For Immediate Release: April 17, 2002

Contact: Mark Looker (209) 604-9709 mllooker@ainet.com

Almond Pest and Disease Management Research Discussion Set for Bakersfield Field Day May 1

(Bakersfield) – Effective management strategies utilizing the lessons learned from an ongoing reduced-risk research and demonstration project for almond growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley will be discussed Wednesday, May 1, at a field day sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension and the almond Pest Management Alliance.

The field day will be held in the Thomas Vetsch orchard, located on the northwest corner pf Pond Avenue and Magnolia, just north of Wasco. The field day runs from 9 a.m. until12 noon. Lunch will be provided. Reservations can be made at (661) 868-6211.

The topics ran the gamut from control of San Jose scale, a key pest in almond orchards, to fine tuning irrigation. The complete schedule includes:

• “Overall Objective of the Almond PMA Project: The Integrated Approach to Pest and Disease Management” by Mario Viveros, Farm Advisor, UCCE Kern County.
• “San Jose Scale a Key Pest in the Southern San Joaquin Almond Orchards: What are the Management Tools?” by Walt Bentley, Regional IPM Advisor.
• “Peach Twig Borer Emergence and Control” by Peggy Schrader and Mario Viveros, UCCE Kern County.
• “Ants Can Cause More rejects in Almonds than NOW and PTB: Ant Monitoring, Identification and Control” by Richard Coviello, Entomologist, UCCE Fresno County.
• “Mite Management and Control: A Grower’s Point of View” by Matt Billings, Sterling Nursery, Billings’ Ranches, Delano.
• “Mite Monitoring: Presence and Absence” by Walt Bentley.
• “Irrigation Scheduling: The Use of the Pressure Bomb to Fine Tune Your Irrigations” by Bruce Lampinen, almond and walnut specialist, Pomology Department UC Davis.
• “The PMA Project: What We’ve Learned in Three Years” by Mario Viveros.

The PMA is a cooperative project funded by a grant from the state Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to study a reduced risk system of almond production through use of alternative products and practices, on-site demonstrations and grower education. The Kern County PMA project is one of three projects funded by the grant. The other demonstration orchards are located in Stanislaus and Butte counties. PMA partners include the Almond Board of California, the Almond Hullers and Processors Association, the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Further information about the PMA project is available from PMA Project Administrator Mark Looker at (209) 575-2094.

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