Duke University
OP-9: Integrated Pest Management

Approximately 25% of the Duke University Grounds employees have their North Carolina Pest Management Association licenses, so the staff is dedicated to using the most sustainable practices. All of the grounds are monitored and tended to in a way to support the health of the plants. Planting techniques, compost, and native species are all used to deter pests. In general, the plants on campus have a high threshold for insects, and sprays are only used as a last resort in a highly targeted and controlled manner. The acreage that requires more rigorous pest management are the 20 acres of athletic fields. The entire 55 acre Duke Gardens and horticultural facilities are managed with IPM strategies. The threshold for pest and disease is relatively high depending on the location in the garden and type of pest. The goal is to eventually manage the garden organically. The hybrid tea rose collection (which requires weekly spraying of fungicide) is being replaced with roses that require no spraying or other chemical treatment to keep them healthy, all the garden’s green/woody waste will soon be composted and or mulched and reused in the garden, and the new ‘Discovery Garden’ (still in design phase) has been selected as one of the pilot projects for the Sustainable Sites Initiative. The 7,025 acres of land in the Duke Forest is also managed with an IPM plan. Control measures are employed when they are judged to be economically and environmentally advisable. These methods include, but are not limited to: removal of mature timber, maintenance of adequate spacing, proper matching of species and sites, shortening the rotation for certain species on high hazard sites, use of genetically improved planting stock, and use of fungicides and insecticides if necessary. Because of the Forest’s commitment to research, demonstration and study plots illustrating insect and disease problems may be created by allowing certain pest conditions to remain unchecked. The deliberate allowance of such conditions is to be closely monitored in order to ensure the prompt implementation of control measures if necessary.