California Ag Network

Category: Pest/Disease Management

  • Nutria Eradication Bill Becomes Law

    Today, President Donald Trump signed Representative Josh Harder’s (CA-10) first standalone bill into law. The new law authored by Rep. Harder reauthorizes the Nutria Eradication and Control Act and amends the bills to ensure for the first time in history, California and other states impacted by nutria are statutorily eligible for the program’s federal funding of $12 million for each of the next five years The nutria is an invasive species of swamp rat from South America which threatens water infrastructure, almond trees, and local ecosystems.

    “It’s an incredible honor to have my first bill signed into law by the President – and it’s an example of what we can achieve if we’re willing to come together on commonsense issues,” said Rep. Harder. “Working together, we’re going to protect our farmers, our water infrastructure, and the native ecosystems threatened by the swamp rat menace.”

    Nutria were originally introduced to the United States as part of the fur trade in the late 1800s but were eradicated from California in the 1970s. The invasive rat made a sudden reappearance in 2017. Over 1,600 have been taken from the wild since then. Nutria can devour up to 25 percent of their body weight daily and one female can lead to 200 offspring per year. These invaders threaten water infrastructure, certain crops, and indigenous wildlife.

    In June of 2019, Rep. Harder introduced his bill to reauthorize the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003. Since its introduction, the bill was amended to direct $12 million to programs in nutria-impacted states, including California. The programs supported by the bill encourage habitat protection, education, research, monitoring, and capacity building to provide for the long-term protection of wetlands from destruction caused by nutria.

    Representative Harder has repeatedly pushed to pass the bill. Last year, he brought “Nellie,” a life-size taxidermy nutria to a Congressional hearing to illustrate the threat posed by the invader. In a separate hearing, he brought a graphic example of the invasion curve (colloquially referred to as a “#RatChart”) to demonstrate the need to act urgently. In February, during House debate on his bill, Rep. Harder brought Nellie back to the Capitol again – this time to the House floor –  to encourage his colleagues to support his bill.

    The bill passed the House with  unanimous consent and a broad bipartisan vote. The Senate passed the bill through the “hotline” process, which requires unanimous support from every single Senator. Rep. Harder was joined on the bill by Republican Garrett Graves of Louisiana as well as fellow California Representatives Jim Costa, TJ Cox, John Garamendi, Barbara Lee, and Jimmy Panetta. Identical legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators John Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein.

  • USDA Study Reveals Airborne Fungus Can Trigger Plant Growth

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently announced that a harmless airborne fungus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum strain TC09 (TC09), can dramatically accelerate plant growth if a germinating plant is near the fungus as it emits volatiles or gases.

    Scientists used tobacco and pepper plants as models to study the conditions for accelerated plant growth once exposed to TC09. Following a relatively short duration of exposure at the seedling stage, the plants began to sense the fungi’s volatiles and gases. USDA scientists were then able to stimulate extremely rapid plant growth, earlier flowering and fruit yield increases.

    “This is a game-changer for agriculture and for research that seeks innovative ways to accelerate plant growth,” said USDA Scientist Dr. Chris Dardick. “Its implications are far-reaching and will help ARS’ commitment to deliver cutting-edge scientific advances for American farmers and producers.”

    The effects of TC09 were largely correlated with the duration of exposure. Visual observation indicated that plants with TC09 exposure for 10 days exhibited substantially more vigorous growth, thicker stems, larger leaves, and a more robust root system relative to plants without fungal exposure. Results also showed that treated plants flowered 20 days sooner and pepper plants yielded up to 213 percent more fruit that was ready for harvest three weeks earlier than untreated controls. More recent studies have shown similar research results for numerous other crops such as lettuce, arugula, kale, basil, and other leafy greens.

    This species of fungus is commonly found in indoor environments and is not known to cause disease in plants or any ailments in humans or animals. Also, unlike other microbial species that have been tested, the researchers showed that TC09 does not induce defense or stress responses in exposed plants. Scientists hope to identify the specific volatiles and gases that stimulate plant growth in future research.

    Research on microbial biostimulants that enhance plant growth has recently intensified because they provide an eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable strategy to benefit agriculture. USDA scientists will continue to study TC09 and seek practical strategies to apply it during commercial crop production, particularly for urban and indoor agricultural systems. They are awaiting approval of a patent and commercial evaluation license and partnered with NASA to apply this research technology to spaceflight conditions. This research was supported in part by grants from USDA-ARS, ARS’ Appalachian Fruit Research Lab, and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • UC Davis Wants Samples of Your Fermented Foods for Science

    It’s not always easy to find silver linings during the COVID-19 pandemic, but here’s one that food scientists at the University of California, Davis, have discovered: More people are exploring the ancient art of fermented foods.

    “My mom made her first batch of sauerkraut this summer,” said Maria Marco, a microbiologist and food science professor with the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “With so many of us sheltering-in-place, fermented foods are more popular than ever.”

    Marco takes more than a culinary interest in America’s latest food trend. Marco and Erin DiCaprio, a food safety expert and Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Davis, are investigating the microbial mysteries of fermented fruits and vegetables to better understand the role fermentation can play in healthy diets.

    And you can help.

    “We’re calling on people from across the state to send us samples of their home ferments so we can characterize their microbial composition,” Marco said. “Citizen scientists can help us expand the body of knowledge about the nutritional content and beneficial bacteria in fermented fruits and vegetables.”

    Marco, DiCaprio and their team of mostly undergraduate student scientists are looking for “fresh” ferments that are composed mainly of fruits and vegetables. By fresh, they mean samples taken right after fermentation, before refrigeration. They will be collecting samples for the next year. If you live in the Davis or Sacramento area, they can arrange to pick up your sample. If you live outside the area, or want to learn more, contact the team at EAT LAC (as in, lactic acid).

    Managing microbes

    Fermented foods and beverages are produced by nurturing conditions that discourage the growth of harmful bacteria and encourage the growth of beneficial microorganisms. Take sauerkraut, for example. When you combine cabbage, salt, time and the right temperatures, you can help friendly microbes flourish. As they do, they convert sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid and other compounds with tangy flavor that keep harmful bacteria at bay.

    Similar chemistry is at work when producing a long list of fermented foods, such as yogurt, cheese, bread, alcohol, chocolate, coffee, salami, vinegar, kimchi, miso, tempeh and pozol.

    Besides adding new flavors and textures, fermentation can extend the shelf life of food, improve our ability to absorb some nutrients and — perhaps — provide an environment for beneficial bacteria to thrive in our digestive systems and help prevent chronic disease.

    “It’s quite possible that consuming fermented foods as part of a regular diet supports a healthy digestive tract and the microorganisms living in our intestine,” Marco said. “Our health may be helped by what those microbes eat, as well as by the nutrients they produce. Our goal is to provide solid evidence that can show whether fermented foods can, indeed, help fight disease. And if so, how.”

    Tips for fermenting safely at home 

    What’s the best way to ferment fruits and vegetables at home? DiCaprio is working with the UC Master Food Preserver Program to provide online fermentation classes.

    In the meantime, here are DiCaprio’s top tips:

    • Follow a research-based recipe, like the ones you can find at UC Food Safety, the USDA Complete Guide to Canning and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. “Some of the resources available online and in print haven’t been vetted for safety,” DiCaprio said. “They might not have you add enough salt in the beginning, for example, which is important for keeping your product from spoiling.”
    • Sanitation matters: Keep hands, equipment and the preparation area clean and sterile throughout the fermentation process.
    • Control temperature: Don’t let your ingredients get too hot or too cold.
    • Monitor the process to make sure it’s fermenting properly — that little bubbles are slowly rising to the surface, for example, and that mold isn’t growing throughout the container. “You can’t just set something on a counter and forget about it,” DiCaprio noted.
    • Skim the scum. It’s common for a layer of yeast and mold to form atop your vegetable brine after a few days. DiCaprio recommends skimming it off each day.

    “And be sure to start with good, fresh ingredients,” DiCaprio said. “We look forward to seeing the samples!” — By Diane Nelson, UC Davis, Food & Agriculture

    Purple cabbage used to make sauerkraut changes to a light pink color as it starts to ferment. (Hector Amezcua/UC Davis)

  • To all San Joaquin Valley Citrus Growers

    The ACP/HLB San Joaquin Valley Task Force called a meeting on October 8, 2020 due to the increased number of ACP trap finds in the southern part of Kern County. In the last month (September and into October), there

    have been a total of 35 ACP trap finds in the areas of the south part of Bakersfield, Arvin, Lamont, Mettler, and Maricopa. There were 15 residential and 20 commercial citrus sticky trap finds. While there have been finds in

    some of these areas in the past, the amount of detections in this last 30-day period is alarming. The Asian citrus psyllid, as a reminder, transmits Huanglongbing; the best way to avoid HLB is to control ACP which the valley has been successfully doing. 2020 has been a suspiciously quiet year for ACP finds but now, it is time to act.

    We are now in the late part of the season where most spray programs have already been executed. A coordinated spray is not recommended at this time. Kern County growers are encouraged to use an ACP effective material if they have not done so in the last six weeks. It is prudent for all growers to use ACP effective materials when treating other pests. Regarding the residential finds, CDFA is at various stages of treating them. Prior to these finds, CDFA had released Tamarixia radiata in certain residential areas of Kern County. Future Tamarixia releases are scheduled.

    The task force wants to convey the seriousness of what is being seen and what it means to our industry. Unfortunately, the suspicion is that these finds in commercial citrus are spilling over from residential properties. It is up to the citrus industry to deal with this threat. San Joaquin Valley citrus growers have done a good job using ACP effective materials when treating. The cooperation shown by growers during coordinated treatments reflects their commitment to keeping ACP suppressed. Nevertheless, task force members wished to highlight what should be done to help control the Asian citrus psyllid here in the valley.

    It is even more imperative to control the psyllid due to the find of a CLas positive ACP in commercial citrus down in the Riverside area. That was a wake-up call. We cannot, as an industry and in good conscience, dismiss that find. Growers and Pest Control Advisors need to be diligent. The following best practices must be a part of the regime tending to citrus groves.

    What do Growers and Pest Control Advisors need to do? It is easy to say, “follow the best practices”, but there are key elements that the task force believes is important. All the guidelines should be adhered to, but these are the key elements:

    A. Know When and Where Asian citrus psyllids might be present.
    – flush is what attracts the psyllid. Nice, tender leaves and stems. Like candy to an ACP.
    – citrus varieties matter. Lemons flush constantly. Grapefruit, oranges, and mandarins will have fewer flush cycles.
    – know when flushes occur. Spring, late summer for established trees. Younger trees have extensive, prolonged flush. Topping and hedging will produce flush. Spraying with kaolin stimulates flush also.

    – temperature determines how long a flush will last. Hot temps lead to quick hardening of the plant growth. Cooler temps prolong flush.

    1. Scout for Asian citrus psyllids (Yellow sticky traps are a passive method to determine presence of ACP).

      – use both visual and tap surveying.
      – survey along the borders, psyllids tend to not go deeper into groves unless the population is high (they do not like each other very much). If very wide plantings or very wide wind machine rows exist, then check along them too. Younger trees and shorter trees will allow the psyllids to travel farther into the grove.
      – do more frequent surveys during flush. Monthly surveys work when the vegetation is hardened off, unless the trees are close to a find, then sampling frequency should increase.

    2. Be aware of inadvertently transporting ACP.
      – clean equipment used before moving to the next property. Applies to anyone working in a grove; especially picking crews, trimming crews, irrigators, Pest Control Advisors, and the growers themselves.
      – check clothing and vehicles for insect hitchhikers. Shake out hats, bags, clothing. Sweep down vehicles.
      – do not park vehicles in the rows, park outside of the grove.

    3. If possible, use ACP effective materials when treating other pests, following label instructions.

    4. Follow the requirements when moving bulk harvested citrus.

    5. Be aware of developments!
      – receive newsletters from San Joaquin Valley Grower Liaisons.

    Fresno County Northern Tulare County Southern Tulare County Kern County

    – subscribe to industry publications.

    Sylvie Robillard Teri Blaser Jessica Leslie Judy Zaninovich

    FresnoACP@yahoo.com TBlaserSCI@ocsnet.net jess.leslie@hotmail.com jleslie@msn.com

    These were felt to be the most important points of the voluntary best practices. The ACP/HLB San Joaquin Valley Tack Force felt it was important to write this letter to all the valley citrus growers because as of this moment, the valley has not discovered a CLas positive Asian citrus psyllid or a CLas positive tree. The members of the task force believe that the industry must operate under the assumption that there are positive psyllids and trees in the valley; they just have not been found yet. If the industry relaxes its vigilance that is when Huanglongbing will become established and cause havoc. Thank you for taking the time to read this and may each and all stay safe and well.

    Sincerely,

    The ACP/HLB San Joaquin Valley Task Force 

  • California Must Become a Fire-Adapted Civilization, UCCE Expert Says

    The vast California acreage burned in 2020 and the protracted smoky skies should signal state residents and officials to adapt to a new reality, reported Ezra David Romero on Capital Public Radio. The 4 million acres of wildland burned this year isn’t unprecedented.

    Before 1800, 4.5 million or more burned every year in California, according to a UC Berkeley study.

    Tragic as they are, parts of the 2020 fires will bring some areas back to natural equilibrium. “Some areas are going to be hit really hard . . . and will have trouble recovering,” said Michael Jones, UCCE forestry advisor in Lake County. “But other areas will look phenomenal. They’ll look fantastic and they’ll do exactly what we want these systems to do.”

    However, the burns are unprecedented in California’s modern, highly populated times.

    “I don’t think that we can have another season like this without something fundamentally shifting,” he said “This is another indication of how we need to think differently about how we approach managing fire, and how we need to become more of a fire-adapted civilization.”

    It may be “a tough pill to swallow,” but Jones told Romero that smoky skies could become a year-long reality because of prescribed burns in cooler months and a prolonged wildfire season in the warmer months.

    “People are exhausted,” Jones said, “they’re scared and don’t understand this fundamental shift and change.”

    Jones says the current fire season should also force people to rethink where communities should be built. — By Jeannette Warnert, UC Cooperative Extension Communications Specialist

    UCCE forestry advisor Michael Jones.

  • Researchers Continue Grapevine Red Blotch Vector Search

    Entomologists have a unique toolbox of gadgets designed to trap and collect otherwise hard to nab insects.  Beating, sweeping, sucking, and carefully brushing, these scientists have no lack of creativity when it comes to collecting what most people can’t even see.  Yet these collections are critical keys to unravel the mystery of crop-threatening disease, where insects often play the role of “vectoring”, or spreading, the pathogen.   Enter the “D-Vac”, a modified leafblower designed to suck up insects from otherwise hard to get to places-like grapevine canopies!  Recently I joined Kelsey McCalla, Post-doctoral researcher, and Kristen Flores, Lab manager and Junior Specialist, both hailing from UC Specialist Kent Daane’s lab in Berkeley, on the hunt in the foothills for clues to the insect vectors responsible for transmitting Grapevine red blotch associated virus (GRBaV).  I’m so happy to have engaged the Daane lab to include our foothill region in the nationwide collaborative research to understand the spread of this disease.  The research is critical to managing it.

    Red blotch symptoms in Zinfandel

    GRBaV, or simply “red blotch”, the DNA virus identified in 2011 causing disease in grapes that was a mystery for so long, continues to vex the research community.  While tremendous progress has been made on understanding the effect of the disease on delaying grape berry ripening and physiology, we still have not confirmed a vector or vectors, as it may be, responsible for the spread of this disease evident in so many of our vineyards. Awhile back you may remember my post about the exciting discovery by Bahder, Zalom and Sudarshana that the three-cornered alfalfa treehopper was a red blotch vector.  Oddly enough, that greenhouse study has not yet been replicated by other researchers seeking to duplicate, and confirm, the treehopper as a red blotch vector.

    Red Blotch Symptoms in Vermentino, a White Grape Variety

    The Daane lab joins Houston Wilson and other researchers on a nationwide search to confirm the three cornered alfalfa treehopper as a red blotch vector and/or identify other insects that are spreading the disease.  Part of that work includes sampling for suspect insects using the D-vac and yellow sticky traps in vineyards where red blotch spread is evident.  The trap count information is used to understand the life cycles of these potential vectors.  Wilson, who was one of several speakers covering red blotch research progress during my 2020 Foothill Grape Day, recently published a newsletter on his work of the seasonal ecology of the treehopper in North Coast vineyards.  Our foothill monitoring will help us understand if the insect’s life cycle is similar here as compared to what is known to occur in the cooler N. Coast.

    Kristen Flores takes down yellow sticky traps

    And no, those vineyard fall colors are not a good thing!  This is the time of the year when GRBaV symptoms become evident in red varieties in the vineyard-the characteristic red “blotches” on the leaves for which the disease is named begin to show in summer and become more visible as harvest nears and the season progresses. (Note: the disease affects both white and red varieties. In whites, the “blotches” are yellow and more difficult to see).  While diseased vineyards turn red, healthy vines remain green, then gold, in fall.

     

     

    The D-vac Bug Vac, a wonderful sampling tool.
    I spy with my little eye…a three cornered alfalfa treehopper sucked up by the D-vac!
    Lynn Wunderlich, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor

    Thanks to the hard work of those like McCalla and Flores, even during this time of the pandemic (and wearing masks while working outdoors in summer heat is not fun, let me tell you), we will get closer to solving the red blotch mystery. — By Lynn Wunderlich, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor

  • Five Steps for Ag Processors to Adapt their COVID-19 Incident Response Approach

    COVID-19 is a health crisis in the United States but major industries, like agriculture, chemical manufacturing, oil and gas exploration and production, all need to keep functioning as essential businesses in the midst of the crisis.  The response to COVID-19 has core parallels to major industrial accident response, which involves deploying the right resources for the task.  Every incident, be it a fire, explosion, or a government inspection and citation for regulatory compliance failures involves four key elements of response:  (1) the immediate response; (2) the extended response; (3) compliance and prevention; and (4) preparedness/lessons learned to improve.  This lifecycle of an incident applies equally to a COVID-19 contact among your employees or customers.  Make no mistake.  The stakes are high.  Recently, Cal/OSHA issued COVID-19 related citations to two companies of over $200,000 each, one to a frozen food manufacturer and the other to a temporary employment agency.  New legislation that becomes effective next year gives Cal/OSHA expanded authority to issue Orders Prohibiting Use for workplaces that pose risk of an “imminent hazard” relating to COVID-19.  In other words, they can shut your plant down if you don’t have the right procedures in place to respond to a COVID-19 incident.

    Processing plant managers are accustomed to incidents, such as injuries, agency inspections, or citations (hopefully not too frequently with respect to citations); applying the process in the context of COVID-19 can work extremely well, even where handling these situations requires adjustment for the particular crisis at hand.  In every crisis, the approach needs to be tailored, and COVID-19 incidents are no different.

    Examples of how a COVID-19 response needs to be tailored include determining work-relatedness to a positive test to COVID-19, identifying close contacts, identifying the agencies to whom notifications must be provided, and contact tracing for potentially exposed employees, testing, and implementing isolation protocols.  In the context of COVID-19, agriculture companies need to be keenly aware of increased Cal/OSHA oversight, as the agency has identified agricultural processing as a priority for enforcement because agricultural processing facility workers have been disproportionately impacted.

    When confronting a COVID-19 incident, follow these useful tips to help minimize liability and potential for citation by the government.

    1. Familiarize yourself with the Extensive Government Guidance Issued, Especially that Tailored to Your Industry

    There’s a saying in incident response:  your greatest exposure is not the incident itself but whether you follow the regulations for reporting and responding to the incident.  That’s true for a major chemical release from your operations and a COVID-19 incident, alike.  When the crisis emerged, several federal and state agencies provided guidance documents to companies on how to address potential cases of COVID-19.  Like the crisis, the guidance is evolving.  The government continues to update its approach and has even offered tailored to specific industries.  Following the agency guidance will put a facility in a much stronger compliance position when faced with a compliance inspection or determination of work-relatedness.

    Some key recent government guidance specific to the agricultural processing industry is listed below:

    • September 18, 2020, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated Guidelines intended for use by employers experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 in their workplace.  It emphasizes that employers should be proactive and keep in mind that identification of even a single positive case among employees may quickly develop into an outbreak.
    • July 29, 2020, California COVID-19 Guidance for the agriculture and livestock industry to support a safe, clean environment for workers.  Recommendations include that an employer investigate any COVID-19 illness and determine if any work-related factors could have contributed to risk of infection;    identify close contacts (within six feet for fifteen minutes or more) of an infected worker and take steps to isolate COVID-19 positive worker(s) and close contacts; implement the necessary processes and protocols when a workplace has an outbreak, in accordance with the CDPH guidelines.
    • July 21, 2020, Cal/OSHA updated Guidance for the agriculture industry.  This provides:
    • COVID-19 Daily Checklist for Agricultural Employers
    • COVID-19 General Checklist for Agricultural Employers
    • Infection Prevention for Agricultural Employees and Employers
    1. Make Required Government Notifications

    Understand requirements for reporting employee cases to Cal/OSHA.  Any serious injury, illness, or death occurring in any place of employment or in connection with any employment must be reported by the employer to the local Cal/OSHA district office immediately.  For COVID-19, this includes inpatient hospitalizations and deaths among employees.

    On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom also signed into law AB 685 which enhances reporting requirements to local health authorities in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in the worksite.  The law takes effect on January 1, 2021.

    Employers should also check local guidance to determine if there are other investigation, reporting, or recording obligations triggered by a positive COVID-19 case.

    Finally, recognize that if an employee is out with COVID-19 or quarantined, other government obligations, like environmental reporting may fall by the wayside in their absence.  Develop a plan to ensure your ongoing government reporting obligations are being met, even those not COVID-19-related.  Having an employee out due to COVID-19 is likely not going to serve as an acceptable excuse for environmental noncompliance.

    1. Do the Investigation

    To comply with Cal/OSHA requirements, plant managers should ensure their companies are investigating positive COVID-19 determinations in a timely manner to identify any work-related factors and to identify close contacts.  This will protect employees, comply with Cal/OSHA requirements, and provide information that may be needed to in regards to the “disputable presumption” that exists in California for an employee who suffers illness or death resulting from COVID-19 on or after July 6, 2020 through January 1, 2023.

    COVID-19 related citations recently issued by Cal/OSHA included a failure to investigate about 20 COVID-19 illnesses and one death for a food manufacturer. Cal/OSHA’s news release highlighted that Cal/OSHA created guidance for many industries in multiple languages including videos, daily checklists and detailed guidelines on how to protect workers from the virus. This guidance is meant to provide a roadmap for employers on their existing obligations to protect workers from COVID-19.  If you don’t conduct required investigations, you will be placing your company at risk of being shut down through Cal/OSHA’s expanded authority to issue Orders Prohibiting Use for workplaces that pose a risks of an “imminent hazard” relating to COVID-19.

    1. Meet Requirements for Identifying and Notifying Potentially Affected Employees

    As part of the investigation, additional employee cases and close contacts (within six feet for fifteen minutes or more) should be identified in accordance with the regulations and guidance.  The facility will then need to conduct testing or alternative methods (e.g., contact tracing or quarantining) in consultation with the local health department to control the outbreak.

    All potentially exposed employees must be notified and employers must meet obligations regarding confidentiality of employees with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).

    1. Review and Update the Facility COVID-19 Plan to Apply Lessons Learned and Improve

    In the July 29, 2020 COVID-19 Guidance for agriculture and livestock, the state of California  recommended that each facility establish a written, workplace-specific COVID-19 prevention plan, perform a comprehensive risk assessment of all work areas and work tasks, and designate a person at each facility to implement the plan. The plan should include sanitation practices, physical distancing, individual control measures, screening, and other incidental practices to prevent the spread amongst workers. Upon completion of the incident investigation, the facility should update the plan as needed to prevent further cases.

    Conclusion

    COVID-19 presents unique challenges to processing plant managers responding to incidents because of the difficulty in determining the source of infection, agency notification and attention, contact tracing, employee notification, testing, control measures, and return to work. Like any incident, COVID-19 incident response should focus on:  (1) the immediate response by making required agency notifications and dealing with the immediate employee concerns including contact tracing; (2) the extended response by conducting an incident investigation; (3) compliance and prevention by conducting testing or implement isolation protocols; and (4) preparedness/lessons learned to improve by reviewing and updating the facility COVID-19 plan. Processing plant managers who work quickly and diligently to respond to a COVID-19 incident will reap the benefit of minimizing regulatory scrutiny protecting employees and comply with legal reporting and notification requirements. They should also regularly check local, state, and federal guidance to determine if there are new or revised investigation, reporting, or recording obligations triggered by a positive COVID-19.   – By Daniel J. Grucza & Shannon S. Broome

    Dan Grucza is Counsel with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. He regularly advises companies on health and safety issues and has been a speaker and author on COVID-19 response issues and is a lead member of the firm’s incident response practice.

    Shannon S. Broome is the Managing Partner of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s San Francisco office and leads its environmental practice in California.  She routinely advises clients on Cal/OSHA compliance issues and on major accident and other incident response for industrial facilities.

  • Wildfire Impact on CA Almond Harvest & Crop Update

    Are California almond growers really going to reach their record 3 billion pound crop this year? How have the wildfires impacted the harvest season? What kind of pest pressure levels are growers experiencing this year? What should almond growers expect at the virtual Almond Board Conference this year?  Watch this brief interview with Richard Waycott from the Almond Board of California to find out and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Orchard Sanitation is key to a Quality Almond Crop

    Navel orangeworm (NOW) is the key pest of almonds, causing more income loss due to reject nuts than any other pest. Pesticide sprays, alone, cannot control this pest. A combination of several specific practices has been proven to reduce NOW damage and limit loss of grower income. These practices are winter sanitation, timely harvest and pesticide sprays (where needed). Mating disruption is an additional option that is seeing increasing adoption. The first of these practices on the orchard calendar is sanitation.

    Navel orangeworm find food and shelter in unharvested (“mummy”) nuts through the winter and spring, making those mummies a bridge of trouble from one year to the next in your orchard. Multiple research studies show that NOW damage increases with increasing mummy counts the previous winter. Destroying mummy nuts is the first step towards a cleaner crop and improved grower returns through quality incentives from processors. The goal of orchard sanitation is to turn that “NOW bridge” from a four-lane highway (no sanitation at all) into a narrow footbridge.

    Orchard sanitation is practiced by removing mummy nuts from the trees by February 1 and destroying (flail mow or disc) all nuts on the orchard floor no later than March 1st. In light of the expected reduced nut price for the 2020 crop, some growers may consider eliminating this key step in NOW management to “save money”. This is a risky move. The Sacramento Valley 2021 crop has a good chance to be lighter than the record 2020 crop resulting in 1) fewer nuts/tree and so higher % damage even if NOW populations stay the same and 2) larger nuts, on average, with the potential for poor shell seal and greater risk of NOW damage. Don’t play Navel Orangeworm Russian Roulette with your next crop. Sanitize.

    The following steps are needed for effective orchard sanitation:

      Before January 15, scout an orchard and count mummy nuts in 20 trees per acre. Include all varieties in this count.

      If average number of mummy nuts/tree exceeds 2, sanitation is recommended. The <2 mummies per tree target was developed in the early 1980’s, when industry average NOW damage was around 3.5%, much higher than today’s range of 1.3%. In the high pressure area of the southern San Joaquin Valley, the recommendation is to limit mummies to 1 per 5 trees (0.2 nuts/tree) and 8 or fewer mummies on the ground per Nonpareil tree, based on research from in 2003-2006 in Kern County. However, in 2019, northern California had higher % rejects level than the “high pressure” south San Joaquin Valley. Simply put, the fewer mummy nuts in an orchard, the lower NOW pressure at the start of the season.

      To sanitize, shake trees to remove nuts by January 31. Shaking can remove flower buds as they begin to swell and gain weight in late January/early February. Unless it is an early bloom season and buds begin to swell ahead of normal timing, shaking can be done into early February without reducing yield. Some buds are removed by shaking in early February, but since only 25% flower set = good commercial crop, some bud loss does not mean less crop at harvest. Some growers hand poll after shaking if too many nuts remain.

      Sweep downed nuts into windrows and mow or disc by March 1. Mow slowly (2 MPH) and check for intact nuts after mowing. If some nuts remain intact, mow again. NOW can survive if the nut is intact.

    Final thought. NOW overwinter in almond, walnut and pistachio mummies. NOW are also strong flyers, traveling at least a quarter of a mile to lay eggs. If you sanitize, but your neighbor(s) don’t, your orchard is at risk from NOW damage due to mated female moths, ready to lay eggs, flying over from the neighbors. Talk with your neighbors about sanitizing all orchards in the area and removing seedling “wild” almonds along fence lines as these can harbor NOW, too. — By Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa & Sutter/Yuba Counties

  • Evaluating Biological Fungicides Against Fruit Rot in Strawberry

    Several crown, fruit, and foliar diseases cause significant yield losses to strawberry.  Gray mold or Botrytis fruit rot caused by Botrytis cinerea, mucor fruit rot by Mucor spp., and Rhizopus fruit rot by Rhizopus spp. are common fungal diseases in California.  Botrytis cinerea is more prevalent and damaging fungus among these pathogens warranting regular fungicidal applications.  Fungal spores survive in plant debris and soil and infection can occur before flower initiation.  Both flowers and fruits are subjected to infection.  Severely infected flowers fail to develop into fruits.  Infection on developing or ripe fruit occurs as brown lesions, usually under calyxes.  Infected areas rot and become dry and leathery under dry conditions or produce a thick, gray mat of spores under cool, moist conditions.

    Mucor spp. invade the fruit through ruptured skin and cause leaky fruit rot.  Under high humidity, profuse fungal growth of white, tough filaments with black spore-bearing structures is seen covering the fruit.  In the case of Rhizopus fruit rot, discolored, water-soaked spots develop on fruit eventually leading to wilting.  Similar to the Mucor fruit rot, Rhizopus rot also leads to leaky fruits and development of black spore-bearing structures on white mycelia under high humidity.  Both pathogens survive in dead and decaying plant material and can persist in the field.

    In a fall-planted conventional strawberry, growers usually make 12 or more fungicidal applications during a four-month period to control Botrytis and other fruit rots.  Although fungicides with different modes of action are present and growers try to rotate them, fungicide resistance in B. cinerea is common and effective integrated disease strategies are necessary.  Using biostimulants that might improve plant’s ability to withstand diseases and alternating chemicals with biological fungicides could be some options to mitigate chemical fungicide resistance.  Previous studies looked at the response of fruit diseases to various treatments that received biological soil amendments (Dara, 2020a), soil fungicides (Dara, 2020b), or chemical and biological fungicides (Dara, 2019).  This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of some biological fungicides along with a chemical fungicide primarily against Botrytis fruit rot.

    Methodology

    This study was conducted at a research strawberry field at the Shafter Research Station.  Strawberry cultivar San Andreas was planted on 31 October 2019.  Other than regular irrigation and fertigation, plants in this study were not treated with any agricultural inputs for agronomic or pest management purposes.  Treatments included i) untreated control, ii) Elevate 50 WDG (fenhexamid) at 8 oz/ac, iii) Serifel (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) at 8 oz/ac, iv) ProBlad Verde (Banda de Lupinus albus doce – BLAD, a polypeptide from sweet lupine) at 36 fl oz with Cinnerate (cinnamon oil) at 0.25% followed by ProBlad Verde at 36, 43, and 43 fl oz/ac on subsequent applications, and v) ProBlad Verde at 36 fl oz with Cinnerate at 0.25% followed by three subsequent applications of ProBlad Verde at 32 fl oz/ac.  Each treatment had a 3.2′ wide and 14′ long plot with two rows of plants and replicated four times in a randomized complete block design.  Treatments were applied using a CO2-pressurized backpack sprayer using a 45 gpa spray volume on 26 March, 2, 10, and 20 April 2020.  Flowers and fruits were removed from all the plants before the first application.  Fruit was harvested on 14 and 27 April and 2 and 10 May and stored in vented plastic containers for postharvest quality assessment.  The severity of Botrytis and other fruit rots was recorded 3 and 5 days after harvest on a scale of  0 to 4 where 0=no disease, 1=1-25% fruit with fungal infection, 2=26-50% infection, 3=51-75%, and 4=76-100%.  Compared to Botrytis fruit rot, other rots occurred as mixed infections at different times and it was not possible to accurately measure them separately.  Data presented in this study primarily represent Botrytis fruit rot with other fruit rots included on some data sets.  Data were subjected to analysis of variance using Statistix software to compare disease severity for individual harvest dates and their average.

    Results

    Fruit rots occurred from low to moderate levels during the observation period.  Disease severity followed the usual trend with higher levels 5 days after harvest compared to 3 days after harvest.  Compared to untreated control, disease severity was numerically lower in some treatments especially 3 days after harvest, but differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) when individual harvest dates or their average were considered.  The average disease severity from four harvests was 0.25 in Elevate and Serifel, 0.50 in ProBlad Verde low rate with Cinnerate, and 0.81 in ProBlad Verde high rate with Cinnerate treatment and untreated control 3 days after harvest.  The average disease severity was 1.13 for Serifel, 1.19 for Elevate and the low rate of ProBlad Verde with Cinnerate, 1.81 for the high rate of ProBlad Verde with Cinnerate, and 2.0 for untreated control 5 days after harvest.  Although statistically significant differences could not be found among treatments, this study indicates the potential of non-chemical alternatives and warrants additional studies for further investigation. -By Surendra Dara