Program Staff: John J. Mishanec

Vegetable IPM Extension Area Educator (since 1990) 90 State Street, 6th Floor, Suite 600, Albany 518.462.2553 jjm27@cornell.edu

EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• M.A.T., Agricultural Education, Cornell University, 1984

• B.S., Plant Pathology, Cornell University, 1975

• Worked as a Agricultural Program Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Schenectady County, 1984-89

• Work as an IPM field scout summers 1981-3. Scouted fruit one summer and potatoes the other two summers.

• Worked five years in West Africa. Peace Corps, Grain Storage Cooperatives, Benin 1975-7. Trained new Peace Corps Volunteers, Togo 1978. Worked on USAID Cereals Project, Niger 1978-80.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and support for IPM demonstrations and education in vegetables in the Eastern half of NY.

• Supervise research support and temporary field staff.

Current/Ongoing Projects

• Research evaluation of onion harvest practices as they influence black mold in storage.

• Research evaluation of late season cover crops to help decrease disease build-up in onion fields.

• Conducting demonstration and evaluation of low toxicity sweet corn insecticides.

Accomplishments (Past Five Years)

• Conducted evaluations and trials of Sudan-grass cover crop in onions as a rotation strategy. Results from thesis trials are now accepted as standard practice when using Sudan-grass.

• As a result of numerous training meetings, demonstrations and newsletter articles, sweet corn growers in Eastern NY practice IPM-timed insect control versus calendar- based spray schedules.

• Developed the Pest Status Report, an E-mail based newsletter received by over 90 Eastern NY farmers and industry people.

• Provide a quality regional vegetable pest management and production program to farmers in Eastern NY. During the summer, most counties have monthly educational twilight meetings where growers get together to learn and share new information.

• Worked to organize teamwork between Eastern NY and neighboring states (Vermont, Mass. and Conn.) to produce a regional web page — The Northeast Vegetable Grower News.

MEMBERSHIPS & SERVICE

• NYS Vegetable Growers Association

• Board member of Retree Schenectady

• NYS Vegetable Conference planning committee

• Vegetable IPM Implementation Committee

HONORS & DISTINCTIONS

• Epsilon Sigma Phi Team Award 1995