2006
Annual Report
UC Statewide IPM Program
HIGHLIGHTS |
Collective effort produces Asian
longhorned beetle information
In 2005, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was found in a warehouse in
Sacramento. The pest has the potential to destroy millions of acres of
hardwood trees such as elm, maple, boxelder, birch, horse chestnut, poplar,
willow, mimosa, and hackberry. Infestations in New York, Illinois, and
New Jersey resulted in the removal of thousands of trees and cost state
and federal governments in excess of $168 million.
Government organizations combined resources to develop an electronic slide
show, a Web page, and informational flyers on how to detect and report
suspected infestations of the ALB.
The Web site, www.wripmc.org/alerts/, is a one-stop resource to educate
consumers on how to report and prevent Asian longhorned beetle infestations
in California.
The following organizations helped to develop the information: UC IPM;
the National Plant Diagnostic
Network, Western Region; USDA-APHIS
Plant Protection and Quarantine; USDA-Forest
Service; California Department of
Food and Agriculture; and the Sacramento
County Agricultural Commissioner.
The USDA-CSREES
Integrated Pest Management Centers produced and distributed
the Pest Alert.
 Citrus thrips add blueberries to their diet
The relatively recent development of heat-tolerant varieties of blueberries
has allowed growers to establish a California blueberry industry. However,
this industry is now under attack by a new pest, citrus thrips, which has
expanded its host range from citrus to become blueberries’ number
one pest.
In response to this threat, the UC IPM Program has provided funding for
a team of UC researchers and cooperators to develop an integrated pest
management program for this pest. The team is being coordinated by
UC IPM Farm Advisor David Haviland and also includes UC Riverside entomologist
and citrus thrips expert Joseph Morse, and blueberry expert and Farm Advisor
Manuel Jimenez.
This team is tackling many aspects of IPM for citrus thrips. This includes
documentation of the pest’s seasonal biology, the development of
monitoring programs, evaluations of differences in varietal susceptibility
to damage, and chemical controls.
The team is also evaluating nonchemical controls such as the use of high-pressure
water and entomopathogenic fungi that can act as parasites
of insects and kill or
seriously disable them. These latter techniques are being investigated
as a way to delay resistance to the relatively few number of pesticides
registered for blueberries, but that are being used more than 10 times
per season on some fields to combat citrus thrips.
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