Posts Tagged: exotic pests
My airport experience
Hi, I'm longan fruit. I almost made it into the U.S. from Vietnam. Luckily the person that was carrying it knew that she couldn't carry fresh fruit from Vietnam into the U.S. Here's my story.
I was put into a carry-on bag before I left Vietnam. While my traveler tried to eat as much as she could before getting to LAX there was still some left by the time she arrived. She also had some dried fruits in her bag. She knew that she couldn't take the fresh fruit in but she was not sure about the dried fruits in so she wanted to ask Customs about that. My traveler dutifully marked the boxes on the paper customs form before she left the plane.
When she got off the plane she looked around to see if there was a security box that's often found in airports for travelers to throw out fresh fruits and vegetables that are not allowed in the U.S. However not seeing one, she continued on through the customs process. LAX also has an electronic kiosk a traveler can use to declare if there are any fruits or vegetables that the traveler is bringing in. My traveler again marked that she had some fruits. It would have been very easy for the kiosk to be programmed to provide additional instruction telling travelers that they should go to a secondary inspection line but there was nothing.
My traveler then continued through the lines, picked up her checked baggage (which did not have any plant material) and then followed the others to leave the airport. At the final check she asked the officer what she should do with the fresh fruit since she expected at some point there would be an opportunity to get rid of it and this seemed like the last chance. The officer said she needed to go to another inspection area. Which she did and gave me to the USDA officer. The officers there also x-rayed the rest of her baggage just to be sure that there was nothing else in her luggage. What shocked my traveler was that if she had not asked about the fruit, she could have just walked out of the airport possibly carrying an exotic pest.
In this case, I did not make it out of the airport. However what would happen if there is a traveler that is carrying fruit or other live plant material that is unaware that these may carry pests that could impact California's agriculture? Some backyard citrus trees were likely infected with HLB (the bacteria that causes citrus greening) through infected stems used for grafting that were probably carried from overseas travelers. If these travelers were not aware that they could not bring them in, it's likely that they too just walked out of the airport. I would say it's not their fault - it's just that there is a missing step.
It's hard to stop someone who is intentionally trying to bring small amounts of plant material into the U.S. in their carry-on bags. However, for the rest of the out of country travelers, there are a number of actions that could be implemented. Some suggestions are
1. Modify a paper declaration form to alert travelers that they need to go through the USDA inspection line once they arrive.
2. Provide a box that is sealed so that pests cannot escape letting travelers anonymously throw out plant material that they are carrying.
3. When using the electronic customs kiosk, there should be an alert telling the traveler that they need to go through USDA inspection if the traveler checks the box in the affirmative when asked about plant material.
I didn't make it but other fruits, vegetables, and plant material probably get through every day. While the suggestions listed above will not catch everything, at least we can reduce some of it.
But there is no further instruction even when you declare…
Protect the environment by leaving firewood at home
When people move wood from place to place, they may also be moving invasive insects and diseases that threaten California's landscape and wildland trees. The goldspotted oak borer, which is devastating native oaks in San Diego, likely hitchhiked from Arizona in firewood. The polyphagous shothole borer, walnut twig beetle and thousand cankers disease, and the pathogen causing sudden oak disease, all continue to spread to new areas on infested wood chips, plant debris or wood moved for woodworking or firewood.
Over the past year, the California Firewood Task Force has asked the public to "buy it where you burn it" — that is, don't bring wood from home when you camp, do use wood from local sources, and leave leftover wood at the campsite for the next camper. Even if wood does not appear to have borer holes or other evidence of pests, don't assume that the wood is pest free. Be on the safe side and don't move it.
The California Forest Pest Council established the task force in 2011 to educate Californians about what they can do to prevent movement of invasive pests in wood. The task force developed a web site, put up billboards across California, sponsored children's activities at parks and fairs, encouraged campgrounds to sell only local firewood, gave presentations across the state, and developed best management practices, posters, and other information to engage the public.
For more information visit www.firewood.ca.gov/.
How invasive species threaten California’s plant ecosystems
DAVIS -- What new invasive species threaten California’s plant ecosystems? How do you educate people and organizations about the threat of invasive species? And, how can you help detect and exclude them?
An all-day conference April 24 at UC Davis will answer those questions. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the UC Davis Conference Center, at 550 Alumni Lane, across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
Themed “Educating the Public about New Invasive Species Threatening California’s Plant Ecosystems,” the conference will include such topics as “New Pests Threatening California,” “Case Histories” and “Other Perspectives on Communication,” said coordinator Kris Godfrey, associate project scientist with the Contained Research Facility at UC Davis.
“The public needs to become more aware of the threat of invasive species,” said Godfrey, formerly with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. "The goal of this conference is to bring together biologists, social scientists, and communication experts to discuss how to educate all segments of society about the threat of invasive species and how to assist in their exclusion and detection.”
Conference attendees will learn about developing and delivering effective and consistent messages about invasive species to a variety of audiences, Godfrey said. They also will learn how to access the resources available to conduct effective outreach programs on invasive species.
Speakers will examine pest plants and plant pests that are likely to enter California in the near future, the pathways of introduction and likelihood of entry, and examples of successful outreach programs that resulted in changes in behavior by segments of society. “Methods to overcome barriers to communication with various segments of the population and possible new methods of communication” will also be discussed, Godfrey said.
Registration is free for UC personnel and $25 for non-UC personnel.
Invasive pest topics on the agenda include the golden spotted oak borer, Asian citrus psyllid, European grapevine moth, Japanese dodder, sudden oak death, and zebra and quagga mussels.
Among the speakers:
- "Predicting the Next Pest Invaders and How To Prevent Their Introduction," Joseph DiTomaso, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
- “New Pest Plants,” Doug Johnson, California Invasive Plant Council, Berkeley
- “New Arthropod Pests,” Kevin Hoffman, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento
- ”New Plant Pathogens,” Richard Bostock, UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology
- ”Zebra and Quagga Mussels,” Ted Grosholz, UC Davis Department of Environmental Science and Policy
- “European Grapevine Moth,” Lucia Varela, UC Cooperative Extension, Sonoma County
- ”Asian Citrus Psyllid/Huanglongbing,” Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Riverside Department of Entomology
- “Sudden Oak Death and Buy-Where-You-Burn Campaigns,” Janice Alexander, UC Cooperative Extension, Marin County, Novato.
- “Japanese Dodder, “Ramona Saunders, Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
- “Newspaper Perspective,” Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee
More information, including the full agenda and updates on the conference, is available at http://crf.ucdavis.edu. Conference registration is online at https://registration.ucdavis.edu. For additional information, contact Kris Godfrey at kegodfrey@ucdavis.edu or (530) 754 2104.
The conference, supported with a grant from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ 2011 Spring Programmatic Initiative, is a cooperative project of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the UC Davis departments of Plant Pathology, Entomology, Plant Sciences, and Food Science and Technology, the California Center for Urban Horticulture at UC Davis, the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, and the UC Riverside Department of Entomology.
Asian citrus psyllid infestation.
USDA provides funds for California specialty crops research
The USDA issued a news release on Friday announcing $55 million in block grants to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops around the country, with California receiving more than $17 million. Of the 64 California projects, 19 are led by researchers affiliated with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
A large share of funding - $1.4 million - goes to nine food-safety projects to be coordinated by UC’s Center for Produce Safety, according to an article in the Fresno Bee.
"Scientists and researchers with the University of California and industry groups are exploring everything from whether frogs and lizards are potential carriers of E.coli to whether dust from a cattle operation can carry E.coli into a vegetable field," wrote Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez.
The executive director of the Center for Produce Safety, Bonnie Fernandez, told Rodriguez the funding comes at a time of heightened awareness of food safety among consumers and farmers.
"There are simply a lot of unanswered gaps of knowledge on these issues," Fernandez was quoted. "We want to know where the pathogens came from, how it attaches to a product and how we can reduce the risk of that happening."
Management of exotic pests is another issue where USDA provided funding for UC research, according to the listing on USDA's website. For example, grants will support efforts to:
- Release and evaluate four exotic olive fruit fly parasitoids in order to improve sustainable table and oil olive management
- Test the area-wide application of mating disruption of vine mealybug in Napa County
- Evaluate the efficacy of organic pesticides for Asian Citrus Psyllid control so science-based control recommendations can be made to organic citrus growers
- Survey resistance ratios in olive fruit fly populations from California regions not sampled in a previous study
Funds were also made available to expand and improve the online specialty crop production information now available on UC's Fruit & Nut Research and Information Center website and call-in center.
In addition, the new funding will allow UC researchers to work with several school districts and their regional partners to expand their procurement of local seasonal fresh produce, enhance their ability to integrate a specialty crop nutritional curriculum by providing outreach and professional development to school personnel, and assess changes in food preferences and dietary behaviors of children in participating school.
Other UC projects receiving the funding will look into onion seed production, strawberries' ability to restore impaired insulin, steam injection for soil disinfestation, and mealy plum aphid and leaf-curl plum aphid control in prunes.
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The UC Center for Produce Safety to receive substantial research funds from USDA.
New Pests Found in Grapevines
Two new serious pests have appeared in the western United States in the past months. Please familiarize yourselves with the biology and morphology of these pests so you can identify them.
The first is the European Grapevine Moth, which was found in the Napa Valley of California in October 2009. This is the first occurrence of this moth in the United States. It is a serious pest of grape, feeding on the flowers and bunches. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, the Caucasus, and since 2008, in Chile. The wingspan is 12-13 mm. In September, The Napa County Ag Commissioner became aware of significant damage and crop loss occurring in Oakville and Rutherford area vineyards. Growers were finding numerous larvae in winegrape fruit clusters and experiencing significant crop damage or loss primarily from subsequent botrytis bunch rot. Growers had been asked to keep their eyes open for the presence of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), and many contacted their office and provided samples of damaged fruit, larvae, etc. Staff biologists also visited sites to conduct vineyard surveys and collect additional samples. These moth larvae and pupae samples were sent to the California Department of Food and Agriculture laboratory for analysis and were determined to not be LBAM or other common species, such as Orange Tortrix or Omnivorous Leafroller. CDFA entomologists utilizing newly acquired genetic lab techniques were subsequently able to identify the European Grapevine Moth, a very destructive pest of winegrapes which has never before been seen in the United States.
The second pest is Cherry Vinegar Fly (CVF) , now called the Spotted Wing Wing Drosophila, (Drosophila suzukii ) was detected by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in fresh cherries near Gilroy CA in 2009. It now has been detected all along the west coast. The reports note that the larvae are found in ripe but undamaged fruit. The skin of the fruit has small holes resembling oviposition scars. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, fruits attacked include apple, blueberry, cane berries, cherry, peach, persimmon, plum, grape, and strawberry that it is also found in wine and table grapes. It is also found in Florida and As of October 13, 2009, the ODA reports it has also been found in wine and table grapes.
Special thanks to the Richard Hoenish, Editor of the Western Plant Diagnostic Network Newsletter for the text and photographs of this article from their October 2009 Newsletter. Used by permission.