Virginia Commonwealth University
OP-9: Landscape Management

VCU is built into the city of Richmond and some land is maintained by the city. Much of the campus footprint is occupied by paved surfaces and building footprints. Landscape elements are highly fragmented.

We have IPM principles in mind as we care for the campus landscape but it is important to note that we don't have the resources or program elements in place to consistently and systematically progress through the full range of IPM tools before applying pesticides. We do monitor for plant pests and disease though not everywhere and not in a rigorous fashion. It's probably a fair statement to say we look for some things and encounter others incidentally as we work. We haven't formalized action thresholds but pesticides aren't often applied until we have economic damage because we may not notice a pest population until it is impacting plant health. We do some preventive and "least toxic" applications of horticultural oil to suppress insect pests before their populations impact plant health. We try to use systemic insecticides rather than contact insecticides to control certain pests in woody plants. We don't employ many broad spectrum pesticides. We have tried "organic" products and have used bio-rational fungicides on green roofs. In our urban landscape, we can't always fix the cultural issues that stress plants and predispose them to pests and disease but we try to influence design choices that minimize cultural problems in the future. In some cases, we live with problems or replace plants rather than fight a pest or disease with pesticides. We use mulch and pre-emergent herbicides to suppress weed seed germination and reduce post-emergent herbicide use but still must apply post-emergent herbicides in turf, ornamental beds and hardscapes throughout campus.