Calag Archive

Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases: How UC and its collaborators detect, contain and manage them

Cover: Across the United States, endemic and invasive pests are a growing problem that costs billions of dollars each year in direct damage and funding for pest management programs. In California, UC ANR researchers collaborate with state and federal agencies to contain and manage pests such as glassy-winged sharpshooter, European grapevine moth and herbicide-resistant weeds. In this photo, Elizabeth Karn, Ph.D. student (left), and Associate Professor Marie Jasieniuk (right) of UC Davis cross glufosinate-resistant Lolium (ryegrass) plants with glufosinate-susceptible plants to determine whether the resistance trait can be transmitted to offspring. The results of their research will help inform resistance management strategies. Photo by Will Suckow.

October-December 2014
Volume 68, Number 4

Peer-reviewed research and review articles

Diagnostics in animal health: How UC helps exclude and minimize impact of livestock pathogens

by John M. Adaska, Edward R. Atwill, Glenn A. Nader

Abstract

Whether it's pinkeye, Cryptosporidium parvum, bluetongue, or poisonous plants, UC maintains a strong network to protect animal agriculture in the state.

UC has a wide reach in the agriculture sector of the California economy and is well recognized for research expertise in plant diseases. Less well known is the role UC plays in animal agriculture. In 2012, the California Animal Health and Food Safety lab at UC Davis performed nearly 980,000 tests on samples from sick livestock, including cattle, horses, pigs, chickens and turkeys. The lab is prepared to respond rapidly to any disease outbreak or identification of a foreign disease. Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis are testing novel subunit vaccines to prevent pinkeye in cattle; UC ANR specialists and advisors and the staff at the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center were key to the development of best management practices that landowners and resource managers are using to protect their herds and public water sources against the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum; and UC veterinary scientists are part of a large team of experts, including state and federal agencies, determined to combat the endemic bluetongue virus, which can affect the state's exports.

Sidebar: Solving the puzzle of foothill abortion in beef cattle

by Glenn A. Nader, Mike N. Oliver, Julie A. Finzel, Myra T. Blanchard, Jeff L. Stott

EXCLUDING PESTS AND PATHOGENS: Plant health: How diagnostic networks and interagency partnerships protect plant systems from pests and pathogens

by Richard M. Bostock, Carla S. Thomas, Richard W. Hoenisch, Deborah A. Golino, Georgios Vidalakis

Abstract

Regional alliances of federal, state and university plant diagnostic labs work together to identify, control disease spread.

Early detection and rapid response are crucial in any effort to reduce the risk of new and emerging biological threats to crops and other plant resources. This underscores the importance of having the necessary diagnostic expertise, infrastructure and resources in place. Three programs — the National Plant Diagnostic Network, the National Clean Plant Network and the Citrus Clonal Protection Program — illustrate how accurate and rapid diagnosis plays a critical role in providing healthy plants for growers and in securing production systems for food and fiber. These three programs depend on statewide, regional and national networking among university, state and federal scientists, regulatory officials and industry members to help mitigate the impacts of plant pests and diseases.

MANAGING NEWLY ESTABLISHED PESTS: Growers, scientists and regulators collaborate on European grapevine moth program

by Monica Cooper, Lucia Varela, Rhonda Smith, David Whitmer, Gregory Simmons, Andrea Lucchi, Roxanne Broadway, Robert Steinhauer

Abstract

A regulatory program coordinated by government agencies, scientists and growers drastically reduced insect populations.

The first detection of the European grapevine moth in North America triggered the establishment of federal and state regulatory programs that (1) identified the insect's geographic range in California, (2) developed and implemented detection and management programs, (3) regulated the movement of plant material and equipment to minimize the threat of dispersal, (4) incorporated research-based information developed by subject-matter experts into policy decisions and (5) promoted a wide-reaching educational program for grape growers, the public and local officials. The action plan, developed and carried out through a coordinated program that included multiple government agencies, university scientists and the agricultural community, drastically reduced insect populations and limited the distribution in California vineyards such that some previously infested areas were removed from quarantine regulation.

MANAGING NEWLY ESTABLISHED PESTS: Cooperative efforts contained spread of Pierce's disease and found genetic resistance

by George Bruening, Bruce C. Kirkpatrick, Thomas Esser, Robert K. Webster

Abstract

The PD outbreak in Temecula Valley in 1999 has been contained and release of PD-resistant vines is anticipated.

An outbreak of Pierce's disease of grapevine in the Temecula Valley in the late 1990s was one in a decades-long series of sporadic appearances of this infection in California. However, the new outbreak was qualitatively different because of the rapidity with which it spread in the vineyard and its appearance almost simultaneously at distant locations. The causative agent of Pierce's disease is the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, and the distinct characteristics of the Temecula Valley outbreak were traced to the establishment of a new insect vector in California, the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Intensive and collaborative efforts among government agencies, industry and research institutions over 15 years have successfully contained the disease, and given scientists time to discover promising long-term potential solutions through genetic resistance.

Sidebar: Coordinated response to PD involves growers, scientists and government

by George Bruening, Bruce C. Kirkpatrick, Thomas Esser, Robert K. Webster

MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Herbicide-resistant weeds challenge some signature cropping systems

by Bradley D. Hanson, Steven Wright, Lynn M. Sosnoskie, Albert J. Fischer, Marie Jasieniuk, John A. Roncoroni, Kurt J. Hembree, Steve Orloff, Anil Shrestha, Kassim Al-Khatib

Abstract

Little or no crop rotation and limited herbicide options have contributed to the rise of herbicide-resistant weeds in orchards, vineyards and rice fields.

Invasive and endemic weeds pose recurring challenges for California land managers. The evolution of herbicide resistance in several species has imposed new challenges in some cropping systems, and these issues are being addressed by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors, specialists and faculty. There are currently 24 unique herbicide-resistant weed biotypes in the state, dominated by grasses and sedges in flooded rice systems and, more recently, glyphosate-resistant broadleaf and grass weeds in tree and vine systems, roadsides and glyphosate-tolerant field crops. Weed scientists address these complex issues using approaches ranging from basic physiology and genetics research to applied research and extension efforts in grower fields throughout the state. Although solutions to herbicide resistance are not simple and are affected by many biological, economic, regulatory and social factors, California stakeholders need information, training and solutions to address new weed management problems as they arise. Coordinated efforts conducted under the Endemic and Invasive Pests and Disease Strategic Initiative directly address weed management challenges in California's agricultural industries.

Sidebar: Importance of herbicide resistance in weeds of natural areas

by Joseph M. DiTomaso

Sidebar: Herbicide-resistant weeds unlikely in vegetable crops

by Steve Fennimore, Richard Smith, Michelle Le Strange

MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Over 35 years, integrated pest management has reduced pest risks and pesticide use

by Peter B. Goodell, Frank G. Zalom, Joyce F. Strand, Cheryl A. Wilen, Karey Windbiel-Rojas

Abstract

UC IPM helps provide management solutions for invasive pests that destabilize IPM programs in agricultural and urban landscapes.

Pests and their interactions with crops, ecological landscapes and animals are in continuous flux — they are never static. Pest severity increases or decreases depending on environmental conditions and changes in production or pest control practices. Pest management is made even more challenging by exotic and newly invasive pests. Over its 35-year history, the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Statewide IPM Program has supported research and extension that has decreased risks of crop losses, improved treatment programs for invasive and endemic pests, and reduced the use of pesticides and their impact on the environment and human health. Its publications are widely used among growers, pest control advisers, research institutions, state agencies, agricultural organizations and gardeners; and integrated pest management has been adopted statewide in agriculture, as well as in managed landscapes and urban areas.

E-Edition

The cost of the glassy-winged sharpshooter to California grape, citrus and nursery producers

by Karen M. Jetter, Joseph G. Morse, John N. Kabashima

Abstract

The spread of GWSS in the late 1990s led to increased costs and changes in agricultural practices for grape, citrus and nursery producers.

In the late 1990s, widespread outbreaks of Pierce's disease in grapevines were linked to transmission via the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), threatening California's multibillion-dollar table, raisin and wine grape industries. Government agencies responded to the crisis by implementing two control programs to manage GWSS. We analyzed the long-term economic impact of these two programs on citrus, grape and nursery producers. The net economic effects on all citrus producers and on grape producers in the southern San Joaquin Valley were insignificant, while all grape producers in the Temecula Valley saw an average increase in annual production costs of about $13.04 an acre. Based on our survey of nurseries in Southern California, approximately 11% had an infestation in 2008 and 2009, but only 3.0% in 2010. Average losses to nurseries per GWSS infestation were about $12,238. Nursery producers also undertook a variety of pest control methods to prevent infestations and plant losses, and to meet quarantine regulations. Average annual per-acre costs of these approaches were $2,975 for barrier methods to prevent GWSS from entering a premises, $1,032 in pesticide controls and $1,588 for in-house monitoring.

News and opinion

EDITORIAL

UC and the state of California team up against invasive species

by Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell, Annette Jones, Nick Condos

RESEARCH NEWS

Unwelcome arrivals

by Jeannette Warnert

ONGOING RESEARCH

A look at EIPD Strategic Initiative projects

by Hazel White

General Information

About California Agriculture

by Editor

2014 index

by Editors

CALIFORNIA MASTER GARDENER HANDBOOK, SECOND EDITION

Available from ANR

by Editors

Peer-reviewed research and review articles

Diagnostics in animal health: How UC helps exclude and minimize impact of livestock pathogens

by John M. Adaska, Edward R. Atwill, Glenn A. Nader

Abstract

Whether it's pinkeye, Cryptosporidium parvum, bluetongue, or poisonous plants, UC maintains a strong network to protect animal agriculture in the state.

EXCLUDING PESTS AND PATHOGENS: Plant health: How diagnostic networks and interagency partnerships protect plant systems from pests and pathogens

by Richard M. Bostock, Carla S. Thomas, Richard W. Hoenisch, Deborah A. Golino, Georgios Vidalakis

Abstract

Regional alliances of federal, state and university plant diagnostic labs work together to identify, control disease spread.

MANAGING NEWLY ESTABLISHED PESTS: Growers, scientists and regulators collaborate on European grapevine moth program

by Monica Cooper, Lucia Varela, Rhonda Smith, David Whitmer, Gregory Simmons, Andrea Lucchi, Roxanne Broadway, Robert Steinhauer

Abstract

A regulatory program coordinated by government agencies, scientists and growers drastically reduced insect populations.

MANAGING NEWLY ESTABLISHED PESTS: Cooperative efforts contained spread of Pierce's disease and found genetic resistance

by George Bruening, Bruce C. Kirkpatrick, Thomas Esser, Robert K. Webster

Abstract

The PD outbreak in Temecula Valley in 1999 has been contained and release of PD-resistant vines is anticipated.

MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Herbicide-resistant weeds challenge some signature cropping systems

by Bradley D. Hanson, Steven Wright, Lynn M. Sosnoskie, Albert J. Fischer, Marie Jasieniuk, John A. Roncoroni, Kurt J. Hembree, Steve Orloff, Anil Shrestha, Kassim Al-Khatib

Abstract

Little or no crop rotation and limited herbicide options have contributed to the rise of herbicide-resistant weeds in orchards, vineyards and rice fields.

MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Over 35 years, integrated pest management has reduced pest risks and pesticide use

by Peter B. Goodell, Frank G. Zalom, Joyce F. Strand, Cheryl A. Wilen, Karey Windbiel-Rojas

Abstract

UC IPM helps provide management solutions for invasive pests that destabilize IPM programs in agricultural and urban landscapes.

E-Edition

The cost of the glassy-winged sharpshooter to California grape, citrus and nursery producers

by Karen M. Jetter, Joseph G. Morse, John N. Kabashima

Abstract

The spread of GWSS in the late 1990s led to increased costs and changes in agricultural practices for grape, citrus and nursery producers.

News and opinion

General Information

CALIFORNIA MASTER GARDENER HANDBOOK, SECOND EDITION

Available from ANR

by Editors