Pest Management Alliance Grants Awarded 2016

Back to Funded Pest Management Alliance Grants (2007 - present)

Project Summaries

California Alliance for Tamarisk Biocontrol
Sponsor: University of California, Santa Barbara – Marine Science Institute
Principal Investigator: Thomas Dudley
Funding totals: $188,043

Invasive tamarisk populations have displaced native species of riparian trees and degraded habitat for birds and other wildlife, depleted groundwater through evapotranspiration, and increased soil salinity, among other effects. Disruptive chemical and mechanical weed treatments are being used in many locations with high collateral damage to ecosystems and biodiversity. Besides the environmental damage and high cost of conventional control methods, these have been largely ineffective in yielding sustainable weed control, and further promote invasion by secondary weeds. The goal of this Alliance is to build a coherent regulatory, managerial and scientific framework for the implementation of tamarisk biocontrol in California. The biocontrol agent, Diorahbda carinulata, will be established or a plan for implementation will be in place in counties where tamarisk is an invasive problem, along with plans for monitoring responses and mitigating any perceived associated risks. Once established, the need for chemical treatments for tamarisk would be reduced to local spot treatments or altogether removed statewide. The Alliance will also prepare and disseminate information to resource managers and other stakeholders.

Media contact: Thomas Dudley, Principal Investigator, 805-893-2911, tdudley@msi.ucsb.edu

Demonstration and Implementation of IPM in Almonds
Sponsor: UC Cooperative Extension, Kern County
Principal Investigator: David Haviland
Funding totals: $203,646

There are many new PCAs and growers new to the almond industry and many IPM practices that were previously used are now being replaced by prophylactic or calendar-based spray programs. The purpose of this project is to help the almond industry return to practices that are core to the principals of integrated pest management. This includes monitoring for pests, treatment decisions that include considerations about natural enemies, threshold-based treatments instead of prophylactic or calendar-based treatment, and avoidance of broad-spectrum insecticides. The project will do this by demonstrating and implementing IPM practices for five pests in almonds: navel orangeworm, web spinning spider mite, leaf-footed bug, southern fire ant, and San Jose scale. These practices will be demonstrated by comparing conventional practices to IPM practices in side-by-side comparison orchards located in the southern and northern San Joaquin Valley.

Media contact: David Haviland, Principal Investigator, 661-868-6200, dhaviland@ucdavis.edu

For content questions, contact:
Tory Vizenor
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
E-mail: Tory.Vizenor@cdpr.ca.gov