1996-97 Pest Management Grant Summaries
The Pest Management Advisory Committee evaluated 81 proposals requesting funding for 1997 under the Department
of Pesticide Regulation's Pest Management grants program, and recommended that the following 25 projects be funded
for a total of $594,204. The Director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation approved of these recommendations
and the funding of these projects.
Last updated 3/16/99
Agricultural projects
New Projects
Continuing Projects
New Agricultural Projects
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Augmentative Biological Control Using Transplants |
California Department of Food and Agriculture
Charlie Pickett |
Imperial County |
$14,260 |
Summary: Early season augmentative releases of
Eretmocerus spp. (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) for control
of silverleaf whitefly infesting spring planted melons in Imperial Valley can eliminate the need for late season
applications of pyrethroids and other broad spectrum insecticides. This approach can enhance the regional population
of highly effective whitefly parasites important to summer and fall field and vegetable crops. It may also promote
the longevity of whitefly insecticides by reducing their usage. However, like other augmentative releases of natural
enemies, use of
Eretmocerus is currently too expensive; costs exceed the short term economic benefit. This
project will demonstrate a novel approach to enhancing early season field populations of
Eretmocerus sp.
by using cantaloupe transplants. Cantaloupe seedlings prior to placement in fields would be inoculated with
Eretmocerus,
a highly specific whitefly parasite. The project will demonstrate that 1) control of whiteflies in fields receiving
parasites via transplants is more effective and efficient than in fields receiving hand releases, and 2) that transplants
with parasites can be integrated into imidacloprid treated fields at very little additional cost, or at least equal
to conventional insecticide costs.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Development of a Cooperative-Based Insectary and an Augmentation Program for Grape, Longtailed, and Obscure Mealybugs |
University of California, Kearney Agricultural Center
Kent Daane |
Fresno County |
$15,575 |
Summary: The grape mealybug,
Pseudococcus maritimus, longtailed mealybug,
Pseudococcus longispinus,
and obscure mealybug,
Pseudococcus affinis are pests of table, raisin, and wine grapes. In recent years,
there has been an increase in grape mealybug infestations in the Central Valley and a dramatic increase in obscure
and longtailed mealybugs in central coast vineyards. Many natural enemy species native to North America attack
these mealybug pests. In fact, grape and longtailed mealybug populations have, in the past, been controlled by
resident natural enemies, especially parasitoids. However, recent surveys indicate that parasitoid activity is
often low, varied considerably among vineyard locations, and did not consistently provide adequate control. Augmentation
of natural enemies may increase parasitism levels and reduce the need for insecticide applications. In Chile, an
encyrtid parasitoid (
Pseudaphycus flavidulus) is produced in insectaries for inoculative release in vineyards
and this control practice has been reported to be effective against the obscure mealybug. This project will develop
similar programs for California vineyards. The objectives are to 1) develop insectary techniques for the mass-production
of two parasitoids (
Acerophagus notativentris and
Pseudaphycus angelicus), both of which attack the
grape and longtailed mealybugs, 2) test the effectiveness of inoculative release in field and on-farm trials, and
3) if the tested inoculative release experiments show promise, work with the table and wine grape industries and
commercial insectaries to establish cooperative-based insectaries.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Biorational Cling Peach Orchard Systems (BCPOS) |
University of California, Berkeley
Janine Hasey |
Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Kings, Stanislaus, Merced, and San Joaquin Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: The project goal is to implement a biorational program for cling peaches to reduce insecticide
use in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Growers who participate in the program would apply oil in the dormant
season for mites and scale,
Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) during bloom for overwintered peach twig borer (PTB),
and use either complete mating disruption or mating disruption and sprays through the growing season to control
oriental fruit moth (OFM) and PTB. Cooperators will involve pest control advisors (PCAs) in pest monitoring practices
through breakfast and field meetings during key times from February through harvest. A goal is to have PCAs become
more familiar with monitoring for these pests when using biorational controls so they will become more comfortable
in recommending them to growers. Likewise, grower cooperators will be able to evaluate the benefits of using biorational
control methods rather than conventional insecticides. Growers must experience the benefits before they will adopt
a practice like mating disruption which has higher initial costs than spraying. The potential impact of successful
implementation is a 90 percent reduction of insecticides used in California for OFM and PTB in cling peach orchards.
The information developed will apply to freestone peach growers as well.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Areawide Management of Codling Moth in Mendocino Orchards: Integrating and Maintaining Benefits of Selective Control
of Secondary Pests |
University of California Cooperative Extension, Sonoma County
Lucia Varela |
Mendocino County |
$29,266 |
Summary: Mating disruption is being implemented in large-scale plots providing an ecologically sustainable
pest management program for California pears. The program minimizes the need for pesticide intervention by emphasizing
biologically intensive and more selective alternatives. An implementation program was started last year in Mendocino
County to facilitate and broaden the adoption of codling moth mating disruption, but the high cost of the pheromone
dispensers is a barrier to implementation. Overall costs to a grower can be reduced by reducing pesticides used
for secondary pests. Secondary pest outbreaks are associated with the use of broad-spectrum pesticides and so reducing
the use of such pesticides could reduce outbreaks and costs. This project will study the benefits of reducing the
use of organophosphates on spider mite populations, a secondary pest in pears, and to implement in the mating disruption
project a monitoring regimen for spider mites with the goal of lowering acaricide use. The project will also study
the susceptibility of spider mites to the acaricides currently registered in pears, in an effort to implement a
resistance management program to preserve use of the softer acaricides such as abamectin, a microbial by-product.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Development of a Reduced-Risk Pest Control Program in Ornamental Horticulture |
University of California, Davis
Michael Parrella |
Del Norte and Humboldt Counties |
$29,944 |
Summary: Effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for ornamental crops have yet to be fully implemented.
This is in part because of the perception that high value ornamental crops have such a low tolerance for feeding
injury that IPM tactics are not practical. Efforts to reduce overreliance on conventional pesticides to prevent
arthropod damage have focused on the adoption of alternative tactics such as the use of biological and cultural
controls and host plant resistance. Although some progress has been made toward implementing IPM, repeated use
of conventional pesticides is still the primary means of pest control. This project will evaluate and implement
a reduced-risk integrated pest management system for fresh-cut lilies that integrates predators and parasites with
entomopathogenic fungi as the primary pest control tactics along with a reduced-risk biochemical pesticide as a
supplemental measure. If successful, this program could substantially reduce reliance on conventional pesticides;
thereby reducing threats to human health and the environment. In addition, successful implementation could provide
a model for adoption of similar tactics in other agricultural and nonagricultural systems.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Reducing Insecticide Use on Celery Through Low Input Pest Management Strategies |
University of California, Riverside
John Trumble |
Ventura County |
$24,699 |
Summary: This project will implement a low-pesticide-input integrated pest management (LIPM) system for
celery, and compare its performance with conventional high-pesticide-input management systems. The project will
be conducted on a commercial scale in collaboration with a celery producer in Ventura County. Because of low damage
thresholds, celery is among the most intensively managed vegetable crops. Successful development of LIPM in celery
will facilitate the acceptance of similar programs for other vegetable crops. The LIPM program will rely on biological
control agents and environmentally safe biorational insecticides applied only "as needed" in a rotational
strategy to delay pesticide resistance. Resistance management is a paramount concern given the broad resistance
to synthetic insecticides of two key celery pests,
Spodoptera exigua and
Liriomyza trifolii, and
the increasing pest status of
L. huidobrensis. The study will (1) document yield losses from pests and generate
an economic analysis comparing current practices and the LIPM program, (2) estimate potential air pollution from
insecticide applications, (3) compare the environmental health of the two agroecosystems based on diversity and
abundance of selected arthropods, and (4) communicate study procedures and results to growers and the local community.
Demonstrating the effectiveness of LIPM practices will facilitate their adoption by vegetable growers in California
and nationally. The study will also educate the local communities regarding the positive changes occurring in modern
agriculture, thereby facilitating good will and understanding between agriculture and the growing urban communities
adjacent to them.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Biologically Integrated Strawberry Systems (BISS) in Fresno |
Larry Whitted & Associates (formerly Carmean Consulting)
Larry Whitted |
Fresno County |
$17,290 |
Summary: This project will refine and demonstrate environmentally sound and profitable production of strawberries
in the San Joaquin Valley, utilizing the experience and knowledge of a UC farm advisor, a PCA, a conservationist,
a rural sociologist, and a grower. This will be accomplished through the compiling of a grower database, the development
of a bilingual fact sheet on insect/disease controls, IPM workshops, field monitoring and networking meetings directed
toward the proper identification and monitoring of pests, beneficials, diseases and their safe use. The project
will be tailored to the cultural and language needs of Southeast Asian growers.
Continuing Agricultural Projects
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| IPM Reference Field Monitoring (RFM) for Processing Tomatoes and Annual Row Crops |
Bio-Integral Resource Center
William Olkowski |
Yolo County |
$20,000 |
Summary: BIRC's "Reference Field Monitoring" (RFM) enables growers to make decisions about pesticide
use based on actual pest and natural enemy prevalence with the overall objective to reduce pesticide reliance.
RFM synthesizes sampling and reporting methodologies and biologically intensive IPM strategies developed by BIRC,
Campbell Soup, UC Davis researchers and Cooperative Extension Agents. The goal is to develop a practical, cost-effective
IPM program to reduce pesticide use throughout the processing tomato industry in the Sacramento Valley without
intolerable economic loss to growers.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Central Coast Wine Grape Grower Natural Vineyard Team |
Central Coast Wine Grape Grower Natural Vineyard Team
Craig Rous |
Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties |
$15,000 |
Summary: The Central Coast Natural Vineyard Team has developed a Natural Winegrape Growing protocol, a positive
points system, to encourage growers to farm winegrapes in a more natural, environment-enhancing way. The team will
first use the protocol to survey growers from all the diverse regions in the Central Coast to establish the validity
of using the protocol as a way of separating those growers who use IPM techniques from those who do not. The data
will also serve as a benchmark to compare future progress in environmental enhancement. The protocol will then
be introduced to the region's growers and wineries at several seminars. These seminars will explain the results
of the initial survey, document how the protocol would be implemented, and, finally, outline the team's plan for
the next few years. A major component of that plan would be to establish lighthouse vineyards to measure the protocol's
effectiveness in reducing pesticide usage; closely measure the economic impact of those practices; educate growers
about IPM techniques; look for incentives that will encourage other growers to use reduced risk practices; and,
finally, to inform consumers and the press about winegrape growers' progress in enhancing the environment.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Development of Integrated Pest Management Approaches for Wine Grape Growing Areas of Sonoma Valley |
Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Association
Olga Wickerhauser |
Sonoma County |
$25,000 |
Summary: The purpose of this project is to identify and implement innovative and sustainable pest management
practices that may reduce or eliminate conventional pesticide use in wine grape production. One of the project's
strengths is that it is sponsored and directed by growers, with technical expertise provided by UCCE Farm Advisors
and NRCS staff. The main objectives of this project are: 1) to demonstrate and implement IPM practices that have
the potential to reduce or replace pesticide use in wine grape production; 2) to develop a strong education and
outreach program for disseminating information about IPM techniques; 3) to use results from this project to promote
IPM techniques throughout the wine grape growing areas of California.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Biological Prune Systems (BPS) for the Upper Sacramento Valley |
The Nature Conservancy
John Carlon |
Butte, Tehama, and Glenn Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will further the implementation of Biological Prune Systems (BPS)
in the Upper Sacramento Valley. The BPS project is designed to assist neighboring growers along the Sacramento
River in replacing agricultural chemicals with functional farm biology. The Conservancy's program will encourage
farmers to do this by providing them with information and technical support. The BPS project is modeled after the
Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) for almonds developed for Merced and Stanislaus counties. The project
will build on the program, relationships, and research work of TNC's existing Sacramento River Project, developed
several years ago to protect and restore biological diversity within the Sacramento River riparian corridor.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Management of Riparian Woodlands for Control of Pierce's Disease in Coastal California |
University of California, Berkeley
Alexander Purcell |
Napa County |
$20,672 |
Summary: The proposed innovation is to manage riparian vegetation to replace plants that are key breeding
hosts of a leafhopper, the blue-green sharpshooter (BGSS), and systemic hosts of the Pierce's disease (PD) bacterium.
A second approach to be evaluated is the use of buffer strips of conifers between riparian communities and vineyards
to reduce sharpshooter movements into vineyards. Both methods would be conducted to simultaneously enhance useful
environmental impacts of riparian vegetation while reducing pesticide use and improving disease control. PD is
a lethal bacterial disease of grapevines that is spread chiefly in coastal California vineyards by the BGSS leafhopper.
Riparian vegetation along streams provides the main breeding habitat for BGSS and a reservoir for the causal bacterium,
Xylella fastidiosa. PD has increased sharply in Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties. Recent
research findings indicated that (1) dense growth of conifers inhibit movements of BGSS, and (2) plant species
considered to be hosts of the PD bacterium do not all support systemic (within plant) movement and multiplication
of the bacterium. Riparian habitats are increasingly being recognized as critical to biotic diversity, water quality,
and other environmental concerns. An
Internet site for plant
diseases caused by
Xylella fastidiosa was established as a forum for information exchange on the disease.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Biologically Integrated Vineyard Systems (BIVS) in the Central San Joaquin Valley |
University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno County
Michael Costello |
Fresno County |
$30,000 |
Summary: This project has initiated a "biologically integrated vineyard systems" (BIVS) approach
in the central San Joaquin Valley to encourage implementation of production systems which replace inputs that are
either disruptive to nontarget organisms or have been found to be sources of off-site contamination. The BIVS approach
is based on the BIOS model developed in almond orchards in Merced County. The BIOS model had four main components:
1) establishment of a support network for grower participants; 2) establishment of an advisory team to help guide
the grower participants; 3) establish a set of guidelines and goals for each grower participant; 4) monitor acreage
set aside under the BIVS program on pests, natural enemies, yields, and quality; and 5) demonstrate BIVS systems
through field days. The project has made progress in each component. At present, the BIVS group consists of 13
committed grower participants who meet monthly to exchange ideas, discuss current vineyard management events and
BIVS activities. Each BIVS grower met in the fall of 1995 with the advisory team and established a set of goals.
Growers will meet with the advisory team again in fall 1996/winter 1997 to discuss results of the year's harvest
and propose any changes and/or additions they would like to see for the BIVS program. Producing BIVS acreage has
been monitored since May of 1995 for leafhoppers, mites, and omnivorous leafroller. The BIVS program has been a
partial or full sponsor of three field days this year: a cover crops demonstration, a spider mite management day,
and a weeds identification day.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Controlling Coyote Predation on Sheep in California: A Model Strategy |
University of California, Hopland Research & Extension Center
Robert Timm |
Mendocino County |
$30,000 |
Summary: The loss of lambs and adult sheep from coyote predation remains unacceptably high in many localities
throughout the state. This project will continue to refine and demonstrate an integrated strategy of coyote damage
control at the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center utilizing the Livestock Protection Collar, the most selective
device known for removing killer coyotes. This strategy will also use nonlethal control techniques including livestock-guarding
llamas, fencing, and sheep husbandry techniques. Radio-tracking of the coyotes utilizing the Extension Center property
will further define which coyotes become killers and should provide new information useful in refining the IPM
strategy. The field research at Hopland will continue to utilize an established advisory committee of key individuals
primarily from Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, which includes a selected group of woolgrowers. The project will
work closely with these producers to tailor IPM strategies for their individual operations. The success of strategies
implemented and communicated through producer organizations and through UC Cooperative Extension via various media
is anticipated to lead to adoption of similar integrated strategies by other woolgrowers throughout California.
|
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, Kearney Agricultural Center
Charles Summers |
Fresno County |
$29,910 |
Summary: It is currently nearly impossible to grow fall vegetable crops such as squash, melons, 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 has developed a management
strategy for aphids and the viruses they vector using reflective polyethylene mulches. Second-year work will include:
1) Continue on-farm demonstrations of the efficacy of reflective mulches in repelling aphids and reducing the incidence
of virus diseases in squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins. The scope of these demonstrations will be expanded to include
Tulare and Kings counties; 2) Further evaluate the effectiveness of these mulches in repelling silverleaf whitefly
in the Woodlake district of Tulare county, which characteristically has the highest fall whitefly populations in
the Valley; and 3) Evaluate the efficacy of these mulches on cole crops in eastern Tulare county, where 8 to 10
sprays per year are used to control silverleaf whitefly. The project will also evaluate new plastic mulches which
should enhance weed control--one type has black backing and another screens out PAR light. This study will initially
be conducted in small plots at Kearney and, if successful, the mulches will be used in the on-farm demonstration
conducted in 1998.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Validation and Demonstration of Predacious Mite Releases for Management of Spider Mites in Cotton |
University of California, Davis
Larry Godfrey |
Kern and Madera Counties |
$29,920 |
Summary: Spider mites (
Tetranychus spp.) are major arthropod pests of cotton in the San Joaquin Valley.
Outbreaks occur annually and are often associated with insecticide applications earlier in the season for lygus
bugs and cotton aphids. However, even in commercial fields that are not subject to disruptive applications of broad-spectrum
insecticides, including organic cotton production fields, outbreaks of spider mites often occur. Many growers control
spider mites with applications of selective acaricides. Resistance to propargite and dicofol developed from the
mid-1970s to the 1980s in populations of two-spotted and pacific spider mites. These products, with abamectin,
form the regime of acaricides available to cotton growers today. In critically infested areas, spider mites are
now the target of three or more acaricide applications each season. In spite of frequent management actions, mite
outbreaks the last two years have resulted in significant yield losses. Therefore, there is a critical need for
other management options to be developed for mite control in cotton. This project will validate and demonstrate
that
Galendromus (Metaseiulus) occidentalis can provide excellent control of spider mites in cotton. The
project will investigate the efficacy of inoculative predatory mite releases for the control of spider mites, emphasizing
organic fields in 1996 and conventional fields in 1997.
|
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
Daniel Gonzales |
Riverside County |
$18,004 |
Summary: The objective of this project is develop a long-term, stable grape pest management program in the
Coachella Valley. Management and coordination of the program will be accomplished through establishment of an IPM
innovator program in which growers are an integral part of a decision-management system served by technical and
nontechnical advisors. Technical advisors include University researchers and extension farm advisors, California
Department of Food and Agriculture personnel, Riverside County personnel, and (private) pest control advisors.
Other participants in the group are marketing and regulatory specialists. The basis for this program will be the
establishment and/or periodic augmentation of effective parasites of mealybugs. Mealybugs are presently a cause
for 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.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Mating Disruption of Carob Moths in Dates |
University of California, Riverside
Jocelyn Millar |
Riverside County |
$29,024 |
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,
Ectomvelois ceratoniae, which can
devastate a date crop if left unchecked. Standard industry practices for control of carob moth call for application
of a 5 percent malathion dust formulation (65 pounds/acre/treatment, applied biweekly) during the 3-4 month period
when the dates are ripening. If carob moth could be partially or wholly controlled by alternate means, insecticide
use in dates could be drastically curtailed or eliminated with elimination of drift, worker safety, surface and
ground water contamination, and pesticide load to the environment concerns. The sex attractant pheromone of the
carob moth has been identified recently. Trials in 1995 and 1996 with this powerful, nontoxic natural attractant
showed that the pheromone can disrupt carob moth mating at an application rate of a few grams/acre. The objective
of this project is to develop this pesticide-free technology into an effective method of controlling carob moth,
so that large-scale pesticide use in dates can be mostly or wholly eliminated.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| BASIC (Biological Agriculture Systems in Cotton): A Cotton Pest Management Innovators Group in the Northern San
Joaquin Valley |
University of California,Santa Cruz
Sean Swezey |
Madera and Stanislaus Counties |
$30,000 |
Summary: The BASIC Pest Management Innovators Work Group in cotton was formed in 1995 to test and disseminate
innovative ideas in cotton pesticide use reduction. An organized member outreach program employs the collaboration
of cotton farmers, pest control advisors, agronomists, and UC farm advisors and researchers. The work group documents
the efficacy and suitability of BASIC insect and weed management options in the cotton production system by testing
and monitoring techniques that significantly reduce or eliminate agrochemical use. Techniques include biologically
based management of arthropod pests and nonchemical weed control options. The BASIC Pest Management Innovators
Work Group will promote new strategies while assessing the agronomic and economic potential for biologically based
pest management in cotton in the northern San Joaquin Valley. The BASIC Pest Management Innovators Work Group will
serve as a model for organizing similar cotton work groups in the southern San Joaquin Valley cotton regions.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Hedgerows: Turning Farm Waste Areas into Active IPM Life Cycles |
Yolo County Resource Conservation District
John Anderson |
Yolo County |
$30,000 |
Summary: The Yolo County Resource Conservation District (RCD) and University of California Cooperative Extension
(UCCE), Yolo County, propose to maintain and expand a coalition of farmers, pest control and farm advisors, industry,
university, and agency representatives organized in the first year of the project-- all providing in-kind support--
to demonstrate and monitor hedgerows as part of a reduced-risk, sustainable IPM system. Native-plant hedgerows
reduce chemicals, replacing bare dirt and weed areas with biodiverse systems that outcompete weeds, save soil,
and harbor pest predators for nearby crops. Good hedgerow designs serve to decrease borderland tillage, pesticide
use, and safety risks from chemical contact or mishaps. Multi-purpose, multi-species hedgerows will be used to
educate innovator group constituents: farmers, PCA clients, agencies, university researchers, developers, city
planners, and the public.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Revegetation for Weed and Pest Control |
M.H. Wolfe & Associates/Friant Water Users Authority |
Kern and Tulare Counties |
$10,775 |
Summary: The Friant Water Users Authority (FWUA), representing over 12,000 growers, formed an alliance with
agency, technical bureau, private landowners, and educational institutions to implement and evaluate the use of
revegetation of canal rights-of-way and adjacent lands to reduce herbicide and pesticide use. The team is composed
of the FWUA, Tulare County Farm Bureau, UC Davis Cooperative Extension office, water districts, growers, U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, and Department of Fish and Game. The project goals include an evaluation of species and establishment
methods, a cost-benefit determination, quantification of the impacts of revegetation on ground squirrel densities,
noxious weeds, and on pest and beneficial insects.
Nonagricultural projects
New Project
Continuing Projects
New Nonagricultural Project
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Household Hazardous Waste Collection Integrated Pest Management Demonstration Garden Enhancements and Public Education
Enhancements |
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
Barton Brandenburg |
Contra Costa County |
$17,500 |
Summary: The proposed project is a broad-based community effort to increase awareness and use of Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) by the general public. The project will serve as a model for other agencies or groups interested
in promoting IPM. The two primary elements of the project are to: 1) Enhance the IPM Demonstration Garden at the
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility to advance the dissemination
of IPM concepts to the general public, and 2) Form a partnership with one or more local nurseries and the University
of California Cooperative-Extension Master Gardener Program to promote IPM.
Continuing Nonagricultural Projects
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Establishing IPM Programs to Reduce Pesticide Use in Public Buildings |
Bio-Integral Resource Center
Sheila Daar |
Santa Clara County |
$17,500 |
Summary: For the past year, BIRC has worked with an IPM innovator group at the NASA/Ames Research Center
at Moffett Field in Mountain View. The group is comprised of facility managers, government monitors, pest control
operators, an environmental committee, and IPM consultants. The facility contains 140 buildings on 1,200 acres.
The six pilot buildings involved in Year One of this project represented over 300,000 square feet of office buildings
and food handling establishments. During the first year, the IPM innovator team implemented comprehensive, low-toxic
IPM programs for cockroaches, mice, and ants that successfully solved chronic pest problems formerly treated with
pesticides alone. Year Two activities will include expanding the IPM programs to up to 12 additional buildings
(a 200 percent increase, incorporating up to 750,000 square feet of IPM service area). Hands-on IPM training will
continue as needed, and an IPM Implementation Manual for Structural Pest Control incorporating lessons learned
in this project will be prepared. An educational outreach program to pest control operators and others will be
undertaken, as will media events regarding successes at NASA/Moffett.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| The San Francisco Green Gardening Educator Training Program |
City and County of San Francisco, Public Utilities Commission
Paula Kehoe |
San Francisco County |
$20,000 |
Summary: The San Francisco Green Gardening Educator Training Program (GGETP) provides an innovative approach
to urban environmental education through teaching about integrated pest management (IPM) and the larger environmental
and health consequences of pesticide use. Through a 16-week training program, 18-21 program participants learn
appropriate community outreach strategies and green gardening techniques. Once trained, program participants serve
as innovator groups by conducting a 60-hour community outreach project, teaching green gardening and IPM practices
to local schools, community groups, and home gardeners. Over 1,000 hours of community service will be generated.
The GGETP is designed as an ongoing community outreach program.
|
Project Title
|
Applicant
|
Location
|
Budget
|
| Implementation of Integrated Pest Management for the Elm Leaf Beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola (Chrysomelidae:
Coleoptera), in a Large Urban Area (Sacramento) |
University of California, Berkeley
Donald Dahlsten |
Sacramento County |
$29,865 |
Summary: Elm leaf beetle (ELB) is the major urban insect pest in California. Methods for monitoring the
elm leaf beetle have been developed that are known to be time and cost-efficient for scheduling sampling and treatments
and for predicting damage in pilot control programs. The challenges of applying these principles to a large urban
setting need to be addressed to bring innovative pest management practices into urban forest management. This project
proposes to use the existing technology to implement an integrated pest management (IPM) system for the elm leaf
beetle in a large urban area (Sacramento) with many elms. The program will transfer IPM technology to the community
and the municipality, and put a structure in place whereby alternative control treatments can be tested as part
of the City Tree Services management plan. Alternative control treatments will involve the testing of an egg parasitoid
of the beetle as well as
Bacillus thuringiensis San Diego variety (Bt) which could replace existing chemical
methods for controlling the beetle. 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 the entire
susceptible population of trees. In a cooperative effort the city, county, community groups, and University will
develop a monitoring program that can be fully city and community based in three years. This will lead to a reduced-risk
pest management program based on sound biological and ecological principles that ties the community with the city
in a cooperative effort.
California Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management
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