Ian Grettenberger

The grants, announced Dec. 13, total $1.1 million.

Grettenberger and his UC Davis research collaborators will receive $499,847 for “A Proactive Approach to Prepare for the Invasion of Tuta absoluta into California.” T. absoluta, a tomato leafminer, is a serious pest throughout Europe, Africa, western Asia and South and Central America and could decimate California's tomato industry, a CDFA spokesman said. “This project will proactively test targeted insecticides, identify native natural enemies that could be used in biological control, and conduct work to assist in breeding plants resistant to this pest. This project will be conducted at UC Davis, throughout California, and in Chile and Peru."

Grettenberger and co-project leaders Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdivia and Daniel Hasegawa of the UC Davis Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), will receive $261,543 for “Detection, Biology and control of the Exotic Swede Midge (Contarinia nasturtii) for California Cole Crops.” Swede midge,  a pest of cole crops in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, could cause significant management issues for California's large cole crop industry, a CDFA spokesperson said. “This project will collect important information about the biology of Swede midge, test low impact insecticides and botanical products as options for control, assess the possibility of weeds as alternative hosts, and work with growers to start monitoring for the pest. This project will be conducted mainly at UC Davis and in the Salinas Valley.”

The third CDFA grant of $348,893 went to project leaders Mark Hoddle and Jocelyn Millar of UC Riverside for “Proactive Management of Avocado Seed and Stem Feeding Weevils, Heilipus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae).” This project will develop pheromones, identify natural enemies in the host range, and quantify flight capacity of the avocado seed weevils, a CDFA spokesperson said. The weevils, native to Mexico and invasive in Ecuador, feed directly on avocados and could cause substantial damage to the California avocado industry, a CDFA spokesman said. "The California Avocado Commission pledged an additional $150,000 to support this project, a testament to their concern over this pest. The work will be conducted mainly at UC Riverside and in Mexico. “

Each project received strong support from commodities that could be affected by invasive pests. A review committee, of scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of California, state government and private pest control advisors, scored the proposals and recommended the recipients.

CDFA is responsible for preventing and mitigating invasive pests in California.

• The Proactive IPM Solutions grants program targets exotic pests likely to arrive in California. It aims to identify and test IPM strategies that can be rapidly implemented if the pests become established in California.
• OPCA, created to provide consultation to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), focuses on potential pesticide regulatory impacts and pest management alternatives that may mitigate or prevent such impacts on production agriculture.

Grettenberger, who joined the UC Davis faculty earlier this year, replaces the late Larry Godfrey, who died of cancer April 18, 2017. Grettenberger holds a bachelor of science degree from Western Washington University and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. His areas of expertise include field and vegetable crops; insects, mites and other arthropods affecting plants; biological control of pests affecting plants; and beneficial insects.