INTEGRATED PLANT PROTECTION CENTER

Current Research and

Extension Activities

National Pesticide Information Center, Jeffrey Jenkins, Co-Principle Investigator (P.I.)
NPIC is a web site and toll-free information service sponsored cooperatively by Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NPIC provides objective, science-based information about a wide variety of pesticide-related subjects including pesticide products, pesticide poisonings, toxicology, and environmental chemistry.

EXTOXNET: The Extension Toxicology Network, Jeffrey Jenkins, Collaborator
The EXtension TOXicology NETwork (EXTOXNET) is a collaborative effort of  toxicology and environmental chemistry outreach programs at the University of California, Davis, Oregon State University, Michigan State University, Cornell University, and the University of Maryland. EXTOXNET was one of the earliest web-based Extension delivery projects aimed at national audience and is among the 5 most widely used internet sites for those seeking technical information on pesticides and household chemicals (see http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet).

Regionalized IPM Outreach: Buffers, Drift Management and BMP’s to Protect Water Quality, Paul Jepson, P.I., and Jeffrey Jenkins, Co-P.I.
An urgent need exists for adoption of nutrient and pest management plans that protect and restore water quality in the Pacific Northwest.  The overall goal of this project is to provide educational opportunities for landowners demonstrate the need for water quality protection and to connect landowners with agricultural professionals other providers of water resource protection assistance.  The project will build a partnership among private and public agencies that will provide continuing education opportunities for landowners and tecbnical service providers in water resource protection after project termination.

Pesticide Analytical and Response Center, Jeffrey Jenkins, Consultant
The Pesticide Analytical and Response Center (PARC) exists under Oregon Revised Statutes—Chapter 634, Section 550 (ORS 634.550).  The governing board of PARC consists of representatives from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Health Services, Oregon-OSHA, the State Fire Marshall’s Office, and the Oregon Poison Control Center. As a consultant I regularly attend PARC meetings, and participate in PARC activities.  These activities include identifying problems related to pesticide use, and formulating recommendations to address these problems.

Evaluation of Riparian Vegetation for Spray Drift Mitigation, Jeffrey Jenkins, Co-P.I. with Helmut Riedl (Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center)
Wasco County contains nearly 9,000 acres of cherry orchards. Orchard management practices use airblast sprayers and spray planes to apply pesticides. Growers in the area follow BMP’s for sprayer operation. This project will provide the information and support needed by Oregon producers to make decisions about drift barriers and riparian stands that reduce the risk of pesticide pollution in Oregon waterways. Both aerial and ground airblast applications will be monitoring to determine effective buffer distances and vegetative barriers to reduce spray drift in riparian areas.

Enabling Lower Risk Pest Management Practices Using Localized Weather and Climate Information, Co-Investigator, Paul Jepson, P.I.
An urgent need exists for adoption of nutrient and pest management plans that protect and restore water quality in the Pacific Northwest.  The overall goal of this project is to provide educational opportunities for landowners demonstrate the need for water quality protection and to connect landowners with agricultural professionals other providers of water resource protection assistance.  The use of weather services available on the IPPC web site will be discussed as a tool to assist landowners and advisors in pest management decisions that reduce environmental impacts associated with pesticide use practices. This will include the use of weather data to maximize pesticide efficacy and minimize pesticide off site movement due to drift, post application volatile loss, runoff and leaching.

Reducing dependence on POPs and Other Agro-Chemicals in the Senegal and Niger River Basins, Co-Investigator, Paul Jepson, P.I., and Jeffrey Jenkins, Co-P.I.
The project is focused on the two principal river basins in the West African sub-region, the Niger and Senegal River Basins, and addresses riverine contamination issues related mostly to irrigated-farming activities. Trends in all six countries are towards increased use and dependence on agro-chemicals, which has, ironically, contributed to declining long-term agricultural productivity, environmental quality and human well-being, through toxic contamination of food-chains and disruption of ecosystem services. We will develop in-country capability to monitor pesticide concentrations in water associated with pesticide use and irrigation practices. Risk assessment methods employing monitoring data and environmental fate models will be used to characterize human and environmental risk. Findings will be delivered to both policy makers and in farmer field schools, with the goal of fostering the adoption of pest management practices that improve food security and rural livelihoods while minimizing impacts on human and environmental health.

USDA CSREES Cooperative Regional Research Project W-1045, Jeffrey Jenkins, Collaborator
The W-1045 project focuses on building collaborations between land-grant extension specialists, researchers, USDA-ARS scientists, and institution representatives from basic and applied research disciplines to identify and develop appropriate research and strategies for minimizing adverse impacts to humans and the environment resulting from agrochemical use. This multidisciplinary effort enables technology transfer and opportunities for region-wide collaboration on complex environmental fate and effects issues that are beyond the scope of a single State Agricultural Experiment Station or ARS. The outcomes of the W-45 project are deliverables that can be utilized by regulatory agencies, growers, agrochemical manufacturers and applicators, and regional agricultural commodity groups for making prudent pesticide management decisions.