MYIPM APP EXPANDS

By Emily Cabrera Integrated Pest Management Program at the University of Georgia

New insect wreaking havoc in your cotton fi eld? Troublesome disease in your peanut stand you don’t recognize? No idea where to start? There’s an app for that.

This year, farmers have a new tool to help them diagnose and combat pests and diseases in row crops. A companion app to the original MyIPM app for fruit and nut crops, Clemson University IPM Coordinator Francis Reay-Jones led the development and release of the new MyIPM Row Crops app that promotes integrated pest management tactics for the most common insect pests and diseases in corn, cotton, grain sorghum, peanuts and soybeans.

The original MyIPM app was fi rst developed by plant pathologist Guido Schnabel at Clemson University to address strawberry disease management, said Brett Blaauw, peach specialist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and collaborator on the app series.

But over time, as demand for this resource grew, additional specialists were invited to contribute to expanding these services to meet the needs of other crops and commodities.

The apps are designed to work in tandem with annual Cooperative Extension production guides and the Georgia Pest Management Handbook by providing image galleries, fact sheets and audio descriptions to help users identify and manage pests.

The apps are regularly updated through a collaboration of Extension specialists from several land-grant universities and the Southern IPM Center.

“And that’s really the most amazing thing about these apps, is that with as much input as they receive from specialists around the country, the apps are completely free,” Blaauw explains.

Updates are instantly pushed out to devices with the downloaded apps, and once content is downloaded or updated on a device, the information can be accessed offl ine for use in the fi eld.

Users can quickly see which crops and diseases a product is registered for, at what rate it is used and how effective it will be. One of the most important features of both apps helps users sort chemicals by groups and generate a plan to rotate or mix active ingredients to optimize performance and mitigate fungicide resistance. Information about resistance risk for each product reminds users to be careful and follow strict resistance management guidelines.

And while the target audience is primarily commercial growers in terms of the chemical recommendations provided by both apps, Blaauw explains that many of the identifi cation, diagnostic and cultural management tools are benefi cial for homeowners as well.

For more information on the MyIPM and MyIPM Row Crops apps, visit apps.bugwood.org. 

APP FEATURES

• MyIPM app screens for late leaf spot in peanut and bollworm in cotton. • Updates are instantly pushed out to devices with downloaded MyIPM apps, and once content is downloaded or updated on a device, the information can be accessed offl ine for use in the fi eld. • Diagnostics, including descriptions and picture galleries of fruit crop diseases, pests and disorders. • Name and description of the causal agents, including two- to fourminute audio from the regional specialist. • Chemical, biological and cultural control tactics. • Interactive tables featuring registered conventional and biological active ingredients for each disease or pest, sortable by FRAC codes, FRAC risk and effi cacy. • Active ingredients and trade names that are linked to each other. • Trade names and their rates per acre, PHI values and REI values plus their risk to the environment, fi eld workers and pollinators. • Search feature to list active ingredients and trade names for each disease or pest together with effi cacy and rate per acre.

Updates are instantly pushed out to devices with downloaded MyIPM apps, and once content is downloaded or updated on a device, the information can be accessed offl ine for use in the fi eld.

USA Peanut Congress Held in June

Peanut Industry Meeting and Awards Presented

The peanut supply chain returned in full force for the 26th annual USA Peanut Congress, co-hosted by the American Peanut Council and the American Peanut Shellers Association. Held June 13-16, 2022, in Charleston, South Carolina, the event attracted over 325 delegates. That is the largest attendance since 2017.

The event started with APC business sessions on June 14, including committee meetings on Sustainability, Export, Afl atoxin, Packaging & Handling, Membership, Peanut Butter for the Hungry, as well as the semi-annual APC board of directors meeting and four caucus meetings – Sheller, Grower, Allied, and Manufacturer. New this year was a special session on how Codex and international trade regulations work.

The following two days included general sessions around such topics as peanut research and diabetes, food infl ation and farming, introduction to the Metaverse, competing internationally, the global peanut crop and weather risk outlook, as well as the 2022 U.S. peanut crop update.

The American Peanut Council presented three awards to individuals who have made an impact through the years in service to the peanut industry and in their research focus.

APC Hall of Fame

During the USA Peanut Congress, Armond Morris was inducted into APC’s Peanut Hall of Fame for his signifi cant contributions as a leader in the American Peanut Council. This award is the highest award for individuals who have made signifi cant contributions as a leader in the American Peanut Council.

Over the years, Morris served as APC’s board chairman in 2011-12 and export board chairman, as well as service on many committees within APC.

Morris supported the APC export programs and accompanied many trade teams on international missions and hosted many international buyers and journalists on their farm in Irwin County, Georgia.

Morris also served on the Peanut Butter for the Hungry task force and has been very supportive of the industry's food aid efforts, particularly the donations of peanut butter from Peanut Proud to food banks and in various natural disasters.

Morris dedicated more than 40 years of service to the Georgia Peanut Commission as an advisory board member, board member and chairman. Morris has been a spokesperson and advocate for Georgia’s peanut farmers on the state, national and international level.

Through the years, Morris has represented farmers as president of the Georgia Young Farmers Association and secretary of the National Young Farmers Association.

Within his hometown of Irwin County, Armond has served as president of the Rotary Club, chairman of the Irwin County Commissioners, president of the Irwin County Young Farmers, serves on the board of the Ben Hill-Irwin County FSA and is a member of the Irwin County Farm Bureau.

Morris received the Southeast Farm Press Peanut Effi ciency Award in 2021, JE Leger Agribusiness Award in 2017, National Peanut Board Buying Points Association- Distinguished Service Award in 2017, Sunbelt Expo Swisher Sweets Farmer of the Year in 2002 and the Master Farmer Award from ABAC and the Georgia Young Farmers Association and Irwin County Young Farmers Association Farm Family Award.

APC Lifetime Achievement Award

The APC’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award winner is Kim Cutchins, former executive offi cer of the American Peanut Research and Education Society (APRES). Cutchins made signifi cant contributions to the peanut industry throughout her career as president and director of industry services at the American Peanut Council and as executive director of APRES.

Cutchins served as executive offi cer of APRES for the past decade before retiring in May 2022. Cutchins brought APRES to new heights in many ways over the past decade. Under her leadership, the organization has expanded its reach beyond the United States. She has led an effort to make sure Peanut Science journal remains in stellar shape, providing essential information to the membership and the peanut community at large.

Cutchins served as president and director of industry services at the National Peanut Council, now known as the American Peanut Council. Cutchins established, operated and served as the fi rst president of the National Peanut Research Foundation, raising more than $2.5 million within its fi rst 3 years.

Cutchins lead a group of 30 private and public sector members that organized the Southeast

American Peanut Council Hall of Fame - Armond Morris (left), farmer from Tift County, was inducted into the APC Hall of Fame during the USA Peanut Congress in June. He is pictured with his wife, Brenda Morris.

Bioenergy Conference for 7 years. Held in Tifton, Georgia (2006-2012), this conference annually attracted between 250 and 550 attendees from 20 states and 7 foreign countries.

APC Peanut Research and Education Award

Juliet (Ye) Chu was presented with the APC’s top scientifi c honor, the Peanut Research and Education Award, for the signifi cant impacts her research has made on all aspects of peanut genetic enhancement. She was an essential part of the peanut genome initiative and her market development research resulted in the release of germplasm lines which are important to the future of peanut breeding.

The Peanut Research and Education Award is sponsored by Bayer CropScience. "Compared to many other higher acreage crops, a relatively small group of scientists are dedicated to peanut research and education, but I would put the list of winners of this award up against any group of scientists anywhere," says Steve Brown, executive director of The Peanut Research Foundation. "And while high performing scientists in general may have a reputation of being aloof and diffi cult to talk to, we are so fortunate to have some of the most talented and easiest to talk to of any crop I’ve ever been associated with."

According to Brown, this year’s winner is certainly no exception to that rule. Ye Chu, known to many in the peanut industry as Juliet, has a bachelor's and master's degree from universities in China and a doctorate in foods and nutrition from the University of Georgia.

Since 2001, Chu has been affi liated with the Peggy Ozias-Akins lab in Tifton, and as such has worked closely with the Corley Holbrook peanut breeding program at USDA. "If you know Juliet, you know that she has a wonderful personality and has repeatedly shown that she is willing to collaborate with an emphasis on the fi nal result, not personal gain," Brown says. "As such, she has worked collaboratively with many other peanut scientists across the U.S. and across the world."

Chu has made signifi cant impacts on all aspects of peanut genetic enhancement, from breeding to genomics. She has streamlined the joint USDA-UGA breeding program with strict organization of workfl ow for parental genotyping, timing of crosses, effi ciency, and record keeping. The skill necessary to effi ciently make crosses between two parent plants is extremely valuable to breeding and research programs. Chu’s crossing skills are unparalleled and have resulted in the development of cultivars and germplasm of high value to the industry.

For example, she was a key contributor to the development of TifNV-High O/L (released in 2014), TifNV-HG and TifJumbo (released in 2021). All were created with the use of molecular markers for nematode resistance and high oleic acid, trait-associated markers that she developed. She has also made major contributions to Corley Holbrook’s soon to be released leafspot resistant varieties, which will change the disease control dynamic of growing peanuts.

Chu was an essential part of the peanut genome initiative, having coordinated and conducted the generation of eight recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations; led the phenotyping of multiple populations for disease resistance traits such as leaf spot, TSWV, and white mold; and provided the materials for sequencing of the tetraploid peanut genome. Her marker development research in structured populations resulted in release of germplasm lines which are so important to the future of peanut breeding.

Congratulations to these deserving award winners. 

American Peanut Council Lifetime Achievement Award - Kim Cutchins, former executive offi cer of the American Peanut Research and Education Society was awarded the APC Lifetime Achievement Award during the USA Peanut Congress in June. American Peanut Council Peanut Research and Education Award - Juliet (Ye) Chu, research professional at the University of Georgia, was awarded the APC Lifetime Achievement Award during the USA Peanut Congress in June.