Research and IPM

On-site disposal of invasive plant materials — report

• Carl Bell, UCCE, San Diego County
• James Stapleton, UCCE, IPM

In California, interest is high in removing invasive plants from riparian areas and other sensitive habitats. Many of these sites are accessible only by hiking through brush or into canyons. While hauling the invasive plants to the nearest access point for pickup, detached plant buds can be left behind.

Bell and Stapleton have worked with a small, neighborhood group of volunteers who are trying to remove invasive plants in one of the creeks above the Arroyo Seco area of Pasadena. Also, Stapleton has developed a method of high temperature solarization to quickly and effectively disinfest areas of invasive plant debris on-site. He and Bell demonstrated the solarization practice at three sites in southern California, one with the Arroyo Seco neighborhood group.

The scientists will follow-up on these demonstrations with surveys.

The goal is for people to adopt solarization as a new approach to reduce invasive plant propagules from being transported from remote sites to landfills.

Homeowner integrated management of bark beetle and mistletoe in Merced and Mariposa counties

• Maxwell Norton, UCCE, Mariposa County
• David Doll, UCCE, Merced County

Homeowners in Merced and Mariposa counties frequently deal with mistletoe infected oak trees and pine bark beetle infested pines. Residents often attempt control measures that are ineffective, harmful to the environment, or harmful to themselves.

Norton and Doll will work with the UC Statewide IPM Program to develop Quick Tips for bark beetles and mistletoe. These and other handouts will be distributed at two educational events in Mariposa County on bark beetle and wood borer management in pine trees, including how to diagnose infested trees and management options. Pine bark beetles are found within stands of Ponderosa pine and are associated with pine tree death and decline. Researchers also plan to extend information about the pine bark beetle to help the public to identify the beetle, understand its lifecycle, and determine proper control measures.

Scientists will hold two additional events on mistletoe control and cultural and pest management topics for ornamental and foothill trees. By demonstrating alternative cultural practices for mistletoe control at sites in Merced and Mariposa counties, researchers hope to educate homeowners so they can decide which methods are effective and applicable to their property. Mistletoe can weaken tree structure and cause limb loss on native valley oaks.

IPM information on bark beetles and mistletoe will also be incorporated into Master Gardener training events.

Follow-up surveys will measure knowledge gained about integrated pest management and participants? willingness to adopt the alternative measures covered in the educational events.

Bilingual urban IPM training for childcare providers and parents in Contra Costa — report

• Shelley Murdock, UCCE, Contra Costa County
• Bethallyn Black, UCCE, Contra Costa County

Residential pesticide use jeopardizes human health and contributes to pollution in streams and creeks leading into San Francisco Bay. When pesticides are used inside childcare facilities and homes, children, providers and parents are potentially exposed to hazardous levels.

Most childcare providers and social workers at a 2008 presentation in Contra Costa County incorrectly believed that pesticides are safe for use around young children because they’re sold in grocery and hardware stores. To promote less-toxic IPM strategies within childcare facilities and homes with young children, Black and Murdock have packaged UC IPM materials on household pests and trained 10 Master Gardeners to serve as workshop presenters. The Master Gardeners, five of whom are bilingual in English and Spanish, will deliver ten or more 90-minute sessions in English and Spanish to childcare providers.

To measure the impact of the workshops, leaders will survey childcare providers and parents one month after the workshop. Surveys will determine the participants’ ability to identify pests, changes that have occurred with pesticide use in homes and facilities; and pesticides purchased and disposed of since the workshop.

Determining and demonstrating effective trapping strategies for gophers to promote trapping as part of an IPM approach — report

• Roger A. Baldwin, UC Kearney Agricultural Center

Pocket gophers cause millions of dollars of damage to numerous crops, golf courses, recreational fields such as school play areas and sports turf, and residential yards.

Trapping to control gophers is relatively safe to users compared to poison baits and fumigants and is one of the only methods available for controlling gophers in organic crops. Trapping also requires little training and provides the added bonus of knowing whether you killed the invading gopher.

During trapping trials in the spring and fall, researchers will evaluate different traps to show their effectiveness and later share the information to increase grower, PCA, and homeowner effectiveness at controlling gophers. They will test trapping type (Macabee or Gophinator), trap location (main or lateral burrow) and covering with soil or open for a total of eight treatments. They will also test for differences in species, size, and sex to determine any potential influence this may have on trapping efficiency.

In the second phase of the study, the findings will be explained through oral presentations and field demonstrations throughout California to inform interested growers, PCAs, landscapers, and homeowners on how to most effectively control gophers through trapping procedures.

Following the demonstrations, they will survey participants’ reactions to determine if and how they plan to use this information. Results from the trap testing data will be added to the existing Pest Management Guidelines and Pest Notes for gophers, and a video (How to set a Macabee trap¹) is posted on the UC IPM Web site.

Sustainable practices to manage root knot nematodes in tomato — report

• Antoon Ploeg, UC Riverside

Root knot nematodes are widespread in lighter soil types throughout central and southern California. These microscopic, roundworms live and feed within plant roots most of their lives. The nematodes damage many common vegetables, fruit trees, and ornamentals.

Root knot nematode damage results in poor growth, a decline in crop quality and yield, and reduced resistance to other stresses such as drought. Also, roots damaged by nematodes roots do not use water and fertilizers as effectively, leading to more losses for growers.

Researchers will demonstrate several sustainable root knot nematode management strategies such as resistant varieties, growing a nematode-antagonistic crop, soil solarization, and biofumigation through a combination of field days, presentations, and publications. These control strategies by themselves may give good results, but using two or more of these methods can give better control.

The project will show which nonchemical strategy, or combination of nonchemical strategies, will best reduce root knot nematode levels, prevent nematode damage, and produce the highest tomato yields. 

Researchers will survey attendees of the field demonstration, the UC Riverside botanic garden fall plant sale, and UC Riverside AgOps field day, where a nematode demonstration table will be displayed, to determine if they have adopted the methods.

New residential IPM approaches to manage codling moth — report

• Daniel B. Marcum, UCCE, Shasta-Lassen counties
• Carolyn Pickel, UC Statewide IPM Program
• Alan Knight, USDA-ARS

During 2008, researchers evaluated three new tools to manage codling moth in field trials in California and Oregon. The Selective Organic Fruit Tree (SOFT) program consists of sprays of parasitic nematodes to control overwintering larvae, summer sprays of granulosis virus, and clear plastic trap baited with pear ester and vinegar to remove female moths before they lay eggs.

The program was promoted in the Fall River Valley through community-wide education and involvement since codling moth is a mobile pest and all trees in an area need to be protected for a successful program. As a result of this areawide program, fruit injury in McArthur dropped from 77 percent in 2007 to 6.8 percent in 2008.

In this follow-up project, leaders will continue to support the community-based, areawide management program for backyard fruit trees, this time by working with a community control committee to focus extension efforts and provide local leadership.  In addition, they will observe control efforts to measure the program's effectiveness in controlling codling moth.