Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/11/2016
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Location
Building 75,
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Learn how to attract beneficial insects to farms and orchards for natural pest control. This workshop will cover:
- The importance of beneficial insects – predators and parasitoids that attack insect pests.
- Overview of conservation biological control and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
- How to identify beneficial insects and distinguish them from other insects.
- How to recognize the habitat needs of beneficial insects and identify habitat deficiencies.
- The design and implementation of habitat improvements, including site preparation, insectary strip plantings, hedgerows, beetle banks, and more.
- The current best management practices that minimize land-use impacts on beneficial insects and mitigate exposure to insecticides.
- How to access USDA conservation programs for financial and technical support.
This full-day training will provide you with the latest science-based approaches to pest management strategies that seeks to integrate beneficial insects back into cropping systems for natural pest control, ultimately reducing and in some cases eliminating the need for insecticides. This strategy is based upon ongoing research that continues to demonstrate a link between the conservation of natural habitat and reduced pest problems on farms, orchards, and gardens.
Cost
Registration is $20 per person. Course registration includes the Xerces Society’s Conservation Biological Control Toolkit.
Copies of Farming with Native Beneficial Insects will be available for purchase on site.
Please bring your own lunch.
Co-hosted by NOFA/RI, USDA NRCS, URI and the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation.
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