CDFA Announces Funding for Sustainable Pest Management in San Joaquin Valley

Key Takeaways

• CDFA awards $490,000 to CURES for sustainable pest management using pheromone disruption.
• The project targets navel orangeworm (NOW) in almond, pistachio, and walnut orchards.
• Collaboration with various stakeholders ensures broader impact and effectiveness.

CDFA Funding and Project Overview

CDFA’s Sustainable Pest Management Efforts

• The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has allocated $490,000 in funding to the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES). This grant supports a three-year project promoting pheromone mating disruption, a sustainable pest management approach, particularly in areas near impaired waterways in the eastern San Joaquin Valley.

Targeting Navel Orangeworm

• The initiative focuses on combating the navel orangeworm (NOW), a significant pest affecting almond, pistachio, and walnut orchards. Traditionally, this pest is controlled using conventional insecticides, such as pyrethroids.

Sustainable Approach and Benefits

Pheromone Mating Disruption Technique

• Pheromone mating disruption offers an eco-friendly alternative to conventional pest control methods. It disrupts the reproduction of NOW by preventing males from locating females in orchards. This technique has been proven effective through commercial use and research by the University of California.

Impact on Growers and the Environment

• CDFA Secretary Karen Ross emphasized the dual responsibility of protecting California’s food supply and utilizing sustainable methods. This project promises tangible benefits to growers, the environment, and the broader community by promoting safer pest control practices near sensitive habitats.

CDFA Collaborative Efforts

Involvement of Various Stakeholders

• The project involves CURES, the Eastern San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, the Almond Board of California (ABC), the University of California Cooperative Extension, and crop consultants. These partners will work together to provide financial incentives, technical assistance, and outreach to growers along impaired waterways.

Area-Wide Mating Disruption Strategy

• The initiative adopts an area-wide mating disruption approach, encouraging groups of growers with contiguous acreage to use this technique collectively. This method is expected to effectively reduce NOW populations and the damage they cause.