- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC scientists combat resurgence of bedbug in behavioral studies and monitor trials
Bedbugs are showing up more frequently in California and around the world, and new UC research shows that current methods for detecting the blood-sucking pests aren’t very reliable.
Detecting bedbugs is key to controlling them so a UC study tested three commercial monitors. At best, the monitors containing attractants captured 10 percent of the bedbugs, wrote UC scientists from UC Cooperative Extension, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside in the July–September 2013 issue of California Agriculture, UC's peer-reviewed journal of agricultural, natural and human resources.
As bedbugs become more prevalent, the researchers call for improving monitors as well as developing new methods to lure the insects more effectively.
“If we could put out bait and the bedbugs find it and die, wouldn’t that be great?” said Vernard Lewis, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley and lead author of the article. Lewis is testing attractants for bedbugs and observing their behavior.
In Villa Termiti, a room built for studying insects, Lewis set up an experiment to see how far the bedbugs moved in a 24-hour period. He found that the bedbugs moved around to a bed, rug or low table, but most stayed close to the cardboard on which they were released in the middle of the floor. The monitors containing attractants captured up to 10 percent of the bedbugs, twice as many as the monitors that didn’t contain attractants, but not a statistically significant difference.
Lewis and his colleagues are studying new ways of detecting bedbugs and exterminating them.
Effective detection to determine the effectiveness of treatments made to eliminate bedbug infestations would be helpful. “When a property is treated and bedbugs reappear, at this point, we can’t tell whether the bedbugs survived the treatment or they are moving in from next door,” Lewis said.
The Lewis Lab is also exploring new methods of bedbug control that minimize the use of pesticides.
Co-author Dong-Hwan Choe, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside, is currently studying essential oils from plants such as clove and wintergreen to see if they can be used as alternatives to synthetic insecticides.
Andrew Sutherland, UC Cooperative Extension advisor for the San Francisco Bay Area, has been meeting with pest control professionals to share the latest bedbug research results and integrated pest management approaches to minimize the amounts of pesticides used.
Sutherland also has begun training UC Master Gardener volunteers to answer questions about bedbugs and to share information about integrated pest management to control insects in the home.
“Master Gardeners in urban counties increasingly get requests regarding household pests,” said Sutherland. “UC ANR is interested in providing education and outreach on this topic because urban pest management significantly impacts water quality and other environmental resources. I have designed a 'Household Pests' unit used in 'Advanced IPM Training' for Master Gardeners.’”
“Master Gardeners will be able to help residents identify bedbug specimens and direct the general public to our Pest Note at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7454.html,” he said.
“Many clients think they may have bedbugs, but actually have recovered specimens of other insects,” Sutherland said. “In those cases we are able to prevent unnecessary and sometimes dangerous pesticide applications. When bed bugs are identified, our message is always to contact a professional pest control operator.”
The exact causes of the bedbug resurgence are not known, but increased international travel among people, pesticide resistance among bedbugs, the ease with which bedbugs can spread, and reduced indoor use of residual insecticides may be contributing factors.
The bedbug article in the July–September 2013 issue of California Agriculture can be downloaded at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu.
More than half a century after its decline, agriculture has again become high profile in Los Angeles County, although the focus has shifted from rural to urban. Urban agriculture has gained momentum in the county, as it has in many metropolitan centers throughout the United States, with a growing number of small-scale city farmers, along with enthusiastic backyard beekeepers and poultry raisers. However, despite the apparent popularity of urban agriculture, a clear picture of its status in the county did not exist until very recently.
A new UCLA student report, “Cultivate LA,” was released on Aug. 15 and offered the first comprehensive picture of the local urban agriculture landscape. The report provides an important foundation for UC Cooperative Extension and other groups involved in developing policy and educational resources for urban farmers.
According to Rachel Surls, UC Cooperative Extension sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles County and the “client” of the student project, the report has generated tremendous interest. The students verified a total of 1,261 urban agriculture sites using a variety of data sources, and confirming sites with telephone calls and Google Earth. They looked closely at issues such as complex zoning codes that impact urban farming and the distribution of its products. As one of their final products, the students created a website (www.cultivatelosangeles.org) that contains an interactive map and a chart of agriculture zoning codes in each of the county’s 88 cities and its unincorporated areas.
Surls became involved in urban agriculture policy beginning in 2011, through her participation in the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. Due to the lack of information at that time, the task of crafting policy was a challenge. So, when UCLA faculty members offered to have urban planning graduate students produce a comprehensive report on urban agriculture in Los Angeles County, guided by her input, Surls embraced the opportunity. With Carol Goldstein, lecturer in urban planning, and Stephanie Pincetl, professor and director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Surls helped the students develop their research questions and directed them towards important sources of data.
Surls points out a few relevant findings that will guide her work in further developing UC Cooperative Extension’s program in sustainable food systems.
School gardens are the most common form of urban agriculture. In Los Angeles County, there are more than 700 verified sites. The report suggests that more resources and training are needed to ensure that gardens are successful and integrated into the school curriculum. Surls plans to update resources for school gardens in the next few months.
Urban farmers face major challenges. They find it hard to compete with rural farmers. Their small growing spaces make it difficult for them to produce fruits and vegetables that are competitively priced with those produced on large rural farms.
“Also, urban farmers have to learn from the ground up,” said Surls, who plans on creating an online database of resources and best practices for urban farmers. "Often, they don’t know where to start and don’t realize they are entering a very complex business.”
Despite some challenges, urban farmers can enjoy advantages. Some have access to free or low-cost land if they operate within a public agency or nonprofit setting. Surls is currently developing resources that will help urban farmers test their soil and identify and mitigate problems, such as lead contamination. She also hopes to partner with nonprofit agencies to evaluate vacant lands for their suitability for farming.
Surls is currently leading a project that is assessing the needs of urban agriculture throughout the state. She is excited to see how the results of the UCLA student report will dovetail with the results of the statewide assessment.
“What’s happening in Los Angeles is mirrored in cities around California,” said Surls. "The public is enthusiastic about urban farming, and municipalities are struggling to find models that work in California’s urban communities. Both of these projects can help planners and citizens make common-sense decisions and help current and future urban farmers become successful.”
To learn more about the UCLA student project, visit http://cultivatelosangeles.org. For more information on UC Cooperative Extension’s sustainable food systems program, please visit http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
A special collection of original research on methyl bromide alternatives is part of the July–September 2013 issue of California Agriculture, UC's peer-reviewed journal of agricultural, natural and human resources (http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu). Related articles will appear in the October–December 2013 issue.
Methyl bromide contributes to ozone depletion high in the atmosphere and was banned by developed countries in 2005 under the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. Since then, the treaty has allowed limited use of methyl bromide for certain crops, but many of these exemptions are gone and the rest will end soon.
To develop and evaluate alternatives to methyl bromide, a team of UC and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers was awarded a $5 million, five-year USDA grant. The project — called the Pacific Area-Wide Pest Management Program for Integrated Methyl Bromide Alternatives (PAW-MBA) — includes production crops such as grapes, strawberries and tree nuts as well as nursery crops such as cut flowers, forest trees and sweet potatoes.
"One goal of the program was to identify methyl bromide alternatives that were immediately useful and economically feasible," says Greg Browne, a USDA plant pathologist at UC Davis who coordinates the PAW-MBA program. "Another was to foster development of nonfumigant strategies for managing soilborne pests."
The team has identified methyl bromide alternatives that are both effective and economical for key California crops. When the best alternative is another fumigant, the researchers found ways to use less and to cut emissions. In addition, the researchers are developing alternatives that go beyond fumigants, including steam sterilization and other nontoxic approaches.
Summaries of projects and links to articles:
TIF film, substrates and nonfumigant soil disinfestation maintain fruit yields
Strawberry growers use methyl bromide primarily to control soilborne diseases. Now, new UC research shows that this crop can be grown without fumigants at small scales. Three nontoxic methods — nonsoil substrates, anaerobic soil disinfestation and steam disinfestation — produced strawberry yields as high as those in conventionally fumigated soil. “Instead of understanding soil, we've just been fumigating it," says Steve Fennimore, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in Salinas who led this team. "Using physical tools is a different approach." Researchers will next evaluate whether these alternative methods can be scaled up to commercial production fields, and whether they work in different strawberry production areas of California.
Managing the almond and stone fruit replant disease complex with less soil fumigant
Almond and stone fruit growers need methyl bromide alternatives to control nematodes and Prunus replant disease, a soilborne disorder that stunts new orchards and cuts yields. To help these growers, UC and USDA researchers tested alternative fumigants, spot and strip fumigation and nonfumigant methods including rotating orchards with sudangrass and using nematode-resistant rootstock. “Spot treatments provided adequate control of Prunus replant disease and may be very helpful to growers needing to use less fumigant for costs savings or regulatory restrictions,” Browne says. In addition, integrating the various treatments tested may also help control the replant disease with less fumigant use.
Preplant 1,3-D treatments test well for perennial crop nurseries, but challenges remain
California supplies nursery stock to the state's fruit, nut and vineyard industries, as well as more than 60 percent of the rose plants and fruit and nut trees sold nationwide. This perennial nursery stock must be completely nematode-free, and growers use methyl bromide primarily to control these tiny soilborne worms. However, alternative fumigants such as 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) don't work as well in fine soils. "We asked how we could make them work better," says Brad Hanson, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. The researchers showed that 1,3-D controlled nematodes in fine soil when they tilled it deeper, injected the fumigant deeper and used tarps that kept more of the fumigant in the soil.
Fumigant emission reductions with TIF warrant regulatory changes
Fumigants are regulated partly because they help make smog. Totally impermeable film (TIF) can help keep fumigants in the soil and out of the air. New UC research shows that fumigant emissions can drop 64 percent when fields are tarped with TIF for twice as long as usual (10 days instead of 5). "We're now working on safe use," says Suduan Gao, a USDA soil scientist in Parlier who led the team. "The goal is to keep the fumigant under the tarp long enough that there won't be a surge in emissions when it's cut open." This work gives regulatory agencies a new way to let growers keep using enough fumigant to control pests and diseases while minimizing the smog-forming emissions.
The entire July–September 2013 issue can be downloaded at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu.
California Agriculture is the University of California's peer-reviewed journal of research in agricultural, human and natural resources. For a free subscription, go to: http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu, or write to calag@ucanr.edu.
The University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is the bridge between local issues and the power of UC research. UC ANR's advisors, specialists and faculty bring practical, science-based answers to Californians. Visit http://ucanr.edu to learn more.
WRITERS/EDITORS: To request a hard copy of the journal, email crllopez@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Growers, conservationists, food safety professionals discuss food safety, water quality
To help farmers and growers efficiently achieve the best results, the University of California Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Farm Food Safety and Conservation Network brought together 80 people on Aug. 21 for the sixth annual Food Safety and Water Quality Co-management Forum in Watsonville.
"The Farm, Food Safety & Conservation Network is leading the way in co-management of California's agricultural resources,” said Craig McNamara, president of the California Board of Food and Agriculture. “Their recent forum on food safety and water quality brought together the best and the brightest from the Central Coast region to discuss these important issues."
McNamara, who was the keynote speaker, provided his perspective on broadening the view of food safety to include managing agriculture within the context of sustainable agriculture, ecosystem conservation and food insecurity. He also related the discussion of co-management to California’s Ag Vision 2030, a stakeholder-driven process of setting priorities for the future of California agriculture.
Forum participants heard the latest information on designing on-farm practices that might create co-management solutions for nutrients, pesticides and pathogens in the production environment. They also engaged in frank discussion of co-management challenges and solutions at all levels of the supply chain, from large company policies to field-level practices of individual growers.
“Research results show us that we do know quite a bit’ explained Mary Bianchi, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. “The question now is how do we put that knowledge into action? How can we move towards design and management of on-the-ground management practices and policy programs that reflect our evolving understanding?”
The forum concentrated on the types of practices and policy programs that may help, and discussed strategies, both field-based and policy-driven, that might support progress in addressing persistent resource concerns relevant to agricultural production.
“The forum presents a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning about the key co-management issues on the Central Coast and is a great way to network with experts in the field,” said Afreen Malik, Ocean Mist Farms manager of Food Safety and Environmental Stewardship.
Scientists led a discussion on the fate and transport of nutrients, pesticides, and pathogens and how science can be applied to design practices for co-management decisions in the field. The scientific panel included Tim Hartz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis; Rob Atwill, UCCE specialist in the School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security; and Brian Anderson, UC Davis specialist based at the Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory at Granite Canyon.
A panel of industry leaders discussed how policy changes and decision-support tools could support sound co-management. The panel included Ken Harris, executive officer of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board; Asif Maan, branch chief of CDFA Feed, Fertilizer, and Livestock Drugs Regulatory Services; Kris Gavin of Growers Express; Scott Horsfall, CEO of Leafy Greens Handlers Marketing Agreement; and Lisa Lurie of Santa Cruz Resource Conservation District.
Following the panel discussions, participants visited an organic vegetable and berry farm near Watsonville. The landowner, growers and food safety professionals discussed how they manage for both food safety and environmental quality, which some people see as conflicting priorities.
“I don’t see any conflicts between properly implemented co-management practices and protection of water quality,” said Ken Harris, executive officer of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board after completing a field exercise at the ALBA Triple M Ranch outside Watsonville.
Brendan Miele, director of California farming operations for Jacobs Farm/del Cabo Inc., added, “I would say the same thing, but would change that to food safety.”
Participants were surveyed before and after the forum. “After the forum, 88 percent of the participants felt they understood co-management principles, 14 percent higher than before the forum,” Bianchi said, “and 85 percent of the participants felt that they could incorporate what they learned into the decisions they make.”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
While growing up in urban Irvington, New Jersey, neighbor to Newark, Enfield hadn’t considered a career in agriculture. Community gardening and community supported agriculture experience piqued his interest after he moved to Santa Barbara so Enfield enrolled in the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden Project, which was a 12-month apprenticeship program. While studying at UC Santa Cruz, he was introduced to UC Cooperative Extension. He stayed on another year working as a field assistant to the director Stephen Kaffka, who is now a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis.
“I became very interested in teaching methods and experiential education and learning,” Enfield said.
Enfield began studying agricultural sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and joined UC Cooperative Extension as a summer intern in the UCCE 4-H office in San Luis Obispo County after earning his B.S. degree in June 1980. Three months later, he was hired as a 4-H youth development advisor. Under his leadership, the 4-H youth development activities evolved to incorporate more research-based approaches to foster a commitment to learning, positive identity, social competency and positive values.
“Over the years, Richard made the 4-H program more visible in San Luis Obispo County by reaching out and offering the program to not just the traditional club audiences but to other youth,” said JoAnn Overbey, who has volunteered with 4-H for 42 years.
“I remember years ago when 4-H was set up in housing projects in the North County,” Overbey said. “He started the 4-H SLO Scientists Program that youth could join, and this program was years ahead of the UC SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Program that started a few years ago.”
Enfield designed 4-H SLO Scientists in 1996 to engage families in the hands-on science activities because research shows that direct parental involvement is an important influence on student achievement. More than 1,500 people have participated in the program. In 2011, the program was recognized as one of 4-H’s 15 promising science programs in urban communities across the country.
“SLO Scientists today is still one of our most popular groups to join,” said Overbey, who works for San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services as a program review specialist for foster care and adoptions. “It can be started in the smaller communities and we reach youth who would not otherwise know about or join a traditional 4-H Club.”
In 1987, Enfield earned an M.A. in educational psychology and research methods from UC Riverside. In 1991 he was appointed UCCE director for San Luis Obispo County, serving for two years. In 2005, he was reappointed UCCE director for San Luis Obispo County and added oversight in Santa Barbara County in 2008, leading UCCE in both counties until his retirement. He also served as interim UCCE director for Ventura County from April 1, 2011, until Aug. 31, 2012.
“Richard was always there with high expectations for performance coupled with personal support and caring,” said Mary Bianchi, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor who reported to Enfield and succeeded him as UCCE director for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
In 2010, Enfield began serving as a 4-H advisor for Santa Barbara County in addition to San Luis Obispo County.
Locally he created a middle-management structure to strengthen the 4-H program. The middle-management structure empowers adult volunteers and teen leaders and allows them to serve in critical 4-H management and program development roles at their peak levels of performance. UCCE offices in other counties have recently begun adopting his model. He also presented the middle management approach at state and national conferences.
“Through his local impacts and national efforts, Richard can rest assured that he has been important in the lives of thousands of children and generations within families,” Bianchi said.
“I can tell you with complete honesty that we would not have the huge steady increase in enrollment without his leadership and skills guiding us,” Overbey said. “He went after all types of available grants that allowed our program to extend beyond just the club level – grants that allowed our youth to be involved in things like oak tree plantings and a 4-H hiking program.”
Enfield has won numerous accolades over his career. In 2005, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation recognizing his 25 years of service to children, youth and families in the county. In 2010, his professional peers honored him with the Meritorious Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents. For his work behind the scenes at the statewide administrative level, colleagues acknowledged Enfield with the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Distinguished Service Award for Leadership in 2011. In February, the Board of Directors of the California Mid-State Fair presented Enfield with a Resolution in Appreciation of Service for “outstanding contributions to the California Mid-State Fair.”
“I loved the freedom to be creative and I enjoyed getting to know all the wonderful and diverse people whom I got to work with and collaborate with on issues of positive youth development and community development,” Enfield said. “Every day was different, exciting and I always felt I was contributing to my community.”
Enfield has been active in the community as well, serving as a member of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of San Luis Obispo County, the Bakari Project Advisory Board at Cal Poly and the SLO Children’s Services Network and participating in the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation “Pathways to Adulthood” Initiative.
Enfield and his wife Elaine Cormier, a retired optometrist, plan to stay in San Luis Obispo and spend more time hiking, ocean kayaking and bicycling to explore the natural beauty of the area.
“I plan to remain active in the community through various organizations, such as the Asset Development Network of San Luis Obispo County,” Enfield said. “The Asset Development Network is a collaboration of agencies, organizations, and individuals who have come together in order to promote positive youth development throughout the county.
He will also pursue his personal passions of attending ballet performances and baseball games and collecting publications about the West.
“I will continue adding to and developing my collection of over 1,300 modern first editions, dozens of broadsides, and ephemera exploring the American West,” said the East Coast native, explaining that broadsides are beautiful single page prints of book excerpts or poems. “My extensive collection explores the old West to the new West and what it means to be Western and live and work in the West. The collection of fiction, associated nonfiction, and poetry both perpetuates and dispels the myths of the West and explores the sense of place that is so prominent in the literature of the West.”
UC has granted Enfield the prestigious emeritus status so he will continue working on his state and national research projects on the development of individual and community social capital through the 4-H program.
