Almond Pest Management Alliance Final Report

INTRODUCTION

The Almond Pest Management Alliance (PMA) was funded by a $98,976 grant awarded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) for the crop year Aug. 1, 1999 to July 31, 200. The proposal is titled "To Promote a Reduced-Risk System of Almond Production Through Alternative Practices. This report is the product of the second year funding. A third year of funding was awarded for the crop year Aug. 1, 2000 to July 31, 2001.

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 are members of the Almond PMA.

Structurally, the Almond PMA is managed by a team composed of representatives from each of the identified organizations, as well as a private Pest Control Advisor (PCA.) The team meets on a quarterly basis to review the progress and make decisions about its future course. The administrative functions are overseen by the Almond Board of California.

The Almond PMA established the following basic objectives in Year One and they continue to be relevant through subsequent years of funding.

• Establish orchard sites in three different almond-growing regions to collect data regarding almond pest management practices that reduce risks associated with pesticide use.
• Conduct extensive orchard monitoring and specific research activities that address localized pest control and almond production practices.
• Provide almond growers with updated information on available reduced risk pest control practices so they can make informed choices about alternatives.
• Promote and extend information to growers to ensure California almond growers understand the need for a reduced risk system that has the ability to reduce pesticides and sustain profitability.
• Evaluate the risk reduction achieved as a result of this project by producing a final report that includes not only a projection of the risk reduced, but a discussion of the costs and benefits of the solution and the practicality of adoption.

The implementation of the federal Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) and the increased public and regulatory concerns regarding water quality in the San Joaquin River and Sacramento River watersheds were the catalysts for the formation of the Almond PMA. The project objectives to successfully deal with these issues were decided upon by the Almond PMA advisory team. In order to successfully fulfill these objectives, the PMA team has formed a positive relationship with the growers involved, remains abreast of farming techniques, researches pesticide use trends, maintains interest by extending information by field meetings and newsletter, and finally, draws conclusions in reports.

To complement the objectives involved in the Almond PMA, tasks were designed to accomplish the goal of reducing pesticide use.

• Task 1 is to assemble an Advisory team that meets and keep the project moving forward.
• Tasks 2 through Task 4 consist of the individual orchards in each region – Butte, Stanislaus and Kern county.
• Task 5 is to research pesticide use in each of the regional PMA sites.
• Outreach and education to the growers comprise Task 6. Task 6 is the accumulation of field meetings, newsletters, and news articles relating to the Almond PMA.
• Task 7 is the project evaluation.

The target pests addressed across all three regional projects continue to be navel orangeworm (NOW), peach twig borer (PTB,) San Jose scale, mites and ants. These pests, in general, pose the greatest economic challenge to California almond growers.

The PMA is an efficient way to practically implement many years of research on alternative and reduced risk management techniques, and to demonstrate their effectiveness and costs as they relate to more conventional pest management practices. By applying the vast body of knowledge accumulated over the years by the University of California the Alliance’s goal is to study and demonstrate reduced risk practices on a large scale in regional settings.

The Almond Board of California has been supporting an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system for more than 25 years. During the 1997-98 crop year, the Almond Board funded ten IPM projects for a total of $190,270. These projects have helped reduce the use of pesticides through such studies as: Navel orangeworm Orchard Sanitation and Early Harvest, Reducing Dormant Spray Hazards, Pheromones for Peach twig borer, and Alternatives for Soil Fumigation with Methyl Bromide. Results of these research projects are available from the Almond Board of California. The Board has also received an "IPM Innovator Award" from CDPR for its innovative leadership role in the field of IPM.

The UC Statewide IPM Project is well recognized for its national leadership on IPM. The IPM Project publishes the well-respected IPM for Almonds Manual. This publication states, "A good IPM program coordinates pest management activities with cultural operations to achieve economical and long-lasting solutions to pest problems." The Almond PMA is an important program to implement reduced risk farming practices and find cultural and long-lasting solutions for almond growers.

Reduced risk strategies such as CAFF's Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) program seek to demonstrate that a small, but growing number of almond producers have been successfully reducing their insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer inputs without affecting yield or quality. Most program growers have experience with individual components of the system, such as Bt sprays and insect releases. By combining these with seeded cover crops, modified mowers, increased monitoring, and habitat enhancement, BIOS growers have replaced the broad-spectrum chemical control on their farms with biological processes and selective insecticides.