NOTE – April has been declared ‘Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month’ by the USDA.
Scientists from as far away as Japan and France gathered last week for a tour of CDFA’s Plant Pest Diagnostic Center in Sacramento. Visitors also included representatives from 13 private companies, such as Driscoll’s; from private diagnostic labs, such as Waypoint Labs; and from more than 20 universities. The scientists were in Northern California for the Conference on Soilborne Plant Pathogens and the California Nematology Workshop, both at UC Davis.
The group toured all five laboratories at the diagnostics center – Botany, Plant Pathology, Seed, Nematology, and in this photo, Entomology. The Entomology lab maintains an impressive collection of invasive species from around the world.