UC IPM Makes It Happen
 Environmental Protection Agency honors Walnut Marketing Board
The Walnut Marketing Board (WMB—www.walnuts.org/),
representing more than 5,500 California growers, is one of 16 members
of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program to be recognized for their efforts to prevent pollution and
reduce pesticide risk.
The WMB formed the Walnut Pest Management Alliance (PMA) in 1999
under the leadership of Carolyn Pickel, UC IPM advisor for Sacramento
Valley,
and with financial support from Department of Pesticide Regulation.
The Walnut PMA focused on demonstrating newer mating disruption
techniques and a biological IPM system for the codling moth, the chief
cause of
walnut destruction.
"Our focus is to expand efforts to educate
others in the industry and the orchard about reduced-risk strategies
and monitoring techniques
so
they can develop environmentally sound, economical walnut production,"
says Carolyn.
Carolyn coordinated many on-farm demonstration sites and managed
field and team meetings throughout the year. She also wrote and
edited the
Walnut PMA newsletter that was distributed to walnut growers
statewide. In addition, she authored and co-authored several publications
about management and control of coding moth.
"Walnut growers have just begun to adopt pheromone mating disruption,
and we expect more adoption in the future," says Carolyn.
Mating disruption is a technique that uses a female insect's
sexual scents,
or pheromones, to attract and confuse the males, disrupting
the mating process.
The alliance includes University of California research and
extension staff, USDA researchers, walnut growers, and the
walnut industry,
Community Alliance for Family Farmers, PCAs, and Department
of Pesticide Regulation.
Find more information on the codling moth and other walnut
pests on the UC
IPM Web site.
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2005
Annual Report