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July 2, 2021
Pest Management Solutions for Specialty Crops and Specialty Uses
Greetings!

The following is a recap of news and updates from the IR-4 Project during the month of May.
IR-4 Launches New Homepage and Other Website Improvements
We have launched a new homepage for the IR-4 Project website at www.ir4project.org. The new homepage is one piece of our overall efforts to improve our digital presence and educate audiences about the importance and purpose of the IR-4 Project, while also continuing to make resources available to our partners.

The links to our program databases and other industry-focused resources that were previously located on our homepage have moved to the new "Industry Resources" item in our website navigation menu. This is where you will also find a link to the new Industry Resources page of our website.

We look forward to continuing our efforts to improve the IR-4 Project website. If you encounter information on our website that is out of date or links that are broken, please send an email to ir-4_project@ncsu.edu and a member of staff will respond.
Reminder: Register Today for the 2021 Industry Technology Session

The 2021 Industry Technology Session is less than a month away! The virtual session will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, July 20, starting at 11 a.m. EDT.

Click the below button to register and visit our event webpage often for updates.  
Companies interested in participating in the Industry Technology Session should email Venkat Pedibhotla at vkpedibh@ncsu.edu no later than 5 p.m. EDT Friday, July 9 to secure a presentation slot.
Save The Dates:
Mark your calendars for the 2021 Food Use Workshop and 2021 Environmental Horticulture Program Workshop taking place later this year. More information for each event will be announced as details are finalized.
New HQ Employee Spotlight - Kathryn Homa
Kathryn joins our NC State University headquarters as registration manager and senior study director with our Regulatory Sciences group. Kathryn has worked for the IR-4 Project since 2008 in a variety of capacities including assistant coordinator/study director, IR-4 submissions coordinator and most recently as biologist, plant pathology. In her new capacity, Kathryn will continue to be involved in IR-4 plant pathology biology activities.  

Kathryn brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our growing headquarters team at NC State. She has a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture-floriculture from Delaware Valley University, a master’s degree in plant pathology from Rutgers University, and will defend her dissertation later this year to obtain her Ph.D. in plant pathology/natural products and human health from Rutgers University.
New HQ Employee Spotlight - Thomas "Tom" Pike
Tom joins our NC State University headquarters as a study director with our Regulatory Sciences group. Tom is also a familiar face to the organization and has worked for the IR-4 Project since 2018. He has served as the assistant coordinator/entomology and most recently as the acting entomology discipline coordinator.

Tom brings great experience and knowledge to our growing headquarters team at NC State. He has a bachelor’s degree in marine science (marine biology) with a minor in entomology from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Maryland. 
Environmental Horticulture Program News
IR-4 Environmental Horticulture Team Responds to BTM

Recent confirmation of the presence of Box Tree Moth (BTM) in the United States has prompted IR-4's Environmental Horticulture Program to respond with information for growers to help identify and eradicate the pest.

Read more
www.ir4project.org
Picatina Flora and Postiva Crop Safety Summaries
Pydiflumetofen + Fludioxanil Crop Safety - 2021

Pydiflumetofen + Fludioxonil is a new fungicide being developed for the control of foliar and soil-borne diseases of environmental (aka ornamental) horticulture crops. The IR-4 Project completed 54 crop safety trials on 26 environmental...

Read more
www.ir4project.org
Pydiflumetofen + Difenoconazole Crop Safety - 2021

Pydiflumetofen + Difenoconazole is a new fungicide being developed for the control of foliar diseases of environmental (aka ornamental) horticulture crops. The IR-4 Project completed 24 crop safety trials on 11 environmental horticulture plant...

Read more
www.ir4project.org
Resource Helps Environmental Horticulture Growers Balance Managing Pests and Protecting Pollinators
The Environmental Horticulture Program has developed a new resource to help growers better protect pollinators while also managing pests. Through the program’s Protecting Bees project, researchers have developed a Comparative Efficacy and Ecotox table that gives growers additional insight into the effects of pest management tools.
 
This tool gives growers the ability to look up frequently used pesticides for problem pests, such as mealybugs and mites. Growers can see the efficacy of the product, as well as the degree of risk to the environment associated with each pesticide when used in different settings, such as nurseries and landscapes. The table is live and will be updated as new data are collected and published.
Crop Vignette: Crapemyrtle

Lagerstroemia or crape myrtle is a genus of about 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the family Lythraceae, that are native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia and parts of Oceania.

Read more
www.ir4project.org
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2021-34383-34848 and 2020-34383-32455 with substantial cooperation and support from the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, USDA-ARS and USDA-FAS. In accordance with Federal Law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.