease, take useful photos and appropriate samples. We have selected the diagnostic card set as the method of delivery because of grower feedback on previous outputs.  Ultimately, we believe our impact will be to eliminate the ‘spray and pray’ approach to sunflower disease management, and replace it with an IPM approach. This proposal is designed to help fulfill the mission of the NC IPM Center ‘…..to facilitate the development and adoption of IPM solutions, based in the North Central region’, and will contribute to NCIPM Center Signature Programs ‘Invasive Species and Re-Emerging Pests’, ‘Pest Resistance Management’, and ‘Advanced Genetic Tools and IPM’.

1) increase communication among pathologists working on sunflower,

2) submission of an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) proposal (anticipated 100% Extension), and,

3) the creation of a ‘How to Diagnose Plant Diseases’ Diagnostic Card Set.