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StumbleUponPosts Tagged: IPM
New discovery shows promise for battling the Asian Citrus Psyllid.
Native to Asia, the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina ciri, was first detected in the United States in June 1998 in Palm Beach County, Florida. Since then, ACP has invaded all other US citrus areas. It has been detected in 26 of California's 58 counties. Infected psyllids can transmit the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, which causes the fatal citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB). HLB is currently the most devastating threat to the worldwide citrus industry. A citrus tree infected with HLB may not exhibit any symptoms for two years, and will usually die within five years. UC ANR IPM states that there is no known cure. “The only way to protect trees is to prevent spread of the HLB pathogen in the first place, by controlling psyllid populations and removing and destroying any infected trees.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has set up extensive monitoring and quarantine programs to track and try to slow the spread of the insect and disease. Currently, both residential and commercial sites that have citrus are monitored by checking yellow sticky traps. Psyllid and leaf samples are being tested for the presence of HLB.
If ACP is detected in an area, farmers must resort to regular spray programs to try to control the ACP population. This practice negatively impacts efforts to have a citrus crop grown with IPM strategies that rely on beneficial insects. In a ground-breaking discovery encompassing six years of research, an international team of scientists led by UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal announced they've identified the sex pheromone of ACP. This pheromone can be used to attract more ACP to sticky traps. “Having a [pheromone] lure to dramatically improve captures of this psyllid with the conventional sticky traps is a major progress toward [developing] integrated pest management [strategies],” said Professor Jose Robert Parra of the University of Sao Paulo. Read more.
August 19th is National Honey Bee Day: Dr. Elina Niño reminds us to help honey bees cope with pests.
National Honey Bee Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of every August. This year it falls on Saturday the 19th. If you use integrated pest management, or IPM, you are probably aware that it can solve pest problems and reduce the use of pesticides that harm beneficial insects, including honey bees. But did you know that it is also used to manage pests that live inside honey bee colonies? In this timely podcast below, Dr. Elina Niño, UCCE apiculture extension specialist, discusses the most serious pests of honey bees, how beekeepers manage them to keep their colonies alive, and what you can do to help bees survive these challenges.
To hear the audio recording, click here.
To read the full transcript of the audio, click here.
Successful IPM in honey bee colonies involves understanding honey bee pest biology, regularly monitoring for pests, and using a combination of different methods to control their damage. Visit these resources for more information:
For Beekeepers:
The California Master Beekeeper Program
For All Bee Lovers:
Haagen Dazs Honey Bee Haven plant list
UC IPM Bee Precaution Pesticide Ratings and video tutorial
Sources for the Value of Honey Bees:
Flottum K. 2017. U.S. Honey Industry Report, 2016.
National invasive species awareness week was February 27 – March 3, 2017.
Invasive species are plants, animals, fungi or microbes that are not native to an area, but can quickly establish, multiply, and become pests. These species can hurt the environment, agricultural production, and even human health in some instances (e.g. the mosquito Aedes aegypti). According to the USDA, invasive species are responsible for $137 billion per year in economic losses in the United States.
In agricultural systems, invasive species may reduce yields, render crops unmarketable, or make rangeland unfavorable to livestock. In natural areas, they may squeeze out native species, change soil quality, and increase the frequency or intensity of wildfires.
Some of these species have been introduced intentionally (e.g., yellow sweetclover, which was originally imported from Europe as a forage species for livestock), while others arrived by accident (e.g., the glassy-winged sharpshooter which came to California inadvertently through nursery stock shipments).
Just one species can be detrimental to crop production and revenues. The invasion of spotted-wing drosophila, for example, caused conventional raspberry growers in California to lose $36.4 million in revenue between 2009 and 2014, and would have reduced California raspberry yields by as much as 50% without control efforts.
The spread of invasive pests has become more prevalent in recent decades, and is linked to several factors, including global travel, produce trade, and climate change. Many invasive pests spread by human movement—medusahead, for example, has long awns on its seeds that easily attach to clothing and animal fur, to be carried to other locations. A recent study by UC scientists also determined that due to climate change, invasive weeds are shifting their ranges at a faster rate than native plants, and will likely cause more problems in agriculture and natural resources in the future. The yellow starthistle, an invasive plant that dries out soil and degrades rangelands, is one of the pests that will expand its range further north in California (and beyond) due to climate change.
While invasive pests can be a major challenge to growers and land managers, there are successful stories of stopping exotic pest invasions with well-coordinated eradication efforts. Recently, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) declared the European Grapevine Moth eradicated from California after no moths were found in the state from 2015 to 2016. This was due to a rapid response, largely by the UC Cooperative Extension scientists after the moth was discovered in Napa vineyards in 2008.
Here's what you can do to keep from introducing or spreading invasive species:
- Fully cooperate with agricultural inspections at the California state border and in your fields. When coming into California from another state, declare any plant or animal material that you have in your vehicle. Inspectors will thoroughly examine your materials or crops to make sure that they do not hold any invasive pests. This greatly reduces the chance that your activities will spread harmful invasive species.
- Check and clean your clothes, shoes, and equipment before you move from one location to another. For example, thoroughly cleaning your shoes with water and a disinfectant after hiking through an area known to have sudden oak death will prevent you from tracking the pathogen into uncontaminated areas. Similarly, checking your clothes or shoes for weed seeds before leaving an area will keep you from spreading invasive weeds.
- “Burn it where you buy it.” Burn firewood in the same place you purchased it, rather than buying it and transporting it elsewhere. If you must transport firewood, be sure to declare it at the border and have it inspected, as described above.
- Report invasive pests in your area. CDFA has a tool for reporting pests, but you can also contact your agricultural commissioner or UC Cooperative Extension to do so.
To learn more about invasive species, visit the UC IPM website. You will find a list of invasive insects, plants, diseases, and vertebrates in California, as well as links to other organizations and regulatory agencies that are also working to reduce their numbers.
UC ANR IPM academic coordinator is based at Kearney.
UC ANR IPM academic coordinator is based at Kearney.
Lori Berger is the new academic coordinator for the Pests, Pesticides and IPM Project. Berger joined ANR in 2014 to coordinate a program to identify and manage critical uses of chlorpyrifos in almonds, citrus, cotton and alfalfa. Berger has worked extensively with the regulatory community in developing science-based approaches to pest management and agricultural production, sharing her expertise on pest management, pollinator protection, international MRLs, water quality and soil health.
Based at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Education Center in Parlier, Berger holds a Ph.D. in entomology and is a licensed pest control adviser as well as a certified crop adviser. Read more.
New UC IPM online course provides 2 CEU in laws and regulations.
Do you need some more laws and regulations continuing education units for your license renewal? A new online course from UC IPM can help you get those units as well as help growers prevent illegal pesticide residues.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) runs the most extensive Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program in the nation and is hard at work ensuring that the fruit and vegetables we purchase and consume are free from illegal pesticide residues. Just last month, DPR detected residues of a pesticide not registered for use on grapes and fined the grower $10,000 for using a pesticide in violation of the label and for packing and attempting to sell the tainted produce.
Cases like this are rare in California but remind growers how important it is to apply pesticides correctly by following all pesticide label directions. Understanding and following label instructions is the focus of a new online course developed by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM).
Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues is targeted to those who apply pesticides or make pesticide recommendations. It explains what pesticide residues are, how they are monitored, and highlights important residue-related information from several sections of pesticide labels. In addition, the course identifies the following as the most important factors leading to illegal residues:
- Using a pesticide on a crop or against a pest for which it is not registered
- Applying pesticides at an incorrect rate
- Ignoring preharvest intervals, re-treatment intervals, or plantback restrictions
Course participants are presented with several real-life scenarios. They must search through actual pesticide labels to determine if the scenario illustrates proper use of pesticides or if the described situation could potentially lead to illegal residues.
The overall goal of this course is to have participants follow pesticide label instructions when they return to the field. Following the label can eliminate incidences of illegal pesticide use.
Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues is published just in time for pest control advisers and pesticide applicators who are still a few units short to renew their licenses or certificates with DPR. The course has been approved for 2 hours of Pesticide Laws and Regulations continuing education units (CEUs) from DPR and costs $40. If you don't need CEUs, but are still interested in viewing the course content, check it out for free on YouTube.
DPR recommends that renewal packets be submitted before November 1 in order to receive your renewed license or certificate by December 31, as the processing time can take up to 60 days. For additional online courses that UC IPM offers, visit the online training page.
