Executive Summary

The Almond Pest Management Alliance (PMA) was initiated by the Almond Board of California and formed in 1998 to evaluate the possibility of managing economic pests by implementing reduced risk pesticides. Working closely with the Almond Hullers and Processors Association, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the University of California Statewide IPM Project, and University of California Cooperative Extension, an alliance was formed to study reduced risk practices in California almonds. This collaborative approach grew out of two major concerns: The implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 with possible loss of some traditional crop protection tools, and growing public concern over water quality standards in the San Joaquin River and Sacramento River watersheds, with possible links to pesticides used by almond growers.

The Almond Board of California initiated discussions among various industry stakeholders to look at the possibility of forming a cooperative effort to pursue a grant available from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Those industry stakeholders include the Almond Board of California, the Almond Hullers and Processors Association, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the University of California Statewide IPM Project, and University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) almond farm advisors. The PMA project is now in its third year of reduced risk implementation, thereby demonstrating a commitment by the Almond industry, the University, and by the almond growers.

Because of the enormous scope of the California almond industry which encompasses approximately 585,000 acres, ranging from Bakersfield to Red Bluff, and the wide range of pests and regional variables, the PMA continues to rely on three regional projects. These projects are located in the Northern Sacramento Valley (Butte County), the Central San Joaquin Valley (Stanislaus County) and the Southern San Joaquin Valley (Kern County). Each project consists of an orchard that is divided into a conventional practice treatment and a reduced risk treatment. There are variations to the reduced risk practice with various degrees of reduced risk practices. Each project is directed by the local UCCE farm advisor who establishes the plot and best addresses local pest concerns and growing conditions that would be relevant to the local growers. The advisors employ a field scout who performs the extensive monitoring required.

The target pests addressed across all three projects continue to be navel orangeworm (NOW), peach twig borer (PTB), San Jose scale, mites, and ants. Diseases, cover crops, and fertilizer applications are studied on a regional basis. Smaller satellite projects compliment the PMA orchard demonstration sites by providing research about regional issues.

Other aspects of the dynamic Almond PMA are frequent communications among the Advisory team, analysis of pesticide use reports, outreach and extension of the most current information through meetings and mailings, and project evaluation.

Overall, we can conclude that the extension of information and outreach to growers is critical to adopting reduced risk practices. The University of California involvement is paramount to ensure scientific credibility is being employed throughout the project. The success of the PMA project essentially rests on the proactive growers who are willing to be innovative and take risks in order to give reduced risk practices validity. Finally, we can conclude that we are building a foundation of pest information that may result in a better understanding of economic pests.

Future improvements of the Almond PMA are to:

1. Increase monitoring through the dormant season,

2. Incorporate an unsprayed control treatment into each orchard, and

3. Implement smaller, more frequent, more regionally based field meetings regarding reduced risk practices.

In conclusion, the second year of Almond PMA demonstrated the following:

• Reduced risk practices appear to be controlling the pests below economic damage levels.
• Extensive orchard monitoring is key to the success of this approach.
• Other pest populations begin to build as a result of altering spray programs.
• Growers in the Almond PMA have made an unselfish commitment to continue to study reduced risk programs by remaining in the PMA for a continuous third year
• Almond growers are interested in reduced risk practices and continue to be proactive in adopting these practices.
• A commitment for multiyear funding is needed to obtain scientifically valid data on which growers and PCA's can make sound economic and environmental decisions regarding reduced risk programs.