Dr. Vera Krischik is an Extension Specialist and Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of MN. Her research and extension collaborations are on pesticide use and safety, IPM, beneficial insect conservation, reducing pesticide use, pest and IPM identification for consumers and the green industry. Collaborations include answering questions on pesticide use for the UM Bee lab, proving talks and workshops for the UMN Pesticide Safety group, and commodity groups such as MNLA (MN nursery and landscape association), MGSA (MN golf course superintendents association, CTA (MN Christmas Tree Association) and consumers organizations. Also, I work with the UM Plant Disease Clinic on identifying insects, and the MN Depart of Ag, and MN Department of Natural Resources on pesticide use and invasive species. I am a member with other extension educators and specialists of the UM Horticulture Specialization and the UM Invasive Species Community of Practice. My research is on the effects of insecticides on beneficial insects and bees; insecticide residue in landscapes and crops; and developing site specific IPM programs to manage pests and beneficials, including pollinators, butterflies, and insect predators. Email [email protected]
Welcome to CUES, Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability! You will find practical information on IPM, insect identification, insecticide choice, and conserving beneficial insects in greenhouse, nurseries, landscapes, and Christmas trees.
CUES Mission Statement
CUES strives to educate landscape managers and urban residents about ways to embrace environmental stewardship by practicing sustainable management. A landscape managed through sustainable methods requires low inputs of labor, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, while supporting beneficial insects, bees, butterflies, and birds. Excessive use of these chemicals can pollute surface and ground water and disturb natural ecosystem processes.
Sustainable management embraces four major principles:
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Conserving biodiversity
The naturally diverse landscape discourages outbreaks of disease or insects. Such a landscape also attracts beneficial insects, bees, birds and butterflies. -
Restoring native vegetation
Consider using native vegetation in landscapes. Restore native vegetation to shorelines to reduce nutrient enrichment through stabilizing sediments and shorelines. -
Promoting nutrient recycling through composting
Backyard and community composting is an ecologically sound way of disposing of yard wastes and increasing nutrients in urban soils. -
Using integrated pest management, IPM, to control insects and diseases
Inspect and monitor your plants' health on a regular basis, before problems are out of control. Instead of routinely spraying for insects, use spot treat problems of soft pesticides such as soaps, oils, and biorational products such as spinosad. Adopt these biorational practices which target the pest and not the naturally occurring biological control agents, such as parasitoids and predatory insects. Use naturally resistant plants. When necessary use hard pesticides, timed to the vulnerable stage of the insect, so the application has a major impact on the pest.
A Minnesota Extension Service Collegiate grant in 1995 funded the creation of CUES, Center for Urban Ecosystems and Sustainability. CUES is an interdisciplinary program with participants from the Colleges of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences; Biological Sciences; Natural Resources; and Landscape Architecture.
This website is an online educational component of the research and UM extension program of Dr. Vera Krischik.