- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Those catchy words headlined a recent notice of a congressional briefing.
What does coffee, wine and baseball bats have to do with integrated pest management (IPM), you ask?
Well, insects can wreak havoc on the coffee, wine and forestry industries. Consider these invasive species:
- the coffee berry borer, native to Africa, is a pest impacting the coffee industry
- the European grapevine moth, native to southern Italy, targets grapevines
- the emerald ash borer, native to Eastern Russia, Northern China, Japan, and Korea, is a forestry pest.
So there you have it: coffee, wine and baseball bats.
IPM specialist Frank Zalom, distinguished professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and a past president of the Entomological Society of America, played a key role in that U.S. Congressional briefing, held last month in the Rayburn House Office Building.
A newly authored bill by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Florida) seeks a broader expansion of AIPM and a broader invasive species policy. The bill, the Areawide Integrated Pest Management (AIPM) Act of 2018 (H.R. 5411), would amend the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 with respect to enabling competitive grants for certain areawide integrated pest management projects, and for other purposes.
Zalom moderated the panel and delivered a presentation on the history of AIPM and the need to manage some pests on an areawide basis. AIPM is particularly useful for sites that are not suitable for management on an individual basis, such as natural and urban areas or for public health pests. It is similar to IPM, Zalom said, in that its focus is on implementing systems-based strategies that utilize multiple tactics which emphasize prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression using practices that are biologically-based and reduce risk to human health and the environment. However, its focus is on managing pest populations in all the habitats in which they occur. It involves multi-year strategic planning and organization, and it tends to utilize technologies that may be difficult or less effective when used on a limited scale.
First found in Napa County in 2009, the moth was eventually detected in nine California counties. A partnership that included the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Department of Food and Agriculture, County Agricultural Commissioner Offices, grape growers, and University of California Cooperative Extension Advisers and specialists implemented an applied research and public outreach and engagement program that ultimately resulted in the elimination of the insect from throughout these grape-growing areas. (For its work, the European Grapevine Moth Team, led by Lucia Varela, UC IPM advisor, won a Distinguished Service Team award in 2016 from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and received an international award at this year's 9th International IPM Symposium.)
Note that Rep. Gabbard, in particular, wants to protect Hawaii's coffee industry from the recently introduced coffee berry borer, and Rep. Yoho, the U.S. citrus industry from the Asian citrus psyllid and the devastating bacterial disease that it vectors.
Partner host organizations included the ESA, Weed Science Society of America and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).
Four panelists—Faith Oi of the University of Florida, Lee Van Wychen of the Weed Science Society of America, Paula Shrewsbury of the University of Maryland and Kelley Tilmon of Ohio State University--zeroed in on urban pests, aquatic pests, forestry pests, and agricultural pests, respectively, and the industry impacts.
- Oi elaborated on mosquitoes, including the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, a major public health issue.
- Van Wychen discussed the waterhyacinth, an aquatic pest in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta and Everglades in Florida.
- Shrewsbury drew attention to the emerald ash borer, a pest in both urban and rural forests
- Tilmon covered the agricultural pest, the brown marmorated stink bug.
The panelists focused on various geographic topics to help Congressional offices from across the nation understand why AIPM is relevant to them and to support AIPM-related policies.
AIPM strategies not only offer important economic, health and environmental benefits, Zalom said, but the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 directs federal agencies to use IPM techniques in carrying out pest management activities.
Coffee, wine and baseball bats? The next time you're enjoying a ball game or sipping a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, think about the emerald ash borer, coffee berry borer and the European gravevine moth.
And the IPM specialists trying to protect us from invasive species...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Lifetime achievement awards went to Frank Zalom, distinguished professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who directed the UC Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM) for 16 years; and to Pete Goodell, Cooperative Extension adviser emeritus and UC IPM emeritus.
An international IPM award of recognition went to the European Grapevine Moth Team, headed by Lucia Varela, UC IPM advisor, and including Professor Zalom.
Officials lauded the honorees with these tributes:
Frank Zalom
"Frank Zalom began his career as an assistant professor for the Department. of Entomology, Fisheries, and Wildlife at University of Minnesota, St. Paul, in 1979. Over the years his career has spanned a wide range of positions and leadership to IPM programs worldwide. In 1986, he became the director of UC Statewide IPM Program and directed it for 16 years to raise the UC IPM program to its 'gold standard' of IPM information in the world. He received a Joint Resolution from the California State Legislature lauding his efforts to advance IPM.
"Frank Zalom's beliefs for IPM are four-fold:
- To solve pest control problems using effective, biologically-based pest management approaches
- To provide IPM leadership at the regional, state, national and international levels
- To provide a vigorous research program in entomology, especially related to IPM and invasive species; and
- To educate a new generation of IPM practitioners through effective undergraduate teaching and graduate student mentoring.
"He believes that advancing the science and implementation of IPM will reduce the impact of pests and pest control on agriculture and the environment. This is critical in California. 'California agriculture is a $42.6 billion industry that generates at least $100 billion in related economic industry,' according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and California grows more than a third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of the nation's fruits and nuts.
"He has pursued these goals through a combination of fundamental studies related to pest biology, physiology, and community ecology; problem-focused, hypothesis-driven management research; and community-oriented extension efforts. His research focuses on exploiting weaknesses in the biology of a pest species and its niche in the agroecosystem or the broader landscape. He builds multidisciplinary research and outreach teams to pursue innovative ideas needed to solve major IPM challenges. His lab's research has addressed seventeen invasive species introductions: among them southern green stink bug, silverleaf whitefly, glassy-winged sharpshooter, olive fly, invasive salt cedar, light brown apple moth, spotted wing drosophila, and most recently European grape vine moth, brown marmorated stink bug and Bagrada bug." (See more about his career on UC Davis Depatment of Entomology and Nematology website.)
Peter Goodell
"Early in his career, Goodell focused on reduction of use of broad-spectrum insecticides and development of easy to implement scouting methods. For example, he was instrumental in the development and adoption of time saving presence/absence sampling for mites in cotton. Mid-career, Goodell helped to pioneer year-round IPM programs because of his collaborations with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Year-round IPM programs describe pest management activities important for that crop stage or season and addresses key pest management for multiple pests. This departed from addressing one pest to a more holistic program focused on prevention and decision-making. UC IPM now has year-round programs for 25 crops and recently expanded the concept to develop seasonal landscape IPM checklists for four eco-regions in California. Later, Goodell was one of the first to incorporate social science concepts regarding the drivers of change in behavior into IPM learning and adoption. He was a founding member of the group that developed the Toolkit for Assessing IPM Outcomes and Impacts.
"To end his career, Goodell is leading a California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) funded project to host discussions on pests, pesticides, and IPM broadly throughout California. At the foundation for this project, it assumes that pests are part of every persons' experience and pest management is necessary to protect society. The hope is the project will generate a consensus statement about risks from pests and pesticides and provide direction for the future of IPM in California. That will be an incredible final accomplishment for Dr. Goodell's career and for IPM everywhere." (See more about his career on the UC ANR website.)
European Grapevine Moth Team
"The European Grapevine Moth Team was selected for an IPM Team Award for achieving the eradication of European grapevine moth only six years after its discovery in 2009. Team members helped growers in infested counties to monitor the pest and apply control measures on a timely basis. The team's research and extension efforts helped growers avoid losses to the pest every year until it was finally eradicated in 2016.
"In September 2009, European grapevine moth (EGVM) was detected in grapes in Napa County and confirmed by USDA on Oct.7, 2009. European grapevine moth larvae bore holes into grape berries directly damaging the fruit and allowing entry of fungal pathogens. The European Grapevine Moth Team, achieved the eradication of European grapevine moth only six years after its discovery.
"The team mounted a multi-pronged program to study the biology and life cycle under California conditions, assisted and informed growers to monitor and control this pest, and addressed regulatory questions regarding detection and delimitation. The team designed and conducted 15 trials to evaluate winter mortality factors, validate monitoring tools, determine the host range, evaluate organic and conventional insecticides, and study larval mortality during the winemaking process."
The European Grapevine Moth Team includes Lucia Varela, UC IPM advisor for the North Coast; Frank Zalom,IPM specialist and distinguished professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; Monica Cooper, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture adviser in Napa County; Walter Bentley, UC IPM entomologist emeritus; Larry Bettiga, UC Cooperative Extension adviser in Monterey County; Kent Daane, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management; Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension adviser in Sonoma County; Robert VanSteenwyk, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management; and Joyce Strand, UC Davis IPM Academic Coordinator emeritus.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
- Editor: Karen Giovannini
Three of the twelve awards announced for the upcoming International IPM Symposium will be given to UC Integrated Pest Management Program members including Lucia Varela and Rhonda Smith from UCCE Sonoma.
The European Grapevine Moth Team was selected for an IPM Team Award for achieving the eradication of European grapevine moth only six years after its discovery in 2009. Team members helped growers in infested counties to monitor the pest and apply control measures on a timely basis. The team's research and extension efforts helped growers avoid losses to the pest every year until it was finally eradicated in 2016.
The European Grapevine Moth Team includes Lucia Varela, UC IPM advisor for the North Coast; Monica Cooper, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor in Napa County; Walter Bentley, UC IPM entomologist emeritus; Larry Bettiga, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County; Kent Daane, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management; Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Sonoma County; Robert Van Steenwyk, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in UC Berkeley ESPM; Joyce Strand, UC IPM academic coordinator emeritus; and Zalom.
The winners will receive their awards and recognition at the 9th International IPM Symposium March 19-22, 2018, in Baltimore, Md.
#WeAreUCANR!
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The European grapevine moth, which was detected in Napa County in 2009 and threatened crops valued at $5.7 billion, has been eradicated from the state, reported Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times.
The reporter gleaned information about and a photo of the moth from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). The article credited ANR as explaining, "The moth's several larval stages damage flowers and the fruit itself throughout the growing season."
UC ANR played a key role in the eradicating the pest from California. A team of UC ANR academics received an award this year for coordinating a program "that saved the wine and table grape industries from economic disaster caused by an invasive insect," said the ANR Report.
ANR's European Grapevine Moth Team includes:
- Walter Bentley – UC Integrated Pest Management entomologist emeritus
- Larry Bettiga, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County
- Monica Cooper, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Napa County
- Kent Daane, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley
- Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Sonoma County
- Joyce Strand, IPM academic coordinator emeritus
- Robert Van Steenwyk, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley
- Lucia Varela, UC Cooperative Extension area IPM advisor in the North Coast
- Frank Zalom, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis
- Author: Mark Bolda
Good news to start the New Year for Santa Cruz County growers:
This directly from Mary Lou Nicoletti, Agricultural Commissioner for Santa Cruz County:
"Effective December 21, 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture declared the European Grapevine Moth to be eradicated from Santa Cruz County. Our county is no longer under quarantine."
Not too much to add to this, but getting to this point was a real team effort on the part of regulators, researchers and growers. And I am quite glad that we have one less pest to deal with here for now.