- Author: Jeannette Warnert
UC ANR and the Citrus Research Board are co-funding a new citrus IPM advisor position to be headquartered at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center. The CRB has pledged $750,000 to cover half the cost of the advisor's salary and benefits for 10 years.
The new IPM advisor will conduct a multicounty extension, education and applied research program and provide research-based technical and educational assistance to the citrus industry. The new advisor will report to the director of the Lindcove REC, with input from the Statewide IPM Program director.
"CRB's partnership with UC ANR for this position continues to strengthen the commitment towards citrus research and IPM best practices. This is a win-win for all Californians." said Greg Gibbs, UC ANR director of major gifts.
The citrus IPM advisor will help fill the role of retiring UCCE citrus entomology specialist Beth Grafton-Cardwell. The 30-year citrus IPM veteran has also served as the director of Lindcove REC since 2006.
Human Resources is finalizing the position vacancy announcement for the new IPM advisor and will open recruitment in the coming weeks.
- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
Spring is in full swing and summer is right around the corner. If you work in agricultural, turf, landscape or structural settings, you are probably at your busiest. If you handle pesticides as part of your work, you most likely wear personal protective equipment (PPE). However, do you know if you are wearing the right type of gear for the job that you do? Wearing the appropriate PPE, taking it off the right way, and correctly cleaning it prevents unnecessary pesticide exposure to yourself and others.
To prevent exposing family members or those around you to pesticide residues, learn the appropriate steps to take by viewing a new online course on Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment from the UC Statewide IPM Program.
The course is approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for 1.5 hours in the Laws and Regulations category. This course is designed for all pesticide handlers with the goal to provide them with information on pesticide labels and the California Code of Regulations (CCR) to help them select, wear, remove, and dispose of or store PPE.
In California, all pesticide handlers (applicators, mixers, loaders, those who transport pesticides, or those who fix application equipment) are legally required to wear PPE. However, to get the most protection from PPE, it must be used correctly. Violations involving the incorrect use of PPE were the second most commonly reported type of agricultural-use violation in 2017 as reported by DPR (PDF).
The new PPE online course opens with a scenario describing a real example of an accident reported toDPR that led to an incident of pesticide exposure because the correct eye protection was not worn. The content that follows is divided into six instructional modules, highlighting types ofPPE, how to select it, and when certain items should be worn. Participants answer short questions about the different types ofPPE, open pesticide labels to learn how to select the rightPPE and learn when certain items should be worn. Short how-to videos and animated sequences demonstrate the proper way to put on or remove items such as gloves, coveralls, respirators andeyewear. To receive a certificate of completion and continuing education hours, you must pass a final test with 70 percent or higher.
If this is the year to renew your license with DPR, get a jumpstart on it. Take this new course and all the other UC IPM online courses to refresh your knowledge and get the CEUs you need. There is a $30 fee for taking Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment. You are welcome to view the content for free on YouTube, but without the activities, final exam and continuing education credit. For more information about license renewal, visit DPR.
The Western IPM Center's IPM Adoption and Impacts Assessment Work Group, a collection of natural and social scientists from across the country, has developed online resources to help IPM researchers conduct basic impact assessments.
The online resources include modules on surveys, economic analysis, focus groups, secondary data, case studies, interviews and social network analysis. Chapters within each module describe when a measurement or method is appropriate, what to collect, how to collect it, how to analyze it and how to report it.
For more information about the toolkit for assessing IPM, visit http://ipmimpact.ucanr.edu.
Varela, who serves the North Coast, was one of three speakers, which included Osama El-Lissy, USDA-APHIS deputy administrator, and Tremain Hatch, Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension viticulture research associate.
Varela highlighted three invasive species of concern in California: Glassy-winged sharpshooter as a vector of the pathogen that causes Pierce's disease; vine mealybug as a vector of grapevine leafroll virus; and European grapevine moth. She described research being conducted by Agriculture Experiment Station faculty and UCCE specialists and advisors on these three invasive species and on disease epidemiology. The UC IPM advisor also discussed strategies for prevention and early detection of exotic pests.
The panel was convened to help educate Congressional staff about how environmentally sound pest management research is to ensuring the sustainability and growth of the wine industry for years to come.
Karen Beverlin, editor for the ANR Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, retired July 1.
She began her career at UC in 1996 working as a grant writer for the UC Davis Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. When that department moved to Sacramento, she joined the Department of Chemical Engineering as the editor for the Journal of Materials Synthesis and Processing. With the last of issue of that journal put to bed, she became the publications coordinator for the School of Law's journal, Law Review. She next took a position with the Department of Mathematics as the editor for the Journal of Mathematical Physics.
In 2013, Beverlin joined ANR. As an IPM editor, she was responsible for layout and edits to the Pest Notes publication series, Quick Tips cards, several newsletters and UC IPM's Annual Report.