Pest Control Advisers (PCAs) in California are some of the brightest and versatile in the nation. They each generally cover a wide spectrum of crops grown under a many different conditions and pest challenges. Watch this brief interview with Ruthann Anderson, President and CEO of the California Association of Pest Control Advisers, as she discusses the current State of the …
Updates to Bulk Citrus HLB Quarantine Requirements
Effective Nov. 22, 2023, the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division (CPDPD) has officially updated the requirements for moving bulk citrus fruit within and from a Huanglongbing (HLB) quarantine area to a packer/processor. Listed below is an overview of the newly updated requirements, per the CPDPD’s Citrus Grower/Grove Manager Information page: If you are moving bulk citrus within a contiguous HLB …
Detection of Deadly Citrus Disease Triggers Quarantine in Ventura County; First HLB Detection in County
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a quarantine in Ventura County following the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Santa Paula. These detections are the first HLB-positive trees in Ventura County. CDFA is working with the United States Department of …
Confirmed CLas-positive Asian Citrus Psyllid Found in Ventura County
Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program — A Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas)-positive Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample has been collected from a residential property in Ventura County in the Santa Paula area and has been confirmed by the Citrus Research Board’s Jerry Dimitman Laboratory. The positive sample – comprised of 12 adult psyllids from a residential citrus tree in the Southwest area of …
USDA Extends Comment Period on Regulatory Status of Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV)
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Stakeholder Registry announcement extending the public comment on two pathway risk assessments and three potential regulatory policy options for Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) in fresh tomato and pepper fruit for consumption and plant propagative material (including seeds). The public will have an extra 30 days to provide comments to the …
New Sensor Chip Advances Rapid, Cost-Effective Disease Diagnostics
Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists and collaborators at Iowa State University have developed a sensor chip that can detect many disease pathogens with 10 times the sensitivity of currently available methods. The chip also eliminates the need for chemical dye reagents typically used in the diagnostic process. The new technology shows promise for rapid, low-cost point-of-care diagnostic capabilities in plants, foods, …
Pathway Risk Assessments and Potential Regulatory Options for Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV)
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Stakeholder Registry announcement to solicit public comment on two pathway risk assessments and three potential regulatory policy options for Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) in fresh tomato and pepper fruit for consumption and plant propagative material (including seeds). To safeguard U.S. agriculture against the introduction of the virus into the …
Early Season INSV Infections in Lettuce Reduced From 2022 Levels
Grower-Shipper Association of Central California – Possibly due to colder winter and spring weather conditions as well as mitigation strategies taken by farmers, pest and disease pressure associated with the Thrips-Vectored Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) have lessened in leafy greens fields as compared to 2022. As observed and reported by the Grower Shipper Association’s (GSA) INSV Task Force, this reduced …
Could Stingrays be the Key to Saving Citrus from Deadly HLB Disease?
Imagine a devastating plant disease that sweeps the land, decimating crops. For Florida’s citrus growers, that apocalyptic vision is not a horror movie, but a reality: since it was first identified in the Sunshine State in 2005, citrus greening disease has reduced Florida’s citrus production by a whopping 70%, and threatened other major citrus producing states such as California and Texas. Without …
UC Cooperative Extension Weed Expert Passes
David W. Cudney, UC Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus, passed away in Riverside on March 30. He was 82. Cudney joined UCCE in 1964 as a farm advisor for Imperial County. In 1978, he became a UCCE weed science specialist for Southern California, based at UC Riverside. While working as a specialist, he earned his Ph.D. from UC Riverside in 1989. …
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