CDFA’s Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis (OPCA) is pleased to announce funding awards for two new projects under the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS) grant program. These awards will help California growers address the many ongoing and costly pest-associated challenges that threaten crop yields, environmental health, and long-term farm viability.
BIFS supports the refinement and adoption of effective, economically viable alternatives to chemical intensive by fostering information exchange and leveraging a diverse network of stakeholders, including growers, pest control advisors, commodity groups, and scientists. Each four-year project under the program works to refine, demonstrate, and promote sustainable pest management (SPM) programs that address critical pest issues in California agriculture.
The first awarded project, led by Ruthann Anderson with California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA), advances SPM practices in California by seeking to shorten the time between research and on-the-ground adoption of management techniques, focusing on rodent management. Rodents have been a major issue in California recently, spurring a significant amount of research. Crafting the research into content that pest managers can immediately use is essential.
The team’s resourceful and innovative approach includes three prongs. First, the team will assemble diverse streams of information into one Best Management Practice (BMP) guide which will be translated into multiple languages, disseminating the most pertinent information directly to growers. The BMP will include findings from the team’s proposed study of bait station design and trap density efficacy.The team will also establish a lending library that houses high-tech rodent traps and other costly equipment, increasing access and decreasing overhead costs for growers who need it most. Finally, the team will do multifaceted extension including meetings, print, digital media, and accredited Continuing Education material to maximize participation.
The second awarded project, led by Luca Brillante with California State University, Fresno Foundation, advances SPM practices in California by developing an area-wide monitoring system for two grape diseases (grapevine red blotch disease and grapevine leafroll disease). The SPM Roadmap highlights areawide and cooperative pest management; in fact, the shift from field level to areawide is a defining aspect of SPM.
To accomplish this, the team will refine the use of a new technology, hyperspectral imaging, which can remotely identify these grape diseases at scale. Successful implementation of this technology, paired with strong outreach channels, will enable quicker action to mitigate disease spread while reducing the amount of labor needed for intensive ground-monitoring efforts. With low incidence of the diseases, growers could potentially manage the vector, the vine mealybug, with pheromones and less intensive chemicals as it was before the diseases were widespread.
Detailed information on this program is available at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars/opca/bifs.html
Information on the Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis is available at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars/opca
Information on the Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability is available at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars









