- Posted by: Janet M. Zalom
- Author: Ria DeBiase
Nursery workers are our first line of defense in detecting light brown apple moth when growing ornamental plants in commercial nurseries. A new brochure and video can help those in the field distinguish light brown apple moth from several look-alike caterpillars.
Light brown apple moth is currently under a California Department of Food and Agriculture quarantine that regulates the interstate shipment of plants to keep the moth from spreading to new areas. It has been quarantined in various counties throughout coastal California ranging from Mendocino to San Diego.
Correct field identification of the light brown apple moth is the first step in containing the spread of this moth. Unfortunately several other leafroller caterpillars, including the orange tortrix, omnivorous leafroller, avocado leafroller, and apple pandemic moth, look similar to light brown apple moth caterpillars. This makes photo identification tools that can go into the field with workers, like the Field Identification Guide for Light Brown Apple Moth in California Nurseries, a useful resource for nursery workers.
The field guide was created by Steven Tjosvold, Neal Murray, University of California Cooperative Extension; Marc Epstein, Obediah Sage, California Department of Food and Agriculture; and Todd Gilligan, Colorado State University with the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM).
An exotic and invasive pest from Australia, light brown apple moth has a host range of more than two thousand plants. It is a pest to a wide range of ornamental and agricultural crops, including caneberries, strawberries, citrus, stone fruit, apples, and grapes. The caterpillars eat leaves and buds, leading to weak or disfigured plants. They also can feed directly on fruit, causing the fruit to be unmarketable.
For more information on light brown apple moth and other leafrollers found in nurseries, see the UC Pest Management Guidelines for Floriculture and Nurseries.
- Author: Janet M. Zalom
Invited presenters included experts from regions affected by PPV worldwide and researchers investigating the effects of PPV on stone fruit species. They addressed the biology of the disease, its current status world-wide, and development of measures to manage the disease in California. We are maintaining the conference website to provide links to video recordings and some abstracts of conference presentations. Conference website: http://ucanr.edu/sites/plumpox2014.
It is our hope that the conference provided useful information concerning the threat posed by PPV to California stone fruit growers and facilitated awareness of educational and extension tools available to the stone fruit industry.
Our thanks to Gary Obenauf (Research Director of the California Dried Plum Board) for providing the following detailed summary of the impact of PPV on the stone-fruit industry worldwide, and its threat to that industry in California:
In 1999 PPV was detected in Pennsylvania. After 10 years and the almost complete destruction of the Pennsylvania stone fruit industry, the virus was declared eradicated in that state. PPV was detected in Ontario Canada in 2000. Almost 275,000 stone fruit trees were destroyed in a 10 year eradication effort. In 2012 Canadian officials terminated the eradication program and embarked on a PPV monitoring and management program (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). The presence of PPV in Ontario is a persistent threat to the U.S. stone fruit industry. In the summer of 2006, a national surveillance program detected PPV outbreaks in the states of New York and Michigan. It has since been eradicated in Michigan and appears to be eradicated in New York. If infected propagation materials or the virus were to reach California, the results could be devastating. California currently grows approximately 973,800 acres of susceptible stone fruits (USDA). Unlike Pennsylvania, the California stone fruit industry is characterized by very large commercial orchards grown in close proximity under ideal environmental conditions for aphid and virus spread. The stone fruit industry in the U.S. is valued at $1.8 billion annually. PPV has the potential to curtail fruit production anywhere from 10-100%, depending on the level of cultivar susceptibility.
- Author: Antoinette Machado
I come from a small, agricultural town in the Central Valley of California where, from a young age, I learned the importance of agriculture. I have been working for the Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center at UC Davis for a year while pursuing a degree in Plant Science at UC Davis. I chose UC Davis because of its academic excellence as well as the innovative and interactive Agricultural and Environmental Science departments. I am also the daughter of an Aggie Alumni and proud to be attending my Father's alma mater.
I have found myself falling in love with the small-town-feel of Davis. The enrolled student population of 33,000 makes up just about half of the population of Davis, CA, over 65,000. Through events such as Neighborhood-Night-Out, weekly farmer's markets, and multiple festivals, the university and community are truly brought together and create a welcoming environment. I fit in perfectly with the laid-back culture here.
The small student to faculty ratio (17:1) at UC Davis enhances networking abilities between teachers, faculty and students. The professors understand the student's desire to learn and challenge us with real world problems such as feeding the increasing population and the management of limited resources like land and water. Our supportive faculty grants us access to greenhouses, research fields and state-or-the-art equipment to experiment and think critically about current issues with the hope of improving the agricultural industry. The world renowned prestige of the university opens many doors into the agricultural industry which broadens my horizons and allows me to realize the many available opportunities.
I firmly believe UC Davis was the right choice for me. I know it is leading me down the path to achieve my dreams and so much more.
Photographs taken by Ninh Khuu, Plant Sciences Department, UC Davis
- Author: Janet M. Zalom
In a pedestrian orchard mature trees are maintained at a short stature, keeping fruit closer to the ground. For hand-harvested fruits such as peaches, nectarines and plums, this means a ladderless orchard at harvest, and accompanying labor safety and cost-savings benefits. Although a tremendous benefit to the industry, bringing this strategy to feasible reality has been a painstaking and dedicated effort for UC pomologists.
After over a decade of research on the relationship between tree height, rootstock, fruit production, and management practice, Kevin Day, Farm Advisor for Tulare County, and colleagues Ted DeJong, Specialist in the Dept. of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, and Scott Johnson, Specialist at UC Kearney Agricultural Center (KARE), began planting trials in 1997. Their goal was to directly compare a pedestrian orchard (7-9 ft. tall) with an orchard of standard height (12-13 ft).
Recent reports of their long term studies are indicating that the production and quality of the fruit crop on short trees has been similar to that of conventional trees. They have quantified the labor cost savings, apart from the obvious improvement in labor safety.
These findings are really perking up media attention, including the UC ANR News Blog, Central Valley News Channel KSEE24, and radio station KMJ's Farm Report. Well-deserved recognition, however, the media clips belie the scope and detail of their work, involving assessment of various cultivars, pruning, management regimes, fruit quality parameters, orchard configurations, etc. For insight into their research, visit the website maintained by Day and DeJong, UC Fruit Report.
Both Ted DeJong and Kevin Day are instructors in the class offered through the Fruit & Nut Center: Principles of Fruit and Nut Tree Growth, Cropping and Management. Attending the class is an opportunity to experience their expertise and perspective.
- Author: Brooke Jacobs
The Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center is organizing a two day international conference, “Understanding and Preparing for the Threat of Plum Pox Virus Spreading to California and the Western States.” The meeting will be held in Giedt Hall on the UC Davis campus on September 29th and 30th, 2014.
A full conference agenda and online registration are available HERE.
Registration closes September 15th.
Presenters at the conference include experts from regions affected by PPV worldwide and researchers investigating the effects of PPV on stone fruit species (almond, apricot, cherry, plum, prune, and peach).
- Delano James, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Sidney, British Columbia
- Marc Fuchs, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University
- Phil Baugher, Adams County Nursery, Aspers, Pennsylvania
- Rick Mumford, Food and Environment Research Agency, York, United Kingdom
- Sylvie Dallot, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Montpellier, France
- Tadeusz Malinowski, Research Institute of Horticulture, Skierniewice, Poland
- Ruth Welliver, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Timothy Gottwald, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Bill Schneider, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Fort Detrick, Florida
- Maria Badenes, Valencian Institute of Agricultural Investigations, Valencia, Spain
- Ralph Scorza, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Kearneysville, West Virginia
- Margaret Kelly, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Albany, New York
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA
- Michael Guidicipietro, USDA APHIS, San Francisco, California
- Rick Bostock, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis
We welcome all members of the stone fruit industry (growers, nurseries, handlers and packers) to attend. Please e-mail Penny Stockdale (pastockdale@ucdavis.edu) if you need help with registration or have questions about the conference.