Outreach

IPM Programs for Commercial Growers
IPM integrates many tactics for effective pest suppression while seeking to protect the environment and reduce risks to human health. IPM tactics are diverse and can include tools  such as crop rotations, sanitation, biological control agents, resistant varieties, selective pesticides and physical barriers. IPM educational programs provide information on pest  management alternatives through field training, conferences, workshops, and publications. Regular pest alerts are also provided through email and the IPM website. IPM programs are currently offered for:

Vegetables
Tree and small fruit
Wine grapes
Field corn
Greenhouse crops
Nursery crops

Turfgrass IPM
Turfgrass is grown in a wide variety of settings, including parks, school grounds, residential and commercial lawns, athletic fields and golf courses. IPM for these settings integrates many tactics for effective pest suppression while seeking to protect the environment and reduce risks to human health. IPM tactics are diverse and can include tools such as sanitation, maintenance of good soil conditions, biological control agents, pest-resistant and stress-tolerant turfgrasses, and selective pesticides The IPM program offers educational programs to turfgrass managers, Master Gardeners and the general public.

IPM Curriculum Project
The Connecticut Curriculum for Integrated Pest Management is a science-based curriculum that teaches the concepts and methods of IPM to school children and 4-H youth. With funding from the Bingham Trust, IPM curriculum kits for grades K-1, 2-3 and 7-8 have now been developed and implemented in schools. A key component of the IPM curriculum is that more than 85% of the revised Connecticut Science Standards are covered in the lessons.

Invasive Plant IPM
The Invasive Plant IPM program provides educational outreach on non-native invasive plants and their alternatives, and it is integrally connected with the statewide Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG).  Since 1995, the program has focused on biological control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), training volunteers to become Beetle Farmers and raise beneficial insects for control of this widespread invasive plant.

Faculty /Staff:
Jude Boucher, Associate Extension Educator
Vegetable IPM     
860-875-3331, jude.boucher@uconn.edu
Tolland County Extension Center

Donna Ellis, Extension Educator
Invasive Plant IPM, IPM School Curriculum, Nursery IPM
860-486-6448, donna.ellis@uconn.edu
Department of Plant Science

Frank Himmelstein, Associate Extension Educator
Field Crops IPM
860-887-1608, frank.himmelstein@uconn.edu
New London County Extension Center

Richard Kiyomoto, Public Service Specialist
Wine grape IPM
860-486-6271, Richard.kiyomoto@uconn.edu
Department of Plant Science

Ana Legrand, Assistant Extension Professor, Entomology
IPM Program Coordinator
860-486-0869, ana.legrand@uconn.edu
Department of Plant Science

Lorraine Los, Research Associate
Fruit IPM
860-846-6449, lorraine.los@uconn.edu
Department of Plant Science

Leanne Pundt, Extension Educator
Commercial Horticulture, Greenhouse crops IPM
860-626-6240,leanne.pundt@uconn.edu
Litchfield County Extension Center

Steven Rackliffe, Extension Instructor, Turf Science
Turfgrass IPM
860-486-1944, steven.rackliffe@uconn.edu

Philippe Rolshausen, Postdoctoral Associate
Wine grape IPM
860-486-6271, philippe.rolshausen@uconn.edu