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Annual Reports2003—UC IPM on the World Wide Web
The UC IPM Web site has a new look. A major goal of the new design is to help residential and agricultural users find solutions to their pest problems more easily. Also, by more clearly identifying the site's ready-to-use information, end users will be unlikely to confuse what UC scientists know and recommend with what is still under study. The new design, which shares some of the look of the UC ANR site, also
Another objective is to make the pages more accessible to disabled users by conforming to World Wide Web Consortium coding standards. The new standards also help the pages to be adapted to new technologies, such as cell phone or personal digital assistants that, because of their small size, require more flexible formatting. Not all changes will be implemented at once, so that users will be introduced to new aspects over several months.
A new dimension has been added to the UC IPM Web site with the creation of an easy-to-use seasonal activity guide that helps users to better access information and recommendations in the Prune Pest Management Guidelines. With this tool, growers can integrate monitoring and management activities for multiple pests, which is truly the essence of IPM; by simply selecting a season dormant/delayed dormant, bloom, fruit development, or postharvest the user immediately gains access to information about o why the time period is important in an IPM program o which pests need to be monitored and how o photo keys for identifying major and minor pests likely to be encountered o monitoring forms in PDF format that can be printed out. Direct links from each time period to the Prune Guideline make this program a great tool for easily locating relevant information. Additional seasonal activity programs are planned for other guidelines in the Pest Management Guideline series.
A new addition to the UC IPM Web site is a photo gallery of common natural enemies of insect and mite pests. Similar to the weed photo galley, the natural enemies gallery includes photos of life stages of natural enemies; textual information about identification, hosts, and prey; and whether or not they are available commercially. Although only 20 predators and parasitoids are currently listed, we plan to continue to add to this database.
UC IPM’s Healthy Lawns Web site, inaugurated in late 2002, has been greatly expanded over the last year. Designed to help residents, park managers, and others manage their lawns with a minimum of pesticides, this attractively illustrated interactive program has already received accolades from users across the state. A new diagnostic key helps users identify dozens of lawn problems and potential solutions. Over 80% of lawn damage can be attributed to inappropriate management practices, yet most people tend to blame this damage on pests. Thus the key asks users to first answer a series of questions about conditions that may have contributed to their problem, such as turfgrass species planted, irrigation issues, mowing height, shade, or amount of wear. If none of these factors appears to be the cause, users move on to a pest identification key. After selecting their turfgrass species and the season when they first saw damage, they work their way through a series of symptoms that resemble their problem. The final step in the key is a summary screen, containing information on identification, monitoring, prevention, and least toxic management solutions, and many color photographs for the likely causal agent, which may be one of many insect pests, diseases, or abiotic disorders. Other 2003 additions include an illustrated key to more than 50 broadleaf and grassy weed species found in lawns and a complete section on weed management. The program was authored by Cheryl Reynolds along with Mary Louise Flint. Turfgrass Specialists Vic Gibeault and Frank Wong and Horticultural Advisors Ali Harivandi and Pam Geisel were major contributors. Joe DiTomaso helped with the weed key. Joyce Strand advised on Web site issues. The USDA Western Regional IPM Program and the Slosson Foundation provided financial support.
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