They Did It!

They did it.

The University of California team that developed a successful insect pest management program for almond growers, leading to significant pesticide reduction, drew praise and applause at the  Entomological Society of America's 56th annual meeting, held recently in Reno

The seven-member Almond Pest Management Alliance Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Team received the Entomological Foundation’s “2008 Award for Excellence in IPM."

The team includes IPM specialist Frank Zalom, UC Davis professor of entomology, Extension entomologist, and former director of the UC Statewide IPM Program;  UC IPM advisor Carolyn Pickel, UC Cooperative Extension, Sutter-Yuba counties; UC IPM advisor Walter Bentley, UC Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier; UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors Mario Viveros (emeritus), Kern County,  Roger Duncan,  Stanislaus County, and Joe Connell, Butte County; and scientist Barat Bisrabi, Dow AgroSciences. (Bisrabi received his doctorate from UC Davis).

The team developed and implemented a program “that has resulted in substantial reductions of organophosphate use,” said ESA spokesperson Richard Levine in announcing the award.
 
The annual award, Levine said, recognizes “the successful efforts of a team approach to IPM by a small collaborative group involving industry and academic scientists of no more than 10 team members.”  
 
Zalom, who directed the UC IPM Program for 16 years (1988-2001), also received  receive his ESA Fellow award at the same awards ceremony, as did UC Davis entomologist Michael Parrella.

The Pest Management Alliance (PMA), a partnership that included the Almond Board of California, UC Cooperative Extension, the UC IPM Program, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Almond Hullers and Processors Association, and Community Alliance with Family Farmers, was launched in 1998 while Zalom was director of UC IPM.

Team members conducted a massive research and demonstration project for six to eight years (1998-2005) in the state’s primary almond-growing areas:  Stanislaus County (six years) and Kern and Butte counties (eight years). California leads the nation in almond production, with some 700,000 acres.
 
PMA’s findings appear in the publication, Seasonal Guide to Environmentally Responsible Pest Management Practices for Almonds. Written by Pickel, Bentley, Viveros, Duncan and Connell, the publication offers a combination of biological, cultural and reduced risk alternatives. The guide outlines monitoring techniques and economic thresholds for using reduced-risk pesticides and specifies when to use broad-spectrum insecticides.

The team “developed an excellent research and extension team to develop and deliver IPM to the almond industry of California,” wrote award nominator Peter Goodell, interim director of the UC IPM Program and a longtime UC IPM advisor. For example, PMA research showed that almond growers need not spray for peach twig borer, navel orangeworm and San Jose scale every year.

California almond production currently totals some 700,000 acres. Honey bees (see photo below) play a crucial role. Without honey bee pollination, there would be no almonds. Each acre requires two hives.

Another California agriculture success story!