148-D – Vegetable and Potato Pest Management.

§ 148-d. Vegetable  and  potato pest management. Within the integrated
  pest management program, there shall  be  established  a  vegetable  and
  potato  pest management program. Such program shall be conducted in such
  a manner to achieve the following objectives:
1.  determine  the  occurrence  and  severity  of  pest  problems   in
  commercial  fields,  and  identify  the  specific  environmental factors
  influencing these events.  Document  the  current  pesticide  usage  and
  assess the effectiveness of current pest management practices;
2.  determine  accurate  and  time-efficient  sampling  procedures and
  forecasting methods which can be  utilized  by  private  consultants  or
  through  cooperative  extension.  Determine the economic relationship of
  pest incidence to yield or quality loss. Develop  non-pesticide  methods
  of  pest  management  in  the  areas  of  cultural practices, biological
  control and crop resistance. In addition the  proper  timing,  selection
  and  use  of  pesticides  will be integrated into the overall management
  programs;
3. aid growers in executing the most optimal crop  protection  program
  by  providing  them  with timely reports on pest presence and population
  density levels, forecasted pest occurrences, crop  growth,  weather  and
  other   environmental   information,  and  providing  the  most  current
  interpretation of the data;
4. increase efforts to educate growers in the principles  and  tactics
  of integrated pest management and demonstrate the economic advantages of
  such a program;
5. develop concepts, techniques, and cultivars for integration of pest
  resistance with other management tactics in potato production (e.g. crop
  rotation, biological control, optimum use of pesticides);
6.   develop   pest  sampling  procedures,  sound  action  thresholds,
  forecasting  procedures,  and  economic  data  necessary  for  effective
  decisions  in  use  of  pest  resistant  cultivars and other tactics for
  management of pests;
7.  demonstrate  the  benefits  and  reliability  of   improved   pest
  management tactics to the New York potato industry; and
8.  monitor  performance  of  the  proposed integrated pest management
  program during  its  initial  phase  of  implementation  by  the  potato
  industry.