The Last Word
By Kristen Searer-Jones
Think of IR-4 as a cloaked superhero — often unseen but doing critical work for the specialty crop community. For over 60 years, IR-4 has developed the data required for registrations of safe, effective pest management products for specialty crop growers. Driven by growers’ priorities, IR-4’s research supports healthy harvests, economic growth, agricultural livelihoods, affordable produce and thriving landscapes. We hope you’ll learn more, connect with IR-4 and voice your needs to help shape our future research.
Where We Are
IR-4 is a national research program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, headquartered at North Carolina State University. Four regional IR-4 offices are at University of Florida, Michigan State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and University of California, Davis.
IR-4’s Southern Region team at the University of Florida is a vital ally to southeastern growers. I was recently appointed a new regional field coordinator for IR-4 and am excited to serve.
IR-4’s efforts encompass specialty food and ornamental crops. IR-4 has expert staff that understand specialty crops of all kinds, from top producers like tomatoes and nursery plants to more niche crops like avocados and cut flowers.
In the Southern Region, this year’s priorities include:
- Evaluating new herbicides for peach and sweet potato
- A fungicide for stevia
- Assessing multiple products to tackle stem and fruit canker in dragon fruit
- An aphid treatment for blueberry
Pest Management Tactics
IR-4 is needed because conventional and organic specialty crop growers often have insufficient options for pest management. Chemical companies focus their funds on larger-acreage “major” crops, leaving specialty crops as orphans. IR-4 evaluates synthetic and bio-based pesticides — as well as emerging technologies — to protect specialty crops and moves new tools through the regulatory process
While the changing regulatory landscape for pest management products is challenging, IR-4 is well positioned to navigate it and deliver tools that address the needs of growers, consumers and the environment.
How IR-4 Works
Guided by the needs of growers, IR-4 invites input from specialty crop stakeholders to help shape its research priorities. On a rolling basis, stakeholders submit project requests, which are prioritized at the annual Food Use Workshop and biennial Environmental Horticulture Workshop. Once the highest-priority projects are selected, IR-4 proceeds with research in collaboration with land-grant researchers across the United States.
After research is complete, IR-4 develops and submits the required data to the Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate product approvals. With new approved uses on specialty crops, growers have increased options for managing pests. IR-4 has secured over 23,000 pest product registrations on food crops since 1963 and countless more for ornamental crops.
Make Your Voice Heard
As specialty crop growers and researchers, we bet you have pest management needs and ideas. By sharing them with IR-4, you can help shape our next research cycle. IR-4’s regional teams often hold meetings to discuss regional issues prior to national priority-setting meetings. Regional teams can also help stakeholders submit project requests. We encourage all involved with specialty crops to make your voice heard. Visit www.ir4project.org/about-ir4/submit-a-request to submit a project request.
See ir4project.org and srir4.ifas.ufl.edu to learn more.
Kristen Searer-Jones is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences research coordinator in Gainesville.
