- 15 - 



result of the I PM program. Overall, the average number of insecticides 

 applied per season was 8.9: miticides, 1.9; fungicides, 11.9; and herbicides 

 0.9. We are presently analyzing data from a survey of actual grower spray 

 records from 1983 to the present to determine if the data in the I PM impact 

 survey are accurate. There is reason to believe, for example, that pesti- 

 cide use by growers who employ private I PM scout/consultants is much lower 

 than the state averages which survey respondents gave, clearly an "impact" 

 of IPM. The impact survey did not address the issue of Dosage Equ i val ents , 

 a measure of actual rates of pesticide used. Since I PM growers may use less 

 than the maximum label rate, study of actual spray records to look at DE ' s 

 applied may present a very different picture of pesticide use. These points 

 will also be clarified by further analyses of the survey data. 



Usefulness of Pest Control Information 



The format of Table 3 'S similar to that of Table 1--a mean response on 

 a range of 1 to A, in this case with 1 = "very useful" and ^4 = "not useful". 

 There was also a response of 5 = "never used." A mean score of 2.5 or less 

 indicated that more people gave positive ratings; higher than 2.5 indicated 

 a negative rating. 



Table 3- Sources of pest control information. 



Information source Mean response 



Articles in Fruit Notes 1.33 



March message 1 .50 



Extension handbooks and manuals 1.66 



Pest Alert message by mail 1.67 



Talking to the regional Extension agent 1 .8A 



Pest Alert message by Code-A-Phone ] .Sh 



Pesticide dealers and salespeople 2.30 



Private consultants 2.67 



Neighboring farmers 2.75 



Articles in trade magazines 2.98 



Newspaper articles 3.58 



Weekly IPM Pest Alert Messages, the New England Pest Control Guide, and the 

 annual March Message were the three most frequently cited sources of infor- 

 mation on pesticides. About equal numbers relied on regional extension 

 agents, University Extension personnel, and agricultural chemical fieldmen 

 for such information. Altnough almost 25? of respondents said they "never" 

 used University Extension personnel d i rect 1 y as a source of information, it 

 should be noted that the three most frequently cited information sources on 

 pesticides originate with University faculty and professional staff in 

 Entomology and Plant Pathology. A majority of growers said they "never" 

 obtained pesticide information from a neighboring farmer or an agricultural 

 magazine. Although the vast majority said they "never" used private con- 

 sultants, it should be remembered that only 7% of growers surveyed in the 

 study used private consultants for IPM scouting and advice. 



