Pest Management Alliance Grants Awarded 2022
Back to Funded Pest Management Alliance Grants (2007 - present)
Project Summaries
Bridging the Gap Between Science and Adoption: Promoting Insect Pest Suppression and Pesticide Reduction Through the Use of Natural Enemy Habitat
Sponsor: Wild Farm Alliance
Principal Investigator: Jo Ann Baumgartner
Funding totals: $196,064
This project will increase the adoption of effective integrated pest management (IPM) practices that preserve or increase natural enemy habitat to help control pest insects.
Natural enemies are non-pest insects and other arthropods living in an ecosystem that serve as a form of biological control by reducing populations of pest insects through predation or parasitism. Farm habitat provide natural enemies with floral resources, alternative prey or hosts, shelter from climate extremes, overwintering sites, cover from predators, and protection from pesticides. Preserving or increasing beneficial species habitats can reduce the number of broad-spectrum insecticide applications needed for pest control, while also reducing the evolution of pesticide resistance in pest insects and lessening impacts on natural enemy populations. However, many producers and other agricultural professionals are unaware of the benefits of this practice or how to implement it effectively.
Wild Farm Alliance will work with an experienced Alliance Team to reach thousands of producers and agricultural professionals, virtually and in-person, and provide them with information about IPM methods that promote pest insect suppression with natural enemy habitat. A variety of training resources will be developed, including videos, website content, field days, and webinars. Topics covered will include the importance of predatory and parasitic natural enemies and their need for habitat, how to design and implement several types of habitat plantings, and how to access funding and technical support.
This project contributes to DPR’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and support’s California’s transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by increasing understanding of the benefits of natural enemy habitat and how to incorporate natural enemy habitats into an IPM program.
Media contact: Jo Ann Baumgartner, Principal Investigator, 831-767-8408, joannb@wildfarmalliance.org
Mainstreaming Effective Herbicide Calibration for Wildland Weed Work
Sponsor: California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC)
Principal Investigator: Jutta Burger
Funding totals: $159,493
The purpose of this project is to train applicators and other practitioners that work in wildland settings on herbicide calibration through the development and dissemination of in-person trainings and web-based resources focused on proper calibration techniques for herbicide applications in wildlands.
Calibration is the process of measuring and fine tuning the output of pesticide application equipment. This is an essential practice to ensure that herbicide treatments use the least amount of chemical while still effectively controlling the targeted plants. While effective methods have been developed for calibrating a range of wildland application methods by individual integrated pest management (IPM) practitioners and organizations, that information has not generally been well integrated into practice, nor are applicators regularly trained on those calibration techniques.
This project contributes to DPR’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and support’s California’s transition to safer, more sustainable pest management as it aims to reduce the overapplication of pesticides, increase the precision of applications to reduce offsite impacts, and increase the effectiveness of herbicide treatments on invasive plants in wildlands by educating wildland IPM practitioners on herbicide calibration.
Media contact: Jutta Burger, Principal Investigator, 510-843-3902 x305, Jburger@cal-ipc.org
Using Integrated Pest Management Methods to Create Strong and Sustainable Shorelines on Clear Lake, CA
Sponsor: Lake County Watershed Protection District
Principal Investigator: Angela De Palma-Dow
Funding totals: $346,970
This project aims to strengthen and restore 4-5 acres of Clear Lake wetland shoreline habitat and reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides in managing and controlling the primrose.
Clear Lake is located in rural Lake County, CA and serves as a drinking water source and an economic driver for recreation and fishing for the local communities. The lake also provides local tribes with essential cultural and subsistence resources. An invasive aquatic plant, creeping water primrose, is a significant issue for Clear Lake as it can produce dense biomasses that pose or contribute to a variety of serious problems, such as localized flooding, clogged drinking water intakes, impeded vector control efforts (i.e., mosquito population management), reduced recreational capacity, and restricted fish habitats. Clear Lake is in a severely disadvantaged community and many property owners experience financial hardships that limit pest management choices.
This project will:
- Increase manual removal of primrose from select high-priority public access locations with follow-up restorative plantings of native shoreline species;
- Provide incentives to property owners to incorporate manual primrose removal on their shoreline parcels; and
- Implement a recently developed Natural Shoreline Stewardship Program allowing property owners to design their shorelines to be resilient against the spread or regrowth of primrose.
This project contributes to DPR’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and support’s California’s transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by reducing reliance on chemical pesticides in the management and control of the invasive aquatic creeping water primrose plant. This reduced reliance on chemical pesticides will create sustainable and native shorelines at Clear Lake that are resilient to future establishment by invasive species. Further, this project will serve as a model for sustainable management of invasive aquatic plants at other water bodies within the State.
Media contact: Angela De Palma-Dow, Principal Investigator, 707-263-2344, Angela.DePalma-Dow@lakecountyca.gov
Healthy Homes in South Los Angeles
Sponsor: Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
Principal Investigator: Nancy Ibrahim
Funding totals: $627,143
In partnership with Alliance Team members and Community Health Promoters (Promotores de Salud), The Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s (“Esperanza”) Healthy Homes Program will address health disparities by providing home-based environmental assessments, culturally relevant and accessible education programs promoting integrated pest management (IPM) practices, and environmental health interventions to stabilize and improve the overall health of residents in these low-income communities of color.
Esperanza will address the housing conditions and environmental factors affecting the health and well-being of South Los Angeles residents by utilizing a holistic home visitation model. This program will serve very low income Latinx and Black/African American families living in overcrowded, poorly maintained rental units in the South Los Angeles region. Low-income communities of color in Los Angeles County suffer the highest rates of asthma due to living in areas with high concentrations of indoor and/or outdoor asthma triggers.
Through the use of IPM practices, Esperanza and Alliance Team members aim to reduce environmental asthma triggers in low-income households; decrease preventable emergency department use by pediatric and adult patients with asthma; decrease the number of participants being treated for vermin bites, cockroaches, and environment-related skin conditions; and decrease missed school or workdays by participants.
This project contributes to DPR’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and support’s California’s transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by assessing the homes of interested and eligible South Los Angeles residents, educating participants in the Healthy Homes Program on IPM practices, such as caulking cracks and means to prevent and manage cockroach and rodent infestations, and providing enrolled participants with basic related supplies to implement IPM practices to improve housing conditions and reduce environmental asthma triggers.
Media contact: Nancy Ibrahim, Principal Investigator, 213-748-7285 ext. 222, nancy@esperanzacommunityhousing.org
Demonstration and Implementation of Cost-Effective UV-C Technology for California Strawberry Pest Management
Sponsor: Cal Poly Corporation
Principal Investigator: Gerald Holmes
Funding totals: $341,023
Strawberries in California are susceptible to many foliar pests and diseases, including Two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Lygus bug, and powdery mildew. These foliar problems can often be difficult to control because the causal organisms have evolved resistance to many chemical pesticides. One promising alternative to conventional pesticides is the use of short wavelength ultraviolet light (UV-C). When UV-C is applied for a few minutes at night, it significantly damages genetic components and processes of foliar pests but does not affect the strawberry plants. However, the technology has not been widely adopted due to minimal outreach and economic barriers.
This project aims to educate growers about UV-C technology through cooperative extension meetings and on-farm demonstrations and trainings. A cost analysis of current integrated pest management (IPM) practices and UV-C platform operations will be conducted, and methods of integrating UVC technology into existing IPM strategies. Common off-the-shelf components (COTS) for the UV-C platform will be identified to reduce the economic barriers preventing widespread adoption.
This project contributes to DPR’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and support’s California’s transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by exploring adjustments to an existing UV-C platform to reduce cost of implementation and maintenance and providing education and awareness of this UV-C technology which may serve as an alternative to conventional pesticides.
Media contact: Gerald Holmes, Principal Investigator, 805-756-2120, gjholmes@calpoly.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