A Penn State Extension toll-free hotline that provides quick updates on the latest disease and pest management issues for Pennsylvania vegetable, fruit and greenhouse growers has expanded to include new topics for the 2023 growing season.

While the hotline is designed primarily for growers who do not use computer technology to make timely crop management decisions, anyone can call 800-PENN-IPM (800-736-6476) to access pest and disease updates.

As experts in agriculture and horticulture, Penn State Extension faculty specialists and county-based educators record 90-second messages about critical concerns they see on produce farms and greenhouses across the state.

The team meets regularly to discuss the latest production issues related to insects, diseases and plant nutrition. Messages typically are updated weekly or more frequently if needed.

These updates are distributed widely through newsletters, email and educational kiosks.

Anyone with phone service can access the hotline, providing a way for Extension to reach the Plain community and other growers with important crop management information, noted Beth Gugino, professor of vegetable pathology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The hotline was upgraded and expanded for 2023 to feature dedicated lines for the cut flower industry, for agronomic crops and industry updates, and for weather conditions and forecasts.

The hotline also features:

• Dedicated Spanish-language lines for vegetable, small fruit and tree-fruit updates.

• Dedicated lines for vegetable crops, such as onions and other Allium species, tomatoes and potatoes, sweet corn, and vine crops.

• Dedicated lines for small-fruit production, greenhouse integrated pest management, coronavirus management and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator license updates.

• Separate lines for tree-fruit production and updates on disease, insect, horticulture and general industry issues.

• A directory of tree-fruit specialists and educators.

Each message line offers 90-seconds-worth of content for every subject. Previously, a more limited set of options addressed all these areas. Growers with diversified operations now can access specific information about a variety of horticultural crops.

Instructions for navigating the hotline are available on the Penn State Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/the-1-800-penn-ipm-hotline.

Extension educators noted that sometimes callers hang the instructions on the wall near the phone or on the refrigerator. Listeners can contact a county office of Penn State Extension to receive a printed copy of these instructions by mail.

Gugino said callers can reach out to their local extension educators to suggest topics that should be addressed or crops that should receive a dedicated message box on the hotline.