1995-96 Pest Management Grant Summaries
The Department of Pesticide Regulation received a total of 70 proposals. The following 24 projects were recommended
for funding:
Agricultural projects
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Development of IPM Approaches for Wine Grape Growing Areas of the Sonoma Valley |
Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers |
Sonoma County |
$30,000 |
Summary: This project will identify and incorporate innovative approaches to pest management for wine grape production
in the Sonoma Valley. It is sponsored by growers and the private sector and relies on the technical expertise of
the University of California Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation
Service staff. Integrated pest management (IPM) techniques will be promoted through demonstration sites and by
providing education and outreach regarding practices that would reduce or eliminate pesticide use.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Central Coast Wine Grape Grower Natural Vineyard Team |
Central Coast Wine Grape Grower Natural Vineyard Team |
San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Barbara Counties |
$5,000 |
Summary: A group of Central Coast wine grape growers representing over 10,000 acres of wine grapes has formed a
team with Robert Mondavi Winery, local University of California farm advisors, and state officials to identify
and promote environmentally safe viticultural practices for the Central Coast. The team will create a vineyard
pest protocol that will identify pests and outline treatment options. This protocol will promote integrated vineyard
production practices that enhance environmental protection, are economically sustainable, and maintain or improve
grape and wine quality. A long-term goal is to encourage all growers to organize the region into a self-funded
commission similar to the Lodi/Woodbridge Wine Grape Commission.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Validation and Demonstration of Predacious Mite Releases For Management of Spider Mites in Cotton |
University of California, Davis
Dr. Larry Godfrey |
Southern
San Joaquin Valley; Kern and Madera Counties |
$29,920 |
Summary: Spider mites are major arthropod pests of cotton in the San Joaquin Valley. In spite of frequent management
actions, mite outbreaks the last two years have resulted in significant yield losses. A beneficial mite predator
has been shown to provide excellent biological control of spider mites in small plot studies in cotton. This project
will validate and demonstrate in grower fields the efficacy of releasing predatory mites for the control of spider
mites in organic and conventional cotton. New mechanical mite release equipment developed by one of the researchers
will be optimized and used in these studies.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Postharvest Disinfestation of Horticultural Commodities: Controlled Atmosphere as an Alternative to Methyl Bromide |
University of California, Davis
Dr. Elizabeth Mitcham |
San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, and Sacramento Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: The fumigant, methyl bromide, is presently the primary method of postharvest insect control. Alternative
postharvest insecticidal technologies are currently unavailable. Controlled atmosphere treatments [low oxygen (<0.5%)
and/or high carbon dioxide (35 to 80%) concentrations] can provide effective postharvest insect control. The project
will refine these controlled atmosphere treatments for postharvest control of insect and mite pests of leafy greens,
strawberries, and cut flowers, and provide the implementation tests in a commercial setting to demonstrate the
efficacy and feasibility of controlled atmosphere treatments for insect disinfestation.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Hedgerows: Turning Farm Waste Areas into Active IPM Life Cycles |
Yolo County Resource Conservation District |
Yolo County |
$30,000 |
Summary: Native-plant hedgerows have been shown to reduce chemicals, replacing bare dirt and weed areas with biodiverse
systems that out-compete weeds, save soil, and harbor natural enemies of pests found on nearby crops. The Yolo
County Resource Conservation District will develop a coalition of farmers, pest control and farm advisors, industry,
university, and agency representatives to demonstrate and monitor hedgerows as a reduced-risk, sustainable IPM
system. Multipurpose, multispecies hedgerows serve to decrease borderland tillage and pesticide use.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Developing Strategies for the Biological Control of Mosquitoes in Rice and Other Habitats using
Lagenidium giganteum |
AgraQuest, Inc. |
Yolo County |
$10,000 |
Summary: This project will define how a fungal parasite of mosquito larvae (
Lagenidium giganteum) can enhance
existing mosquito pest management practices in rice fields, surrounding wetlands, and wildlife areas by reducing
the number of pesticide applications and minimizing disturbances to wildlife. AgraQuest, a private company, will
conduct field trials in cooperation with mosquito abatement practitioners, rice growers, and waterfowl associations.
The present project will also develop the fungus as a biological control agent by improving the fermentation process
and developing a formulation that is reliable and has an adequate shelf life.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Biologically Integrated Prune System for Tehama, Butte, and Glenn Counties |
The Nature Conservancy |
Tehama, Butte, and Glenn Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary:
This project, under the direction of The Nature Conservancy, will implement a Biologically Integrated
Prune System (BIPS) in Tehama, Butte, and Glenn counties. The BIPS project is designed to work with farmers along
the Sacramento River to replace agricultural chemicals with functional farm biology. The project will involve cooperation
with various state and federal agencies, local prune farmers, private pest management companies, and the Point
Reyes Bird Observatory to refine and adopt farming practices that strive to protect environmental quality and increase
biodiversity, while remaining economically viable.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| IPM Innovators Forum |
San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture |
San Luis Obispo County |
$17,150 |
Summary: The San Luis Obispo County IPM Innovators Forum will identify and establish a group of local pest managers
from public and nonprofit agencies with the objective of implementing innovative IPM techniques. This network will
expand interest and knowledge of IPM practices and provide examples of IPM for control of yellow starthistle--a
common agricultural pest. Planned IPM control methods include plant competition, grazing, biological control, removal
by hand, mulches, and timed mowings. In the county, control activity will focus on the Carrizo Plains which has
a fragile and unique endemic flora and fauna and is newly invaded with yellow starthistle.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Project Sporecast--The Development and Implementation of a Computerized Weather Station Network for Powdery
Mildew Risk Assessment and Frost Forecasting |
Temecula Valley Vintners Association |
Riverside County |
$27,681 |
Summary:
Temecula Valley wine grape growers will implement a weather-based powdery mildew/frost
damage risk assessment network for local growers. The goal is to adapt and validate computer models for local conditions
and to ensure effective adoption by providing local growers and pest advisors with necessary training. The fungal
disease, powdery mildew, continues to be one of the most pervasive and persistent problems for vineyards. This
risk assessment system for disease control in grapes can reduce fungicide use, maintain disease control, provide
cost savings, decrease worker exposure to preventive fungicides, and reduce environmental loading of pesticides.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Using Data Generated from Local Weather Station as a Critical Factor in Pest Management Decisions |
Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association |
San Luis Obispo County |
$13,926 |
Summary:
The Paso Robles viticultural region encompasses over 950 square miles with more than 8,000 acres
of wine grapes. To better understand the region's weather patterns, the Paso Robles Growers and Vintners Association
obtained four computerized bio-phenometer-type stations which record a broad range of weather data. These stations
were established to make disease/insect forecasting models available to growers to help in timing their pest management
practices for optimum control. The association has made a large commitment to a reduced-risk pest management system
based, in part, on the weather stations. The project will implement the use of the weather data collected from
computerized weather stations by local growers. The project will demonstrate that using weather data enables growers
to more effectively monitor pests, ensure that end-users have access to and understand the data, and involve growers
in a commitment to reduced-risk pest management practices.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Establishment of Effective Natural Enemies of Vine Mealybug--A Basis for a Stable Grape IPM Program |
University of California, Riverside
Dr. Dan Gonzalez |
Riverside County |
$19,457 |
Summary: This project will establish a basis for a long-term, stable grape pest management program in the Coachella
Valley. The program will establish an IPM Innovator Program in which growers are an integral part of a team that
also involves technical and nontechnical advisors. Mealybug control currently requires intense use of insecticides
in the Coachella Valley, in some parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and in the San Joaquin Valley.
This intense use of pesticides can disrupt the entire pest management system. This project will use effective natural
enemies of mealybugs as a basis for a more stable grape production system.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Development of an IPM System for the Control of the Pea Leafminer and Aphids in Leafy Vegetables in Coastal
California Production Areas |
University of California Cooperative Extension, Monterey,
Dr. William Chaney |
Monterey County |
$22,000 |
Summary: Leafminers and aphids are serious insect pests of leafy vegetables in many areas of California. Currently
the control system in the leafy vegetables (celery, lettuce, spinach, and other salad greens) is entirely based
on synthetic pesticides. Although some work into alternatives has been done, the extremely high standards concerning
insect damage have seriously limited any systems based exclusively on biological control. The project will look
at control of the two key pests of the system in an integrated approach using some of the newer, more selective,
synthetic and botanical pesticides along with biological controls to create a truly integrated control system.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Revegetation for Weed and Pest Control |
Friant Water Users Authority |
Tulare County |
$20,000 |
Summary: The Friant Water Users Authority (FWUA), representing over 12,000 growers, will form a team to evaluate
and implement the use of revegetation of canal rights-of-way and adjacent lands to reduce pesticide use. The team
will be composed of FWUA, the Tulare County Farm Bureau, Cooperative Extension office, water districts, growers,
the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Fish and Game, and others. The project will evaluate plant species
and establishment methods, make cost-benefit determinations, and quantify the impacts on ground squirrel densities,
noxious weeds, and pest or beneficial insects.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Napa River Watershed Integrated Pest Management |
Napa County Resource Conservation District |
Napa County |
$29,700 |
Summary: This project will promote pesticide risk reduction through the promotion of integrated pest management
concepts on a watershed scale. A watershed approach integrates the many parts of the river valley including social,
economic, and natural issues. The project will prepare educational materials to inform agricultural and nonagricultural
parts of the community about IPM and its role in maintaining watershed health. This project will develop an IPM
tools section for the next edition of the Napa River Watershed Owner's Manual which will demonstrate the benefits
of IPM to farm profitability, human health, wildlife habitat, and water quality.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Mating Disruption of Carob Moth in Dates |
University of California, Riverside
Dr. Jocelyn Millar |
Riverside County |
$29,027 |
Summary: The California date industry produces about 20,000 tons of dates annually with a gross value of about
$50 million. The only significant pest of dates is the carob moth which can devastate a date crop if left unchecked.
The objective of this proposal is to develop the sex attractant pheromone of the carob moth--a powerful, nontoxic
natural attractant which can disrupt carob moth mating. With the use of this pheromone system, insecticide use
in dates could be drastically curtailed or eliminated. This could then eliminate drift and concerns about worker
safety and pesticide loading in the environment from date production.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| BASIC: A Cotton Pest Management Innovators Group in the Northern San Joaquin Valley |
University of California,
Santa Cruz
Dr. Sean Sweezy |
Madera and Stanislaus Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: The Biological Agriculture Systems in Cotton (BASIC) pest management innovators work group will test and
disseminate innovative ideas in pesticide use reduction. An organized member outreach program will employ the collaboration
of cotton farmers, pest control advisors, agronomists, and the University of California. A multiple field, BASIC
monitoring protocol will include plant mapping; analysis of soil physical and biological characteristics; monitoring
key arthropod, disease, and weed populations; and calculation of on-farm water use, input energy equivalents, yields,
and quality. The effectiveness and costs of BASIC pest management programs will be compared side-by-side with nonprogram
acreage.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Management of Riparian Woodlands for control of Pierce's Disease in Coastal California |
University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Alexander Purcell |
Napa and Sonoma Counties |
$20,027 |
Summary: Pierce's disease is a lethal bacterial disease of grapevines that is spread chiefly in coastal California
vineyards by an insect--the blue-green sharp shooter (BGSS). Riparian vegetation along streams provides the main
breeding habitat for BGSS and a reservoir for the causal bacterium. The project will look at management of riparian
vegetation to replace plants that are key breeding hosts of BGSS and/or hosts of the disease bacterium. In addition,
the use of buffer strips of conifers between riparian communities and vineyards to reduce sharpshooter movements
into vineyards will be evaluated.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Controlling Coyote Predation on Sheep in California: A Model Strategy |
University of California Cooperative Extension, Hopland
Dr. Robert Timm |
Sonoma and Mendocino Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: Coyote predation on livestock, particularly sheep, is a difficult problem and has led to the demise of
the sheep industry in North Coastal California. Illegal use of pesticides for coyote control has been an ongoing
problem. The project will form an advisory committee of wool growers and University of California researchers and
will develop and demonstrate an integrated strategy of coyote control. This strategy will use the Livestock Protection
Collar, a very selective device known for removing killer coyotes, as well as nonlethal control techniques such
as livestock-guarding llamas and fencing.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Biologically Integrated Viticulture Systems in the Central San Joaquin Valley |
University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno Dr. Michael Costello |
Fresno County |
$27,458 |
Summary: The biologically integrated vineyards system (BIVS) brings together researchers, pest control advisers,
and growers to develop nondisruptive, environmentally sound, and profitable grape production. This project will
establish a network of grape growers in the central San Joaquin Valley who are committed to reducing disruptive
chemical inputs while maintaining yields and quality. Practices that will be encouraged and demonstrated include
reduced rates of simazine, use of compost to combat nematodes, summer oil for mites, copper spray for phomopsis
disease, and a perennial native grass cover crop. Acreage under the program will be monitored for pests, natural
enemies, yields, and quality and compared to conventional acreage.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Integrated Management of Soil-Borne Diseases and Aphid Transmitted Viruses in California Vegetable Crops--An
On-Farm Demonstration |
University of California, Davis Dr. Charles Summers |
Fresno County |
$30,000 |
Summary: At present, it is nearly impossible to grow fall vegetable crops such as squash, melon, and tomatoes in
the San Joaquin Valley due to severe virus disease problems. Insecticides are used extensively in an attempt to
control the aphids that transmit these viruses, but with little success. This project will demonstrate the use
of reflective mulches to repel winged aphids on squash, melons (cantaloupe), and fresh market tomatoes. The incidence
of virus diseases can be reduced significantly without the need for synthetic pesticides. The use of polyethylene
mulches also provides excellent weed control reducing the reliance on herbicides. They also conserve water resulting
in reduced irrigation requirements and the expenditures of energy associated with irrigation. The project will
also combine the use of plastic mulches for soil solarization and repellency to aphids, thus managing both soil-borne
diseases and aphid-transmitted viruses.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Program expansion of IPM Reference Field Monitoring for Processing Tomatoes |
Bio-Integral Resource Center |
Yolo County |
$30,000 |
Summary: Reference Field Monitoring (RFM) in processing tomatoes enables growers to make decisions about pesticide
use based on actual pest and natural enemy prevalence to reduce pesticide reliance. RFM builds upon, adapts, and
synthesizes sampling and reporting methodologies and biologically intensive IPM strategies developed collaboratively
with Cooperative Extension agents, the University of California, and Campbell Soup researchers into a practical,
state-of-the-art approach that can cost-effectively reduce pesticide use throughout the processing tomato industry.
Nonagricultural projects
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| The San Francisco Green Gardening Educator Training Program |
San Francisco Department of Public Works |
San Francisco County |
$20,000 |
Summary: The San Francisco Department of Public Works, Water Pollution Prevention Program, and the San Francisco
League of Urban Gardeners have developed the Green Gardening Educator Training Program (GGETP) to respond to the
vast demand from San Francisco residents for education and training on IPM and environmental horticulture. The
goal of the GGETP is to reduce risks to human health and the environment by training innovator groups to demonstrate
new pest management practices and gardening at diverse San Francisco garden projects. The GGETP will teach pest
identification, use of regular on-site monitoring of organisms, and physical, mechanical, cultural, biological,
and educational strategies; and, as a last resort, the safe use of least-toxic chemicals to control pests.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Implementation of IPM for the Elm Leaf Beetle in a Large Urban Area |
University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Donald Dahlsten |
Sacramento County |
$29,280 |
Summary: Elm leaf beetle is a major urban insect pest in California. Methods for managing the elm leaf beetle have
been developed that are known to be time- and cost-efficient, and reduce unnecessary use of pesticides through
better timing of treatments. This project will apply these techniques to the city of Sacramento. A key element
of the program is monitoring and the identification of hot spots (areas that need treatment), to reduce the environmental
and economic costs of treating all trees. Alternative control strategies, such as the use of natural enemies and
Bacillus thuringiensis, will be tested as part of the Sacramento City Tree Services management plan.
| Project Title |
Applicant |
Location |
Budget |
| Establishing IPM Programs to Reduce Pesticide Use in Public Buildings |
Bio-Integral Resource Center |
Santa Clara County |
$30,000 |
Summary: This project involves the 290-acre Moffet Field, a former military base which is now home to the National
Aeronautics and Space Adminstration/Ames Research Center and other facilities, housed in over 140 buildings. Moffet
Field is establishing an innovative participatory IPM program for structural pest control that will be reproducible
to other sites. The Bio-Integral Resource Center will lead a team of facility managers, pest control operators,
and IPM consultants to develop a cost-effective and pro-active IPM program that emphasizes pest prevention, pesticide
reduction, and the use of monitoring data to guide treatment decisions.
California Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management
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