If the birds don’t get to your cherries, Spotted Wing Drosophila will, injecting their larvae right into the fruit. Watch this brief video with UC Cooperative Extension Specialist Kent Daane as he shares how to manage this pest that has managed to spread all over the United States. Read more about orchard pest and disease management in California Fresh Fruit Magazine.
Category: Pest/Disease Management
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Managing Cytospora Canker in Prunes
Cytospora Canker has become a more prevalent problem for prune growers in recent years, and although pruning it out of the orchard is the number one priority regarding treatment of it, there are a few other practices that can be applied to mitigate this fungal pathogen. Watch this brief interview with Franz Niederholzer, Farm Advisor from the UC Cooperative Extension, as he shares some ideas.
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Do Ladybugs Help Your Garden Grow? Depends On Surroundings
When cabbage looper moth larvae infest a field, sustainable growers will often try to control the pests by releasing large numbers of predators, such as ladybugs. That way they can avoid spraying expensive and environmentally harmful insecticides.
Still, farmers have mixed results when they supplement their fields with beetles or other predators.
A new study of cabbage crops in New York – a state industry worth close to $60 million in 2017, according to the USDA – reports for the first time that the effectiveness of releasing natural enemies to combat pests depends on the landscape surrounding the field.
“The landscape context can inform how to better use this strategy in field conditions,” said Ricardo Perez-Alvarez, the paper’s first author and a graduate student in the lab of co-author Katja Poveda, associate professor of entomology. Brian Nault, an entomology professor at Cornell AgriTech, is also a co-author.
The paper, “Effectiveness of Augmentative Biological Control Depends on Landscape Context,” was published June 17 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. It showed that releasing pest predators led to fewer pests, less plant damage and increased crop biomass on farms surrounded by more forest and natural areas and less agricultural land. But on farms predominantly surrounded by other farms, the reverse was true, with more pests and plant damage and reduced crop biomass in spite of added predators.
The reasons behind this phenomenon are complex, and depend on interactions between local predators and those that are added, which can vary on a case-by-case basis. The predators in primarily agricultural landscapes may be less diverse and may then attack the same pests, increasing the potential for competition and negative interactions. Predators also have fewer microhabitats (small-scale physical requirements of an organism or a community of organisms), which can intensify the competition for space and diet.
Simple agricultural landscapes can also increase the likelihood that one predator species will prey on another predator species. For example, smaller predators become vulnerable to larger predators, which then affects the collective effect of multiple predators on pest control.
“Landscape composition influences how predator species interact with one another and thereby mediates the potential consequences for biological pest control,” Perez-Alvarez said.
The study focused on cabbage crops and three cabbage pests (the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly, the diamondback moth and the cabbage looper moth), and their natural enemies. In central New York, there are 156 native predator species and seven parasitoid wasps that prey on these pests. Among these, two generalist predators are commonly used to augment fields with additional pest enemies: the spined soldier bug and the convergent ladybird beetle. These two generally complement each other well because soldier bugs feed on larvae and ladybugs feed on eggs.
In the study, the researchers set up experimental plots on 11 cabbage farms in central New York, which together represented a range of surrounding landscapes from agricultural lands to natural areas.
Each farm had two cabbage plots: one that was left alone so it was exposed to the naturally occurring predators, and another where soldier bugs and ladybugs were added. The researchers then collected a wide range of data that included surveys of pest and predator abundances, plant damage and final crop yields. They also conducted lab experiments to better understand the relationships between predators and how those interactions impact pest control.
Given how complex these predator-predator and predator-pest interactions and their relationships to pest control can be, more study is needed to make specific recommendation to growers. Still, the paper is a first step toward understanding how landscapes influence the effects of augmenting farms with predators for pest control.
The study was funded by National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the United States Department of Agriculture.
By Krishna Ramanujan
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Could CA Farmers Lose CalEPA & Science-Based Pesticide Regulation?
Anti-pesticide sentiment has never been more prevalent, as California courts and anti-agricultural organizations frighten the public with non-science based claims of the harmful effects of crop protection materials such as glyphosate. What farmers need to understand though now, is that much more than glyphosate is currently at stake. The legislature is now being pressured to change the whole pesticide regulatory system as we know it. Watch this brief interview with Michael Miiller, Director of Government Relations with the California Association of Winegrape Growers to learn more.
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Could CA Farmers Lose CalEPA & Science-Based Pesticide Regulation?
Anti-pesticide sentiment has never been more prevalent, as California courts and anti-agricultural organizations frighten the public with non-science based claims of the harmful effects of crop protection materials such as glyphosate. What farmers need to understand though now, is that much more than glyphosate is currently at stake. The legislature is now being pressured to change the whole pesticide regulatory system as we know it. Watch this brief interview with Michael Miiller, Director of Government Relations with the California Association of Winegrape Growers to learn more.
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EPA Registers Long-Term Use of Sulfoxaflor While Ensuring Pollinator Protection
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a long-term approval for the insecticide sulfoxaflor— an effective tool to control challenging pests with fewer environmental impacts. After conducting an extensive risk analysis, including the review of one of the agency’s largest datasets on the effects of a pesticide on bees, EPA is approving the use of sulfoxaflor on alfalfa, corn, cacao, grains (millet, oats), pineapple, sorghum, teff, teosinte, tree plantations, citrus, cotton, cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, watermelons, some gourds), soybeans, and strawberries.
“EPA is providing long-term certainty for U.S. growers to use an important tool to protect crops and avoid potentially significant economic losses, while maintaining strong protection for pollinators,” said Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Today’s decision shows the agency’s commitment to making decisions that are based on a sound science.”
“Today’s action ensures reduced risk to pollinators and the environment through crop-specific label restrictions and provides farmers with a critical pest-management tool needed to protect crops from invasive sugarcane aphids, plant bugs and other pests,” said Jim Gulliford, Regional Administrator for EPA Region 7.“Here in Region 7, the registration of sulfoxaflor will help prevent significant hardship for producers of sorghum, corn, cotton and other commodities attacked by devastating insects.”
Sulfoxaflor is an important and highly effective tool for growers that targets difficult pests such as sugarcane aphids and tarnished plant bugs, also known as lygus. These pests can damage crops and cause significant economic loss. Additionally, there are few viable alternatives for sulfoxaflor for these pests. In many cases, alternative insecticides may be effective only if applied repeatedly or in a tank mix, whereas sulfoxaflor often requires fewer applications, resulting in less risk to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.
EPA’s registration also includes updated requirements for product labels, which will include crop-specific restrictions and pollinator protection language.
Background
Sulfoxaflor is an important and highly effective tool for growers that targets difficult pests such as aphids and tarnished plant bugs (lygus). These pests can cause significant economic loss leading several states to request emergency exemptions in recent years. There are few viable alternatives for sulfoxaflor. In many cases, alternative insecticides may be effective only if applied repeatedly, whereas sulfoxaflor typically requires fewer applications resulting in less risk to non-target pests and plants.
In 2016, following a 2015 decisionof the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacating the registration of sulfoxaflor citing inadequate data on the effects on bees, EPA reevaluated the data and approved registration that did not include crops that attract bees. The 2016 registration allowed fewer uses than the initial registration and included additional interim restrictions on application while new data on bees were being obtained. Today’s action, adding new uses, restoring previous uses, and removing certain application restrictions is backed by substantial data supporting the use of sulfoxaflor.
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Kevin Ball Joins Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee
The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee (CPDPC) announces the addition of Kevin Ball as the new grower representative for the coastal district position. Kevin Ball will advise the committee on the latest citrus grower activities occurring in the coastal area.
The CPDPC advises the Secretary and the agricultural industry about efforts to combat serious pests and diseases, like the Asian citrus psyllid and Huanglongbing, that threaten the state’s citrus crop.
Ball brings decades of experience in the agricultural industry, most recently as vice president of orchard operations at Agland Services for the past 15 years. At the company he supervises the daily operations of 20 ranches in the Camarillo, Somis, Moorpark and Ventura areas while consulting on ranches throughout Ventura and Southern Santa Barbara counties.
As a former executive committee board member at the California Avocado Society, Ball is also well versed in organizing, planning and implementing grower outreach programs and managing budgets for seminars, research and grower outreach. Beginning his career as a grower, Ball is experienced in the field, running irrigations, spraying weeds, maintaining equipment and more.
Coastal area citrus growers may contact Kevin Ball with concerns/inquiries:
Kevin Ball
Vice President of Orchard Operations, Partner, Agland Services
kevin.ball@aglandca.com -
Western Growers Statement on California DPR Ban on Chlorpyrifos
In response to yesterday’s announcement that the California Department of Pesticide Residue (DPR) is acting to ban the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif issued the following statement:
“California farmers are universally committed to the safety of their food, the health of their workers and communities, and the sustainability of their land. At every turn, they strive to achieve efficiencies in their use of resources like water, fertilizer and pesticides, and seek to minimize both the human and environmental impacts of these inputs.”
“California farmers also face the most stringent regulatory environment in the world, one that often limits their access to many of the tools still available to farmers elsewhere in the U.S. and in foreign countries, including certain types of pesticides. Indeed, over the last 20 years, California regulatory actions have removed several of the most important crop protection tools farmers rely on to fight pests and diseases.”
“With yesterday’s announcement that DPR will initiate the cancellation of chlorpyrifos, one of the most widely studied and globally approved insecticides, California farmers now stand to lose yet another arrow in their quiver – without effective and ready replacement tools – making their quest to grow the safest, healthiest and most abundant food supply in the world even more difficult.”
“California farmers are resilient, but the long-term viability of our farms in California depends on proper support from the Administration and renewed cooperation of the state’s regulatory agencies, especially in light of the many other unique and expensive regulations that place California farmers at a growing competitive disadvantage.”
About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. For generations we have provided variety and healthy choices to consumers. Connect with and learn more about Western Growers on our Twitter and Facebook.
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How to Control Grubs in Blueberries: Organic & Conventional Methods
Masked Chafer (AKA white grubs) have been problematic for blueberry growers, particularly in the Central Valley of California. The good news is that researchers and entomologists have come up with both organic and conventional methods treatments for these soil pests. Watch this brief interview UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor David Haviland to learn about these options and read more about it in California Fresh Fruit Magazine.
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Navel Orangeworm Management in Figs
Navel Orangeworm is widely known as a serious pest in tree nuts; however, it is also becoming quite the nuisance in California’s fig crop as well. Check out this brief interview with Brad Higbee, now Field Research & Development Manager for Trece, Inc. as he talks about the work they are doing to help fig growers, and read more about it in California Fresh Fruit Magazine.