North Carolina Pest News Begins 26th Year of Production
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On April 15, the first issue of the North Carolina Pest News for 2011 was published, marking the 26th year of production of the newsletter.
The North Carolina Pest News is a newsletter published in electronic form by the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University, and contains up-to-date information on the status of disease and insect pests in North Carolina from Extension specialists in the two departments. Steve Toth, Extension Entomologist and Integrated Pest Management Coordinator, is the editor of the newsletter. From April until the middle of September, new issues of the North Carolina Pest News will be available every Monday morning on the Internet at http://ipm.ncsu.edu/current_ipm/pest_news.html.
In the fall of 2010, an on-line survey of North Carolina Pest News readers was conducted to determine the use and value of the newsletter. A total of 52 individuals responded to the online survey. Twenty-three percent of the survey respondents were county Extension agents, 15% landscapers, nursery managers or golf course superintendents, 8% farmers or farm managers, 8% agricultural consultants, 8% Master Gardeners or other volunteers, 6% pesticide dealers or distributors, 4% North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services personnel, 4% pesticide industry representatives, 4% aerial applicators of pesticides, 2% land-grant university Extension specialists and researchers, and 2% pest control operators. The majority of survey respondents (72%) read the newsletter every week, while the remainder read the newsletter less often.
Approximately 94% of the survey respondents reported that they read the North Carolina Pest News to increase their knowledge of current diseases and insect pests, 33% sent electronic or printed copies of selected sections or articles to other persons (i.e., clients, co-workers, friends, etc.), and 21% incorporated selected sections or articles into their own publications (newsletters, pest alerts, etc.). Additionally, 14% of respondents sent electronic or printed copies of the entire newsletter to other persons, while 2% placed links to the newsletter from their Internet site.
When asked to indicate which sections of the newsletter they read, 77% of survey respondents reported that they read the announcements and general information section, 62% the ornamentals and turf section, 56% the field and forage crop section, 56% the fruits and vegetables section, 37% the insect light trap data, and 31% the residences, structures and communities section.
Rating the usefulness of the North Carolina Pest News, approximately 60% of the survey respondents reported that the newsletter was “extremely useful,” 29% “very useful,” and 11% “somewhat useful.”
Comments offered by survey respondents provided insight into the use and value of the North Carolina Pest News to readers. Examples of comments include:
“I am so thankful that as a consultant I have access to such up-to-date and useful information. It is an asset that I hope I never have to do without.
“As a garden center employee I really like to know what pests to look out for, and the control suggestions are very helpful.
“I have found this information source extremely informative and most timely. Several times an article was published on Monday and I actually experienced the subject matter of the publication within days. In particular the alert about the cane borers of the blackberries and raspberries was most timely. After reading the piece about them I saw the borers in action on some plants of mine.
“Thank you for doing this in this format. It is quite helpful to me in my business in conjunction with Amanda Stone, our extraordinary agent in Buncombe County.
“This is the kind of proactive tool that we need out here to do our jobs. It’s incredibly helpful to have this information available before problems reach a critical stage. And I think it reflects really well on our organization when I can tell clients that I was recently updated on this issue by a specialist from NC State University. It sounds like we are in touch. Do whatever you can to involve other specialists to add comments about plant phenology and what we should and should not be seeing. It’s a very valuable type of in-service training for Agents.
“I thank all who contribute their time and expertise in putting the newsletter together. I greatly enjoy the knowledge I receive from it and the occasional humor placed in it makes it delightful and fun to read.”
Written by: Steve Toth, Extension IPM Coordinator, 919-513-8189 or steve_toth@ncsu.edu
Date: April 26, 2011