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Posts Tagged: Anton Cornel
Officials target mosquitos that spread zika with new tools
(While populations of aedes aegypti have been found in California, the diseases have not.)
Cornel said officials need to attack the mosquitos on several fronts.
“There is no silver bullet,” he said.
One of the novel methods the scientists are studying is releasing male mosquitos infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium-like organism. They transfer the infection to females when they mate. The females then produce eggs that do not hatch.
Cornel is hopeful about the new technique.
"Maybe this proves to be an effective strategy, and hopefully it might become a standard control method," he said.
The Fresno Bee story also outlined a more-traditional approach to reducing mosquito populations that will be implemented by the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement staff. In one subdivision in southeast Clovis, the mosquito district asked residents for permission to enter their yards to search for and destroy mosquito breeding spots, such as old tires, toys, pet dishes and underground backyard drains. The project will show whether a vigilant effort to remove standing water will significantly reduce the number of mosquitos found in the neighborhood.
UC fights a mosquito new to California
The mosquitos - which can transmit dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya - were found in Clovis, Madera and San Mateo last year. Cornel has deployed 146 traps provided by the Centers for Disease Control in a Clovis neighborhood to see if they will knock down the population of the unwelcome pest.
Unlike more sophisticated traps that cost hundreds of dollars, the traps being used in Clovis are handmade in Puerto Rico for about $6 each, Khokha reported.
"(Mosquitos) are attracted to this trap to lay their eggs in, they get stuck to the glue, and of course, that's the end of the mosquito," Cornel said.
Listen to the story on The California Report by clicking the link below:
Scientists take on dangerous mosquitos in Central Valley
'Great Day' morning program features UC Kearney Ag REC
The popular morning television program "Great Day," which airs daily on KMPH Channel 26 in Fresno, featured the work of scientists at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in six live segments during the five-hour program this morning.
Reporter Clayton Clark and photographer Ryan Hudgins arrived at the Kearney greenhouse at 4:30 a.m. to interview the scientists helping California farmers feed the nation and world sustainably.
See clips of the interviews in the one-minute video below:
Segments included:
- An overview of research and extension activities at Kearney by director Jeff Dahlberg.
- UC blueberry and blackberry research that has made these commodities important crops in the San Joaquin Valley with Manuel Jimenez, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Tulare County.
- Beneficial insects, pests and invasive species that are part of research by Kent Daane, UCCE specialist in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy Management at UC Berkeley. Daane shared a handful of leaf-footed bugs with the reporter.
- How global information systems are changing the way farmers and researchers are looking at farmings systems with Kris Lynn-Patterson, coordinator of the GIS program at Kearney.
- Just like people, plants get sick. UC plant pathologist Themis Michailides explained research efforts to cure plant diseases.
- Uncommon wine varieties that might lead to new fine wines ideally suited to be produced in the Valley's warm climate, with Matt Fidelibus, UCCE specialist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.
- The very real threat of West Nile virus in mosquitoes in the valley, with medical entomologist Anton Cornel.
