NPDN 2007 Meeting - NPDN Training and Education

NPDN National Meeting 2007

Poster Abstract

NPDN Training and Education

Authors: AMANDA C. HODGES (1), Robert J. McGovern (2), Tim Momol (3), Mary McKellar (4), Gail Ruhl (5), Gerald Holmes (6), Steven Cain (7), William Lanier (8), Nina Zidack (8), Richard Hoenisch (9)

Affiliations: (1) SPDN, University of Florida, Entomology & Nematology Department, Gainesville, FL; (2) SPDN, University of Florida, Department of Plant Pathology, Gainesville, FL; (3) SPDN, University of Florida, NFREC, Department of Plant Pathology, Quincy, FL; (4) NEPDN, Cornell University, Department of Plant Pathology, Ithaca, NY; (5) Purdue University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, West Lafayette, IN; (6) North Carolina State University, Department of Plant Pathology, Raleigh, NC; (7) Purdue University, EDEN, West Lafayette, IN; (8) Montana State University, Department of Animal and Range Science, Bozeman, MT ; (9) WPDN, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA

The NPDN Training and Education Subcommittee initiated a nationwide program for First Detectors (FDs) in the fall of 2003. These individuals include anyone who is in a position to notice an unusual plant pest outbreak and is trained to report unusual pest activity to the network’s diagnostic labs. Guidelines and polices for FD training are continually updated and communicated by the subcommittee through the First Detector Educator Training Manual. Over 12,000 FDs have received training using the six core modules and training manual and over 3,000 are included in a national FD registry. Registered FDs receive the national FD newsletter and pest alert information. Special topic training sessions have also been conducted on primarily high-risk plant diseases and arthropods of interest, such as Soybean Rust, Sudden Oak Death, and Pink Hibiscus Mealybug. Increasing the availability and quantity of information accessible on the internet to all potential FDs and Extension educators has been the most recent emphasis of the subcommittee. Six core training modules and special topic modules are now available on the First Detector Information Page of the NPDN website http://www.npdn.org/ . In addition to increasing availability of training materials, online testing and learning options will be built into the program during 2007 at http://cbc.at.ufl.edu/.

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