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DAVIS—University of California entomology professor Frank Zalom, an integrated pest management (IPM) specialist, is leading a team of five U.S. university scientists to China on a two-week scientific exchange. The exchange is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

During his Oct. 20 to Nov. 3 visit, Zalom will visit IPM research and extension centers in the Beijing, Sichuan, Fujian and Shanghai regions. He will participate in seminars on “Research, Education and Extension of IPM in China and the United States” at the China Agricultural University, Beijing, and at the Fujian Provincial Academy of Agricultural Science, Fuzhou.

In addition, Zalom will confer with Chinese scientists on quarantine and invasive pest control issues; tour the National Quarantine Research Institute; and view IPM projects in all four regions, including the Beijing IPM Extension Station.

Zalom chairs the Agricultural Experiment Station of the National IPM Committee, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC).

The exchange program, launched in 1978, aims to improve the productivity and sustainability of agriculture between the two agricultural superpowers. The United States leads the world in the economic value of agricultural products, while China leads the world in agricultural volume.

Under the annual program, involving one- to four-week exchanges, scientists explore agricultural science and technology and help promote international cooperation in agriculture and forestry.

More than 1,100 American and Chinese scientists have participated in the agricultural exchange program since its inception. Successes include long-term collaborative projects, several bilateral symposia, and the formation of the Sino-American Biological Control Laboratory.

Photos of the China visit (http://news.cau.edu.cn/show.php?id=0000030344)