Authors: Molly Sayles, Robert Orpet, and Louie Nottingham
This post highlights the work of researchers funded through the BIOAg Program, a competitive grants program administered by CSANR, created to stimulate research, extension and education investments by WSU scientists and to advance the development, understanding, and use of biologically-intensive, organic and sustainable agriculture in Washington State.
You are at the grocery store in the produce section. Pears are in season, so you go over to pick a few out – maybe they will elevate your next charcuterie board. After inspecting a few, you grab pears that appear to be pristine, symmetrical in shape and with smooth, unsullied skin. These are worth your money.
You don’t really think about every behind-the-scenes decision that went into producing the perfect pears for you. You recognize differences between organic and non-organic, making your choice accordingly, but specifications on production are not communicated in the “Bartlett Pears, $1.20/lb” sign. The reality is that each management decision pear growers make affects the fruit you enjoy.
We, the Pear Insects Lab at WSU, are fascinated by the decision-making processes and their impacts on the pear industry. As entomologists, we are often trained to think on a small, sometimes minute scale when it comes to agriculture, but we see the value in incorporating humans into the equation as well.
Pear psylla is the most important pear pest in the Pacific Northwest. The immature stage feeds on pear trees, excreting honeydew, a sugary substance that drips onto the fruit. This results in aesthetic damage that downgrades the pears and ultimately reduces grower profit. In Wenatchee, WA, where our team is based, pear psylla is primarily controlled with “broad-spectrum” pesticides, chemicals that indiscriminately kill all insects. This type of management is expensive and not reliably effective.
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a management strategy that minimizes insect damage to crops, while maximizing grower profit and contributing to environmental sustainability. It centers around minimizing broad-spectrum products and instead aims to build populations of beneficial predatory insects that provide free biological control services.
Our team’s projects explore the effectiveness of IPM for the pear orchards of Wenatchee Valley. In general, we find that orchards that practice IPM produce similar quality pears to conventionally managed orchards, while saving growers at least $400/acre in cost of pesticides. Sounds like a good deal, right? Interestingly, Wenatchee pear growers are reluctant to adopt IPM practices, despite their apparent benefits and other pear growing regions’ successes.
Our project, funded in 2022 by the CSANR BIOAg Program, examines roadblocks to IPM implementation in Wenatchee Valley pears. We believe that the best way to understand grower perspectives is to speak with them directly, so our primary method is interviews. So far, we have interviewed 12 pear pest management decision makers in the Wenatchee Valley and two from outside regions.
From our preliminary results, it appears that factors for growers adopting pear IPM practices are a complex balance of forces including trust, fear, and knowledge. Exploring these influences is currently giving us a richer understanding of the perceptions and decision-making processes of the pear industry.
In the Wenatchee Valley, pear growers rely on crop consultants, who are often employed by wholesale chemical distributors, to make management recommendations. Therefore, to adopt IPM, the associated crop consultant must be on board. Pear growers and crop consultants often use personal knowledge and peer recommendations to make management decisions, while also incorporating information from university research and Extension services.
Many interviewees stated that they are not convinced that pear psylla IPM works in the Wenatchee Valley as opposed to other regions, such as Hood River, OR. They cite possible reasons for differences in IPM adoption in other pear growing regions to be things like temperature, tree variety, and monoculture issues. This issue underscores the importance of continuing to demonstrate IPM efficacy in the region.
Our plans for this year include conducting interviews with pear pest management decision makers in major pear growing regions in WA, OR, CA, and BC. This may provide us with insight into differences in management practices and IPM adoption between regions.
Through the first year of this project, we have learned how important human perceptions are for us to have a holistic understanding of the pear industry. Now, when we check out pears at the grocery store, we are reminded of the complex system of decision making behind each piece of fruit.