Kern County Pest Control Advisor Awarded CAPCA Member of the Year

Jeff Rasmussen Honored at CAPCA

By Colby Tibbet, California Ag Today Reporter

At the 40th Annual Meeting of the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA) in Anaheim this week, Jeff Rasmussen, a pest control advisor with Crop Production Services in Kern County was recognized as the CAPCA Member of the Year.

“I’m humbled, it’s an awesome feeling to be presented with an award by your peers, and they appreciate all the efforts that we as a team have accomplished,” said Rasmussen.

Rasmussen is among a small group of PCAs who spearheaded the important Spray Safe program, which was created in Kern County in 2006 by a group of Kern County farmers and PCAs. Spray Safe was designed to reduce spray drift, enhance worker safety, and protect public health through more effective communications among farmers about pending and ongoing pesticide applications.

Rasmussen and the others dedicated time to solve a problem, “and since then we have stuck together and resolved the problem of spray drift. Proactive involvement can make a difference.”

“It’s the ‘Three C’s’: collaborate, connect, and commit, that has been our focus point. It’s a matter of the industry stepping up and taking responsibility, and continuing to own and protect that space,” said Rasmussen.

Ultimately, according to the Spray Safe website, the goal of the program is to instill increased resolve among farmers to take every precaution necessary to ensure public safety – this is particularly so when it comes to protecting farm workers and field crews.

At the heart of Spray Safe is a checklist.

The photo shows Jess Rasmussen, left, and his family at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, following his honor.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 23rd, 2014|

ACP Quarantine Expands in Kern, Santa Clara Counties

By Laurie Greene; Cal Ag Today Editor

Following the detection of an Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) south of the City of Bakersfield in Kern County, an additional portion of Kern County has been placed under quarantine for the ACP. Likewise, following the detection of psyllids in the City of San Jose near Kelly Park, the first detection of ACPs in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area, a portion of northwestern Santa Clara County has been placed under ACP quarantine.

The additional Kern County quarantine zone measures 148-square miles in and around the City of Bakersfield, bordering on the north by New Stine Road; on the east by S Vineland Road; on the south by Millux Road; and on the west by Interstate 5.

The Santa Clara County quarantine zone measures 99-square miles, bordered on the north by Alum Rock Park; on the south by Santa Teresa Blvd; on the west by N Monroe Street; and on the east by Joseph D Grant County Park.

The ACP is an invasive species of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species, such as curry trees, are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. Once a tree becomes infected, there is no cure; the diseased tree will decline in health and produce bitter, misshaped fruit until it dies.

Though the ACP is a dangerous pest of citrus, the fruit is safe to eat and HLB is not harmful to human health, according to Joe Deviney, Santa Clara County Agricultural Commissioner.

USDA’s free “Save Our Citrus” iTunes app

Residents in the area who think they may have seen ACP or symptoms of HLB on their citrus trees are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked not to transport citrus fruit or leaves, potted citrus trees, or curry leaves from the quarantine area. For more information on the ACP and HLB, please visit the CDFA website.

Better yet, if your citrus fruit is misshapen or discolored or your citrus tree looks sick, send a photo with the new, free SAVE OUR CITRUS app from the USDA. Residents can easily report symptoms, upload a photo and receive a response back from citrus experts. The app includes information and diagnostic tools for all four leading citrus diseases: citrus greening, citrus canker, citrus black spot and sweet orange scab.

Elsewhere in the state, ACP quarantines are now in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura, and portions of Fresno, Kern, and San Luis Obispo counties.

The disease itself, HLB, has been detected just once in California, in 2012, on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, and is known to be present in Mexico and in parts of the southern U.S. Florida first detected the psyllid in 1998 and the disease in 2005, but the two have spread to all 30 citrus-producing counties in the state. The University of Florida estimates HLB has caused the loss of more than 6,600 lost jobs, $1.3 billion in lost grower revenue and $3.6 billion in lost economic activity. The HLB disease is also present in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas, and the ACP pest–but not the disease–detected in Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, and Mississippi.

(Photo Credit: UCANR)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 23rd, 2014|

Researchers Combat Aquatic Weeds

Aquatic Weeds Interfere with Water Flow, But There are Strategies for Eradication

By Kyle Buchoff, California Ag Today Reporter

John Madsen is a Research Biologist with the USDA and is the Site Coordinator for The Aquatic Weed Research Facility at UC Davis. One of the goals of this lab is to identify aquatic weeds that might hinder the flow of irrigation water through canals, ditches or farms.

Madsen, explained, “There are many species of aquatic plants that will infest irrigation ditches and other canals and interfere with the passage of irrigation water. Some of the main species are Hydrilla, a noxious weed in California, and in the Delta, Egeria densa or Brazilian elodea. California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways is working on the weeds in the delta.”

Madsen said once the species is identified, the grower must choose the correct herbicide to control the weeds, “Species identification is very important, since different species are susceptible to different herbicides. There are also water restrictions on herbicides. You have make sure you choose the right herbicide for controlling the weed but also make sure it fits the constraints of the habitat. Some herbicides cannot be used too close to irrigation, the water source or drinking water, while others have fewer restrictions.”

Mike Blankinship with Davis, CA-based Blankinship & Associates, a firm that specializes in aquatic weed management, said, “Among the things that we provide are services to various growers and irrigation districts to help them understand their weeds, manage them and ultimately deliver water efficiently. Working with John and others in the irrigation community throughout California, we have come up with a variety of plans and tools that include aquatic herbicides to manage the water supply and deliver it to growers efficiently.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:19-07:00October 16th, 2014|

USDA to Help Farmers Diversify Weed Control Efforts

USDA Addresses Herbicide Resistant Weed Control

Edited by California Ag Today

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced TODAY the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking steps to address the increase of herbicide resistant weeds in the country’s agricultural systems.

In California, glyphosate resistant weeds are found throughout the state, and growers are warned to minimize using the material back-to-back during weed control. More information can be found http://info.ucanr.org/weed_sept/.

“Weed control in major crops is almost entirely accomplished with herbicides today,” said Vilsack. “USDA, working in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, must continue to identify ways to encourage producers to adopt diverse tactics for weed management in addition to herbicide control. The actions we are taking today are part of this effort.”

To help farmers manage their herbicide-resistant weeds more holistically and sustainably:

USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) will offer financial assistance under its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for herbicide resistant weed control practices that utilize Integrated Pest Management plans and practices.
Later this year NRCS will be soliciting proposals under the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Program for innovative conservation systems that address herbicide resistant weeds.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will actively promote use of best management practices (BMPs) in design protocols for regulated authorized releases of genetically engineered (GE) crops and will include recommendations for BMPs with the authorization of field trials of HR crops.
USDA is partnering with the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) and is providing funds to develop education and outreach materials for various stakeholders on managing herbicide resistant weeds. The Secretary has directed Dr. Sheryl Kunickis, Director of the USDA Office of Pest Management Policy, as the point person leading this effort with the USDA.

USDA works with the EPA

The issue of herbicide resistant weeds has become one of increasing importance for agriculture. When herbicides are repeatedly used to control weeds, the weeds that survive herbicide treatment can multiply and spread.

With EPA’s announcement TODAY on the registration of new uses for herbicide mixtures containing the herbicides 2,4-D and glyphosate (in the Enlist® formulation) in conjunction with new genetically-engineered crop varieties, farmers have more tools for improved management of emerging populations of herbicide-resistant weeds in corn and soybeans crops. In its decision for 2,4-D use on genetically modified corn and soybean, EPA has outlined new requirements for registrants as part of a product stewardship program.

The USDA Office of Pest Management Policy worked with EPA to address the issue of herbicide resistance through appropriate label language that will require registrants to develop a stewardship program for the herbicide, develop training and education on proper use of the product that includes diversifying weed management, investigate and report nonperformance, and develop and implement a remediation plan for suspected herbicide resistant weeds.

EPA intends to require the same stewardship plans for all new applications for product registration on genetically modified crops with the goal being to encourage effective resistance management while maintaining needed flexibility for growers.

USDA recognizes that the problem of herbicide resistant weed control will not be solved solely through the application of new herbicides. USDA has worked with the Weed Science Society of America for a number of years on identifying best management practices for farmers and on addressing impediments to adoption of those practices.

USDA will continue to work to ensure that growers have the diverse tools they need to address the management of herbicide resistant weeds.

Sources: USDA, CDFA

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:19-07:00October 15th, 2014|

Central Valley Nematodes Cause $1.5 of Crop Damage Each Year

Root-knot Nematode Lowers Vegetable Crop Yields in the Central Valley

By Kyle Buchoff, California Ag Today Reporter

Nematodes are generally harmless, tiny roundworms found in the soil. However, the root-knot nematode, which lives in hotter climates such as in the Central Valley, can inflict havoc on crops, especially vegetables.

J. Ole Becker, Extension Specialist of Nematology at UC Riverside, described the big problems these tiny organisms create for growers, “Nematodes are an underestimated disease problem. They are probably costing California agriculture at least $1.5 billion each year in lost production. Our major problem is root-knot nematodes; we have four or five species causing problems throughout the state.”

Root-knot nematodes were named due to the way they entwine themselves around the root of the plant, which can dramatically decrease the plant’s yield. Becker explained that tools and strategies available to growers minimally affect crops and the environment, “We now have second and third generation products entering the market that are as effective, but much less toxic, then what was available twenty years ago. They also have shorter entry time.”

According to the UC Riverside Department of Nematology website, millions of species of nematodes cover all seven continents, but only a small fraction affect our food supply.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:20-07:00October 15th, 2014|

UC Davis Professor Suggests Update to Agricultural Cooperative Extension

There is a Growing Network of New Technology to Update Cooperative Extension and Help California’s Farmers

By Diane Nelson, Senior Writer, UC Davis Ag and Environmental Sciences

California’s growers and ranchers get their agricultural information from multiple sources in a variety of ways. Intuitively, most of us know that. But new research by UC Davis Professor Mark Lubell, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, provides empirical evidence that the state’s agriculture community relies on a network of people using new information technologies to make land-use and orchard-management decisions.

Mark Lubell, professor of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis (Source: UC Davis)

Mark Lubell, UC Davis Professor of Environmental Science and Policy (Source: UC Davis)

“Over the last century, agricultural knowledge systems have evolved into networks of widely distributed actors with a diversity of specializations and expertise,” said Lubell, lead author of, “Extension 3.0: Managing Agricultural Knowledge Systems in the Network Age,” research recently published in Society & Natural Resources.

Lubell and his team hope their work will help agriculture cooperative extension programs harness the potential of these evolving personal and professional networks and make them explicit components of their outreach strategies.

Extension 3.0

Since land-grant universities were created in the late 19^th century, University of California Cooperative Extension has been the state’s main campus-to-community connection that delivers sound, scientific data to growers and ranchers, landowners, environmental groups, and consumers to help develop practical solutions to real-world problems. In the early days, extension specialist shared information in person, meeting with farmers in fields or coffee shops or town halls.

The system has evolved over time, as farming has become more specialized. And the systems still works, said Lubell and coauthors Meredith Niles, UC Davis ecology alumna, and Matthew Hoffman, grower program coordinator with the Lodi Winegrape Commission. But, they argue, it could use an update. They outline a case for what Lubell calls “Extension 3.0,” a modern model for agriculture extension that capitalizes on social learning, information technology, and evolving networks of expertise.

Reviewing 10 years of surveys, Lubell’s team studied how California’s growers and ranchers make farming decisions and who they turn to for advice. They learned that Cooperative Extension specialists and farm advisers are still primary trusted sources, but respondents are also influenced by pest control advisors, local leaders, commodity groups, sales representatives, fellow farmers, and others.

“Our research provides an empirical layer to support what many Cooperative Extension specialists and advisors already do,” Hoffman said. “It’s about making sure information reaches the right people in the right way at the right place and time.”

The authors are not calling to eliminate traditional extension professionals nor suggesting all current outreach strategies be converted to more modern methods like social media, webinars and smartphone applications.

“Instead, Extension 3.0 seeks to understand how personal networks and new information and communication technologies can work together,” Lubell said.

The authors recognize social media is already a part of agricultural extension, and they know they aren’t the first to recognize its importance. But they encourage extension programs to formalize social media, information technology, and network science as part of their hiring, training and outreach strategies.

“Extension systems and professionals must be experimental, adaptive and creative with program design and implementation to maximize the synergy between experiential, technical and social learning,” Lubell said.

Encouraging conversation

Aubrey White, communications coordinator for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, says she finds news she can use in “Extension 3.0.”

“Understanding key linkages in a community or area of research can dramatically shorten the distance between knowledge-seekers and knowledge-holders,” White said. “Lubell’s article reminds us that extension is not just delivering information, but creating conversation.”

Cooperative Extension specialist Ken Tate, rangeland watershed expert with the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has been a longtime proponent of collaboration and conversation.

“For me, the study reaffirms that we shouldn’t abandon what works — face-to-face meetings, for example — but we have to keep building and adopting new components. Content is the key. We need to produce good science and provide practical solutions, and then use the best means possible to make sure that information reaches the people we serve, and helps meet society’s needs.”

You can read the full journal article on the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior website.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:20-07:00October 15th, 2014|

IR-4 on Process and Trends of Biopesticides

Michael Braverman manages biopesticides for Rutgers University’s IR-4 Project in Princeton, New Jersey. The IR- 4 Project helps with research to get these safe and effective pest management products registered for use in specialty crops, the cornerstone of California agriculture.

“We have two main objectives,” said Braverman. “We have an efficacy grant program, where we fund researchers all across the United States to conduct field or greenhouse trials involving biopesticides to see how they can fit into real-world production systems. The other part of our program is a regulatory assistance program. Biopesticides, like any crop protection products on the market, require EPA registration. We work with university researchers who may have discovered a new organism, a plant extract or whatever it may be, and we help guide them through the EPA registration process,” said Braverman.

“There is certainly a trend towards use of biopesticides,” Braverman observed. “If you notice, major manufacturers—all the biggest companies—are now investing in research or purchasing smaller companies that are involved in the biopesticide market. So it’s really expanding very rapidly,” said Braverman.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:33:22-07:00October 3rd, 2014|

Pacific Legal Foundation Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court Over Water Cutbacks Based on Delta Smelt Biological Opinion

On behalf of San Joaquin Valley almond, walnut, and pistachio growers, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed an appeal TODAY, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision this past March that upheld the Delta smelt “biological opinion” — an Endangered Species Act regulation that has caused devastating water cutbacks in Central and Southern California, worsening the effects of the current drought.

PLF’s petition for certiorari asks the High Court to reconsider — and reverse — the controversial precedent on which the Ninth Circuit relied: the Supreme Court’s 1978 decision in TVA v. Hill, which gives a blank check for onerous species regulations, “whatever the cost.”

PLF’s appeal: Regulators broke their own rules by ignoring economic impacts

Listed as “threatened” under the ESA, the smelt is a three-inch fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In a controversial strategy to help the smelt, regulations under the 2008 “biop” send vast quantities of fresh water directly to the ocean — instead of storing it behind dams or pumping south for use in cities and towns and on farms. However, the smelt hasn’t improved — but the economy has suffered, with even more severe effects as the natural drought has set in.

PLF has been battling the Delta smelt water cutbacks for many years, and once before sought Supreme Court review, in our separate challenge based on the Commerce Clause.

PLF’s current case is based on the fact that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated its own regulations in drafting the Delta smelt biop. Specifically, the biop’s drafters ignored the potential harms — even though they were supposed to take economic considerations into account.

Damien M. Schiff, Principal Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation’s National Litigation Center

“Under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s own rules, officials must consider economic impacts of proposed ESA regulations,” said PLF Principal Attorney Damien Schiff. “But with the smelt biop they bypassed this requirement. We’re asking the Supreme Court to call them out for not making good on their legal duty — and on their duty to the public interest.

“The economic impacts that regulators ignored have been tremendous — and tremendously negative,” Schiff continued. “Even before the drought, pumping restrictions fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, contributing to unemployment of 40 percent in some rural communities. In Southern California, we saw what amounts to a Delta smelt tax, with water rates hiked by 17 percent or more in some areas.

“The biop has also worsened the impacts of the drought,” he added. “It reduced the amount of water that was stored when we had ample rainfall and should have been saving for the dry times.”

PLF asks Supreme Court to help drought-stricken Californiaby rejecting the Delta smelt biop — and the “anti-human” TVA v. Hill

In 2010, then-U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger, of Fresno, struck down the Delta smelt biop, holding that it had been drafted “arbitrarily and capriciously,” with “sloppy science and uni-directional prescriptions that ignore California’s water needs.”

However, this past March, a divided Ninth Circuit panel reversed Wanger’s order that the biop be rewritten. Although the Ninth Circuit acknowledged that the biop is a “chaotic document,” poorly reasoned and written, the court cited TVA v. Hill in upholding it.

“The Ninth Circuit’s ruling was another example of the anti-human bias of TVA v. Hill and its staggering assertion that species protection takes absolute precedence over all other considerations,” said Schiff. “As California suffers a third year of drought, we are asking the Supreme Court for relief from illegal regulatory cutbacks on water — and from the pernicious judicial precedent that is used to justify them.

“TVA’s indifference to the welfare of human beings was a misreading of the Endangered Species Act from the first, but it’s more incorrect than ever today,” Schiff said. “Ironically, the Ninth Circuit’s decision undercuts Congress’ attempts to temper TVA’s extremism. Congress added a framework to the ESA requiring ‘reasonable and prudent alternative[s]’ when protecting species. The FWS’s rule for considering economic impacts furthers this purpose of bringing balance to the process. Yet the Ninth Circuit has permitted the agency to violate that rule and ignore the devastating impact of water cutbacks on families, farms, businesses, and the California economy.

“In recent years the U.S. Supreme Court has begun to back away from TVA,” Schiff noted. “The Delta smelt case offers the court an opportunity to help drought-scorched California — and to finally overturn this radical and harmful precedent.”

PLF represents Central Valley farmers

In all of PLF’s legal efforts against the Delta smelt regulations, PLF attorneys represent three farms in California’s San Joaquin Valley that have been seriously affected, since 2008, by the water cutbacks: Stewart & Jasper Orchards (an almond and walnut farm); Arroyo Farms (an almond farm); and King Pistachio Grove (a pistachio farm). PLF represents the clients in this case — as in all our cases — free of charge.

The case is Stewart & Jasper Orchards v. Jewell. PLF’s petition for certiorari, a video, a blog post, and a podcast, are available at: www.pacificlegal.org.

About Pacific Legal Foundation

Donor-supported Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org) is a nonprofit public interest watchdog organization that litigates for limited government, property rights, and a balanced approach to environmental regulation, in courts across the country. PLF represents all clients free of charge.

Patrick Cavanaugh2018-04-23T12:23:43-07:00October 1st, 2014|

Asian Citrus Psyllid Quarantine Covers Tulare County Completely

UPDATE: The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Quarantine covers Tulare County, in its entirety, following the detection of two psyllids in the City of Tulare. The first ACP was detected in a trap in a residential neighborhood on September 10, in the City of Tulare. The second detection was on September 17, also in a residential setting within the City of Tulare. These detections, when added to previous detections elsewhere in the county, dictate that a county-wide quarantine is the most effective response to contain the pest. A map is available online at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/go/acp-quarantine

The quarantine prohibits the movement of host nursery stock out of the quarantine area and requires that all citrus fruit be either cleaned of leaves and stems or treated in a manner to eliminate ACP prior to moving out of the quarantine area. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked to not remove fruit from the quarantine area.

In addition to quarantines in portions of Fresno, Kern, and San Luis Obispo counties, ACP entire-county quarantines remain in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

The ACP is an invasive species of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. There is no cure once a tree becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health until it dies.

HLB has been detected just once in California – in 2012 on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County. HLB is known to be present in Mexico and in parts of the southern U.S. Florida first detected the psyllid in 1998 and the disease in 2005, and the two have been detected in all 30 citrus-producing counties in that state. The University of Florida estimates the disease has tallied more than 6,600 lost jobs, $1.3 billion in lost revenue to growers and $3.6 billion in lost economic activity. The disease is present in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas. The states of Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, and Mississippi have detected the pest but not the disease.

Residents in the area who think they may have seen the Asian citrus psyllid are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. For more information on the Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease, please visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/acp

Featured Photos, Source: M.E. Rogers, M. Luque-Williams, on CDFA website, “ASIAN CITRUS PSYLLID PEST PROFILE“

Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee Vacancy

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing one vacancy on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee. The Committee advises the CDFA secretary on activities associated with the statewide citrus specific pest and disease work plan that includes, but is not limited to outreach and education programs and programs for surveying, detecting, analyzing, and treating pests and diseases specific to citrus.

The members receive no compensation, but are entitled to payment of necessary travel expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration.

A committee member vacancy exists for a grower representative from Tulare County and will expire on September 30, 2017. Applicants should have an interest in agriculture and citrus pest and disease prevention. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a brief resume by November 1, 2014 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services, 1220 N Street, Room 221, Sacramento, California 95814, Attention: Victoria Hornbaker.

For additional information, contact: Victoria Hornbaker, Program Manager at (916) 654-0317, or e-mail (Victoria.hornbaker@cdfa.ca.gov).

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:33:23-07:00September 29th, 2014|

Plant Scientist Urges Proactive Palmer Amaranth Prevention

By Colby Tibbet, Cal Ag Today reporter

Palmer amaranth, aka Amaranthus palmeri S. watson or carelessweed, is an annual herb of the pigweed species that is native to California where it thrives and poses a serious threat to farming.

Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson – carelessweed (Source on USDA Website: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions.

Lynn Sosnoskie, a project scientist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences who focuses on weed ecology and biology, says Palmer amaranth, spotted on the edge of fields in California, is remarkably aggressive both in growth rate and spread amidst field crops. It develops a lot of wind-blown seeds that spread rapidly.”

“I would suggest that growers in the state of California be particularly diligent about this plant,” said Sosnoskie. “It is a desert annual and is particularly well-adapted to dry environments where it can out-compete, create root growth and achieve stability well. And the recent drought has only escalated the problem.”

“Preventive measures are absolutely essential before this plant becomes established,” continued Sosnoskie. “We found out the hard way in the Southeastern U.S. that Palmer amaranth produces an exceptional number of seeds; if even one plant is missed by applications or escapes regular herbicide applications, that plant can essentially repopulate an entire field.”

“So its absolutely essential that growers here and everywhere become familiar with the weed and remove all plants quickly from a field before it hits reproductive maturity and forms seed,” she said.

Sosnoskie added that some cotton fields in the south have suffered up to 50 percent yield losses and worse. “Some growers have actually abandoned their fields and haven’t harvested their cotton for those years,” said Sosnoskie.

Sources and Resources: