Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell's entomology staff researchers Stephanie Doria, Joel Leonard, and Matt Morris as well as Lindcove staff researcher Sal Barcenas have been on the hunt for Fuller rose beetle eggs in an experiment at Lindcove.  Treatments of Sevin, Actara, Exirel and Minecto Pro were applied to skirt-pruned trees in August and October.  Now is harvest time, and the LREC agricultural crews are picking all fruit from each treatment tree into separate bins (700-1000 fruit per tree) and the research staff is painstakingly removing the calyx from each fruit and examining that region for Fuller rose beetle eggs.  From this study we will determine the level of efficacy of these foliar treatments.  While Fuller rose beetle is not considered a damaging pest in California citrus, treatments are required by S. Korea to minimize the risk of transporting Fuller rose beetle to S. Korean where it is not currently found.

Glenn Wright (U. Arizona) is collaborating with Mikeal Roose and Tracy Kahn (UC Riverside) to evaluate a rootstock trial for Limoneira 8A Lisbon lemon at the Lindcove Research and Extension Center.  This trial is one of three lemon trials located in the San Joaquin Valley, Ventura County area, and the Coachella Valley. Trees of Limoneira 8A Lisbon lemon, a popular selection in California, are being grown on 11 rootstocks.  Glenn is utilizing the LREC fruit grading system to evaluate the size, color, grade, weight and number of fruit per tree.  This trial will be highlighted at the Fruit Display event on Dec 14.

Lindcove Research and Extension Center has a weather monitoring station connected to the Western Weather web site.  You can view hourly or daily weather information as well as inversions between the 5 and 30 ft locations on the tower.  There is a satellite loop and radar for the region as well.  Visit our website to connect with Lindcove RECweather information: Western Weather at Lindcove REC.

The Citrus Research Board and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have established a $1 million endowment to fund the Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center. The endowed researcher will provide a UC Cooperative Extension scientist a dedicated source of funds to support scholarly activities focused on the long-term sustainability of the citrus industry.

“I wish to thank the Citrus Research Board for establishing the Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection at LREC endowment,” said UC ANR vice president Glenda Humiston. “This gift, coupled with the $500,000 match from the UC Office of the President, will help to ensure the long-term success of exemplary research focused on the California citrus industry.”

UC President Janet Napolitano provided half the funds for the endowed researcher; the CRB donated the other half.

“We are gratified that President Napolitano has selected the CRB for this prestigious match program,” said CRB Chairman Dan Dreyer. “It will be invaluable in helping us to pursue critical research that will yield beneficial findings to support the sustainability of the California citrus industry.”

The new endowment supports the UC Citrus Clonal Protection Program, which distributes pathogen-tested, true-to-type citrus budwood to nurseries, farmers and the public to propagate citrus trees for commercial and personal use. The CCPP maintains blocks of trees that serve as the primary source of budwood for all important fruit and rootstock varieties for California's citrus industry and researchers.

The CCPP is a cooperative program between UC ANR, CRB, the California Citrus Nursery Board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. CCPP director Georgios Vidalakis, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in plant pathology at UC Riverside, shared his appreciation for the efforts that led to the creation of the new endowed researcher position.

“My thanks to the citrus growers for their decades-long support, especially the members of the CCPP committee of the CRB for their vision, and UC's Greg Gibbs for coordinating all of the efforts,” he said. Vidalakis also praised Lindcove director Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell “for making the case to our growers about the importance of this endowment and for making plans to house the UC ANR endowment at the LREC.”

A selection committee will award the endowment to a distinguished UC ANR academic. An annual payout will be used to provide salary, graduate student and/or program support. The researcher will be named for a five-year term. At the end of that period, the appointment will be reviewed and either renewed or taken back to a selection committee to choose another UC ANR academic.

“I would like to thank the CRB for this generous gift and their continued support of our research for CCPP at the LREC,” said UC ANR Director of Major Gifts Greg Gibbs.

The CRB administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower-directed program established in 1968 under the California Marketing Act as the mechanism enabling the state's citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.

The CRB portion of the endowment was presented by CRB Chair Dan Dreyer to Lindcove Director Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC ANR Associate VP Tu Tran, Major Gifts Director Greg Gibbs and CCPP Program Director Dr. Georgios Vidalakis