The 1-800-PENN-IPM Hotline is Active for 2022

At the time of this writing, Dr. Kari Peter and Dr. Beth Gugino have already begun recording messages. We expect the other hotline message boxes to spring into action soon if they are not already active by the time this article arrives in your hands.

If you are unfamiliar with the hotline or if it has been some time since you last used it, the 1-800 PENN IPM line is designed to provide concise bursts of content on matters of immediate importance relating to production fields and orchards.

A specialist or educator records messages on an as-needed basis to provide convenient access to content wherever telephone service is available. While the hotline cannot serve as a replacement for the fuller articles available in print or on the Penn State Extension website, the recordings are designed to be short and to the point to appraise you of critical concerns worth investigating on your farms.

The system was upgraded and expanded in 2020 to provide more content than ever before, including content outside that of pest control. There are now dedicated lines for disease, insect, and general tree fruit horticultural management and announcements of upcoming Extension programs and services. Each message line provides 90 seconds-worth of content for each of these subjects compared to the previous format, where only one message box served all of these areas. There are also dedicated message boxes for various vegetable crops and small fruit for those of you who have diversified operations.

The hotline also has expanded its content for Spanish-speaking listeners. Messages posted to the tree fruit lines will be translated and posted to the tree fruit Spanish-language message box as quickly as possible upon their release by our specialists. (The Spanish tree fruit line is not yet split into sub-categories like the tree fruit or vegetable lines.) We hope that by providing this information in Spanish, your guest workers and members of our local Latinx communities for whom English is a second language will be able to access this information more readily and with fewer misunderstandings than reliance on English-language messages only. (Of course, anyone may access any of the message boxes, in English or Spanish, at any time!)

To listen to the recordings, simply dial 1-800 PENN IPM (1-800-736-6476) with a touch-tone phone and follow the directions at the message prompts. A convenient chart is given below to make locating messages of interest easier. If you wish to have a printed copy of this chart and instructions on how to access the system to hang on your wall near your phone or your refrigerator, contact a local Extension agent as we have a supply of pre-printed mailers that can be sent to you.

We are always interested in your feedback. If you think of a topic to be addressed or a crop that should receive a dedicated message box, please contact your local Extension educator to make those suggestions. There is room for expansion in this new system. If there is significant demand and an available specialist or educator to provide the content, we will consider adding it.