Dr. Christopher Greer joined UC IPM as a new area IPM advisor covering the Central Coast (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties). Greer’s research and extension program centers around IPM of agricultural crops grown along the coast such as strawberry and leafy vegetables. Greer is investigating the use of drones to monitor for pests.
Most recently, Greer was vice provost with ANR. Previously, Greer served for 12 years as a rice advisor first in Colusa, Glenn and Yolo counties, then in Sutter, Yuba, Sacramento, and Placer counties. Greer has a Ph.D. in plant pathology from the Univeresity of California, Davis and a B.S. in bioenvironmental sciences from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Cindy Kron joined UC IPM as a new area IPM advisor covering the North Coast (Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Lake counties). Her research and extension program centers around entomology, IPM, and invasive species in grape, pear, walnut, olive, and other specialty crops.
Kron’s program is focused on preventing the establishment of new invasive species through education; addressing the needs of her growers by working with University and government researchers on field research and collaborative projects; developing and using alternative pest management methods; and disseminating information via publications, presentations, and in-field and hands-on workshops.
“I’m excited to get started on an IR-4 project on olives in Sonoma, trapping for brown marmorated stink bug in Lake and Mendocino counties, assessing the needs of walnut growers in Lake and Mendocino counties, and joining a Pierce’s disease project in Napa and Sonoma counties focusing on spittlebugs and blue-green sharpshooters,” says Kron.
Kron most recently worked on invasive species and grape insect pests with the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Kron tested what cover crops increase numbers of threecornered alfalfa hopper and the potential for biological control as a pest management practice. Working with a University of California, Davis colleague, she created a degree-day model that predicts when to use cultural control practices to reduce hopper numbers. Kron has a Ph.D. in entomology where she studied the biology and behavior of threecornered alfalfa hopper, the vector of grapevine red blotch virus and a B.S. in viticulture and entomology with a minor in agricultural pest management both from the University of California, Davis.