News Stories
University California joins alliance to protect popular flowerJune 30, 2005
CONTACT: Stephanie Klunk, (530) 754-6724, sjklunk@ucdavis.edu
Yellow sticky ribbons can be used for pest monitoring in gerbera flowers.
The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) has teamed up with growers, ornamental plant organizations, and industry personnel to develop integrated pest management strategies to protect a $300 million cut flower industry in With funding from UC IPM and other organizations in the Gerbera Pest Management Alliance (GPMA), researchers are investigating ways to improve the timing for releasing natural enemies, integrating biological control, and using new reduced-risk pesticides to control destructive pests. A key concern is to determine how many pests are present and the number of pests it takes to impact crop yields so that growers can skip treatments when they are unnecessary. Four 10,000-square-foot sites in Encinitas, Carpinteria, Researchers studied climatic factors such as temperature and humidity and non-climatic variables such as variety and leaf age to help determine optimal pest management practices. When complete, this study will serve as a model system for cut and potted floriculture crops statewide. “The Gerbera Pest Management Alliance has been designed to advance integrated pest management and biological control strategies for gerbera growers wherever they may fall on the pest management continuum,” says UC Davis Entomologist Michael Parrella, who is one of the investigators of the project. “We have some growers who are actively using biological control, while others are just starting. This program, based on developing solid sampling strategies, will offer all growers the opportunity to advance their integrated pest management. We meet three times a year at a cooperating grower's packing shed, review progress of the GPMA, share experiences and tour the gerbera production area.” Other GPMA members are the California Cut Flower Commission, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, county advisors, allied industries and manufacturers of reduced-risk pesticides. The California Cut Flower Commission, the Hansen Trust, USDA (via the National Floriculture & Nursery Research Initiative), and the American Floral Endowment also provided funding. |