Cotton growers and government partners recently got together to recognize the eradication of the Pink Bollworm. From left, California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association Chairman Tom Gaffney; Ted Sheely, Cotton Pest Control Board Chairman; Roger Isom, CCGGA president and CEO; Earl Williams, past CCGGA president and CEO; USDA Undersecretary Gregory Ibach; Nick Condos, CDFA Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services director; and, Osama El-Lissy, deputy administrator for USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine.

By Todd Fichette

For the second time in several years eradication of a vicious agricultural pest was achieved in the United States (and California) as the cotton industry hails elimination of the pink bollworm, a destructive pest that threatened to wipe out the U.S. cotton industry.

This is particularly noteworthy for California as officials successfully eradicated the European grapevine moth two years ago after it was found for the first time in the United States in a Napa Valley vineyard.

“Defeating an invasive bug doesn’t happen often, and when we do achieve success we need to celebrate this,” said Nick Condos, director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Plant Health and Pest Prevention Program.

Roger Isom, president and chief executive officer of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association called eradication of the pink bollworm “historic” saying this was an effort “52 years in the making.”

“Today we look at the pink bollworm in the rearview mirror,” Isom said. “It’s a story of industry foresight and cooperation and a story of how a government agency can work with industry and be successful.”

Noteworthy in this effort was the way it was achieved. The industry achieved eradication by relying upon integrated pest management tactics that included the use of pheromones and sterile insects. Pesticides were not the primary means of control. Mandatory plow-down practices that were enforced by regulation and the introduction of Bt cotton by seed companies also aided in the effort.

“This is a very significant event for the cotton industry,” said USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Gregory Ibach at a celebration hosted at West Haven Cotton Ginning Company near Lemoore, Calif.

Ted Sheely, chairman of the California Cotton Pest Control Board, likewise praised efforts to eradicate the pest with practices that did not rely primarily on common insecticides.

“We started with mandatory host-free periods, which included the plow-down dates,” Sheely said. “Then the program started using pheromones to keep the moths from being able to find their mates.”

This continued in the early 1970s with the release of sterile moths to prevent egg laying by wild moths. In 1994 Sheely said that California cotton growers invested in a state-of-the-art facility in Phoenix, Ariz. where pink bollworm moths were irradiated to sterilize them. These moths – upwards of 31 million per day at the peak of the program – were released by the USDA in a successful effort to eliminate the pest.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service coordinated this program, Isom said. Osama El-Lissy, deputy administrator for USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, said APHIS also maintained the quarantines and performed areal applications of sterile moths.

“There are two things that stand out to me, El-Lissy said. “The vision and unwavering dedication of growers themselves to this program and the strong collaboration between government and industry. This was one of the most unique programs in the world because we did not use pesticides.”

All this gained traction after 2000 with the introduction of Bt cotton, which contains a protein that is toxic only to moth larvae, Sheely said. “The widespread planting of Bt cotton created an opportunity to wipe out pink bollworm (PBW) when combined with other techniques already in use,” he said.

Prior to establishment of the state PBW program, state inspectors trapped about 400,000 fertile moths per year in southern California and by 2007 that number was over 410,000 fertile moths. The following year this number fell 96 percent to about 16,000. The last moths trapped in California were caught in 2011 and none were caught since then in the Golden State. Trap counts in the West and in northern Mexico fell to zero by 2013.

Condos said traps and mandatory plow-down periods will still be employed to assure the pest remains eradicated.

Link to story

Watch this CDFA video about eradication of the Pink Bollworm.

CDFA and the USDA continue with their efforts to eradicate an outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease in Southern California – in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. Here are some important reminders in English and Spanish.

By Todd Fichette

California agricultural commissioners now have the regulatory “teeth” they sought to enforce bee registration each year – something they long complained was needed to protect the pollinators.

Pest control advisors at the recent annual meeting of the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA) were the first to publicly hear about the 18-month effort to force compliance of a law long-ignored, according to Ruthann Anderson, CAPCA chief executive officer.

Dubbed “Bee Where,” the new program gives agricultural commissioners the authority to seek civil penalties of not more than $500 per day a beekeeper is in violation of the law. While previous law required beekeepers to register their bees with county agricultural departments, it was effectively unenforceable, said Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner Ruben Arroyo. The new law that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2019 makes it unlawful to maintain an unregistered apiary.

Funding for the program came from the California Department of Food and Agriculture and California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA) promoted the program in collaboration with CAPCA. Arroyo is the current CACASA president.

The website http://bewherecalifornia.com was set up to help growers, PCAs and beekeepers understand the program.

The goal is to help county commissioners know where bees are located and who owns them, so they can be notified 48 hours before chemical spray treatments are applied to crops near where bees are located.

Assembly Bill 2468 by Dr. Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, passed the legislative process with no industry opposition, Anderson said.

Arroyo and Anderson promoted the program to over 1,000 PCAs at the association’s recent annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Part of the effort there was to highlight ongoing efforts to protect pollinators, which has gained steam in recent years as beekeepers continue to seek answers into higher rates of winter mortality and bee deaths.

While certain classes of pesticides and chemical tank mixes have been blamed for bee deaths, Anderson sees the program as a good first-step to begin collecting data that might help close in on the true cause of bee mortalities.

Beekeepers will be required to pay an annual $10 registration fee beginning in 2020.

How it works

The legislation requires anyone who moves bees into the state or otherwise comes in to possession of an apiary to register the name of the owner, the number of hives and the location those colonies will be moved to within 30 days of arrival. Moreover, relocation of hives within the state will now require a phone call to the destination county agricultural commissioner within 72 hours of first movement. The same applies to hives moved within a single county.

Bee owners must also be on record, either directly or through their designated representatives. This includes name and address of the appropriate party. Hives must also be marked with identifying information.

The program will use the latest computer technology to map bee colony locations. The intent is to have locations linked through Agrian, so when a PCA writes a recommendation through the program, an instant flag will go up if beekeepers are registered within a mile of the planned application site. Arroyo says details of this are still being worked out, but early indications suggest that PCAs will be given various crop protection alternatives if bees are nearby.

“It will come up with a list of suggested softer chemicals to use, but we’re still working with Agrian on this,” Arroyo said.

If there are bees registered within a mile of the planned application site, contact information on the owner of the bees will be provided. Beekeepers can register various means of contact, including phone, email and fax, Anderson said. Beekeepers will be given 48-hour notice prior to spray activities near their hives.

The program is also hoped to have a smart phone app available, so growers, beekeepers and regulatory agencies can search for and tag bee hive locations. County inspectors can then verify these locations to determine if hives are registered and act on those that are not registered.

Anderson says pilot launch of the program will begin with the 2019 almond bloom. A second phase starts a year later with feedback from various stakeholders and expansion of the technology to eventually include reporting of unmarked and unregistered bee hives and information to aid investigations into bee kills.

NOTE –  CDFA continues to work on bee-related issues with a pilot project in North Dakota to inspect bees in other states for the presence of invasive species before they’re shipped to California. This would reduce the amount of time hives would spend at Border Protection Stations.       

Link to story

The PBS program “Valley’s Gold” recently welcomed CDFA Secretary Karen Ross to discuss the agency’s many roles in facilitating farming and ranching, as well as its positive impacts on the daily lives of Californians. She is followed in the program by one of the leaders in agricultural advocacy in California, George Soares; California Farm Bureau Federation president Jamie Johansson; and California Agricultural Leadership Foundation president Barry Bedwell.

Photo from the New York Times

By Brad Plumer

CDFA’s Dr, Marc Epstein assists a Brownie examining a butterfly through a microscope.

Brownie Girl Scout Troop 2367 from Dixon, CA had a special guest at a recent troop meeting.  Dr. Marc Epstein, a Senior Insect Biosystematist and Lepidopterist at CDFA’s Plant Pest Diagnostics Lab in Sacramento, made a special visit to help teach the girls about insects.

During his visit, Dr. Epstein shared with the girls how he became interested in insects and what it means to be an Entomologist.  He also showed them a video presentation of live insects flying, eating, walking and metamorphosing, explaining that not all insects are pests, some are beneficial.

Dr. Epstein also brought specimen cases of flies, beetles, and butterflies from the CDFA’s insect collection to show their beauty and diversity.  A dissecting teaching microscope was set up for the girls to view the colorful scales that comprise the wings of butterflies.  For many of the girls, it was their first time looking through a microscope. After learning about the patterns and colorings on different larvae species, the girls were inspired to paint and craft their own caterpillars out of cardboard egg cartons.

Bug specimens

During the meeting, the Brownies were able to complete all their requirements for the “Bugs”skill badge.  This badge, along with the First Aid, Hiker and Cabin Camper badges are all requirements of the Outdoor Journey series the Brownie troop is currently working on.  This journey has allowed the girls the opportunity to get outside and explore nature with fun, safe activities that help build essential outdoor skills and inspire the girls to become environmental stewards.  The final part of the journey requires the girls to plan and execute a sustainable Take Action community project.  There is already “buzz” among the troop to focus their project on something related to insects!

The Brownie troop is comprised of ten energetic third-grade girls from various elementary schools in Dixon.  One of the Co-Leaders of the troop is Dr. Suzanne Rooney Latham, a Senior Plant Pathologist at CDFA.