- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
CDFA officials have trapped a single male melon fly in a Fresno vineyard, sending shivers down the spines of local farmers who produce its target crops, including cucumber, eggplant, squash and tomatoes, according to a report on the CBS Channel 47 news.
The melon fly is native to Asia, but has spread to other parts of the world, including Africa and the Pacific Islands. Melon flies were first found in California in 1956 and have been captured sporadically over the years, but all infestations have been successfully eradicated. Just last year, eight melon flies were found in Kern County. Trapping last month...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Officials have confirmed that the red palm weevil is not confined to a single palm tree in Laguna Beach, according to a story in the Daily Pilot. Just blocks from the first infested tree, another Canary Islands date palm is being killed by red palm weevil.
UC Riverside Cooperative Extension entomologist Mark Hoddle said the crown of the second infested palm has dropped off, and the top of the trunk is ringed with a 'halo' of palm fronds.
"The trunk of the palm has been heavily damaged internally by feeding red palm weevils. The central portion of the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Palm tree growers, government officials and UC scientists are moving quickly to prevent the spread of red palm weevil, which made its first U.S. appearance a month ago in Laguna Beach, according to an article in the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The pest has caused enormous damage to palm trees in other parts of the world. Its larvae excavate large holes in the trunks of many types of palms - including coconut, date and oil palms, canary, queen and fan palms - killing a mature tree in about a year.
"This is central to our livelihood," the story quoted Albert Keck, chair of the California...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A native of Asia, melon fruit flies' only U.S. home currently is in Hawaii. However, CDFA says it poses a significant threat to a wide variety of agricultural crops important to California, including peaches, oranges, beans, tomatoes and most crops in the cucumber family.
To eradicate the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
At a press conference in Fresno Wednesday, the Natural Resources Conservation Service announced a $1 million cost sharing program to help combat European grapevine moth in California.
The support will cover half the cost of voluntary, environmentally friendly control options, according to the NRCS press release. The pest control strategies, the release said, were developed and approved for use over the past five years by NRCS and the University of California Cooperative Extension. The cost of the treatment is about $208 per acre; NRCS will provide $104 per...