On-farm IPM Education: 

 Displays and Self-guided Tours 



Craig HoUingsworth, William Coli, and Ronald Prokopy 

 Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts 



Karen Hauschild 



Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Massachusetts 



Returning from a 1995 international scientific 

 conference, two of us toured the fruit growing re- 

 gion of Switzerland. Among the techniques for 

 educating the Swiss consumer about Integrated 

 Fruit Production (the European version of IPM) 

 that we observed were self-guided tours within 

 vineyards. These tours consisted of signs and pic- 



tures which explained a variety of agricultural tech- 

 niques in use in the vineyard. This spawned the 

 idea of educating Massachusetts apple customers 

 about IPM through similar orchard tours. 



Apple growers were solicited to participate in 

 the project through announcements in extension 

 publications and by phone. The nineteen growers 



VISUAL TRAPS attract early season pests 

 such as apple sawtlies and leafininers by 

 mimicking the attractive parts of the apple tree. 

 Using these traps, a farmer can detennine 

 whether pesticide applications are needed, 

 eliminating unnecessary pesticide use. and 

 often resulting in better quality fruit. 



Sawflies are attracted to apple 

 blossoms, mimicked by white traps. 



Leafminers are attracted to reddish 

 tree bark, mimicked bv red traps. 



Apple sawfly adult Sawfly damufie Leafminer adult Leafminer damage 



Trap for apple saw/ly Trap for leafminer adult 



Figure 1. A photograph of one of the signs in the self-guided tour. 



Fruit Notes, Volume 63 (Number 4), Fall, 1998 



17 



