New Citrus PSA Shows Homeowners HLB Threat

New Citrus PSA Shows Homeowners HLB Threat

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

Without the involvement and aid of backyard citrus growers to prevent the spread of the invasive Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) and the citrus-deadly Huanglongbing (HLB) disease vectored by the ACP, consumers would no longer have the opportunity to enjoy fresh citrus. “Deadly Plant Disease Threatens California Citrus,“ the newest public service announcement (PSA) from California Citrus Pest Disease and Prevention Program (CCPDPP) conveys this message to residential citrus growers, according to Joel Nelsen, California Citrus Mutual (CCM) president, in order to keep all citrus safe from HLB.

Nelsen said the citrus PSA announcement “shows a family in the backyard barbequing and doing what families do on a weekend.”  They walk over to their row of three citrus trees in the backyard when an orange falls off the tree and disappears, followed by the disappearance of all three trees. Nelsen said the PSA zeros in on the family members’ confusion at the disappearance of the oranges and the trees, all associated with the HLB infection.

CCPDPP’s new PSA is a way for homeowners to understand the importance of keeping citrus safe from HLB, said Nelsen, ”because as much as they’re emotionally tied to their trees, so are the growers in our industry. We don’t want to see anyone’s tree get eliminated because of HLB.”

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Prevent HLB; Check Your Citrus Trees for Asian Citrus Psyllid

In a new four-minute video, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) scientists encourage California farmers and home citrus growers to check new growth on their citrus trees for Asian citrus psyllid infestation. As ACPs spread Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, a serious, incurable threat to both the citrus industry and backyard citrus trees, scientists aim to minimize the ACP population until researchers find a cure.

A flush of new leaf growth on citrus trees announces spring in California. The emergence of feathery light green leaves is particularly attractive to Asian citrus psyllids (ACP), signaling a critical time to determine if the trees are infested with ACPs.

“We encourage home citrus growers and farmers to go out with a magnifying glass or hand lens and look closely at the new growth,” said Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) citrus entomologist. “Look for the various stages of the psyllid – small yellow eggs, sesame-seed sized yellow ACP young with curly white tubules, or aphid-like adults that perch with their hind quarters angled up.Save Our Citrus

Pictures of the ACP and its life stages are on the UC ANR website. Call the California Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Exotic Pest Hotline at (800) 491-1899 with any findings.

The UC ANR ACP website provides help in finding the pest and taking action.

(Source: UC ANR)

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2021-05-12T11:03:03-07:00March 30th, 2016|

Citrus Growers Form ACP Management Areas

Commercial Citrus Growers Form Local ACP Management Areas

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

 

Commercial citrus growers are banding together to prevent the spread of the citrus-deadly Huanglongbing (HLB) disease and the pest that spreads it—the Asian Citrus Pysllid (ACP). Beth Grafton-Cardwell, an IPM specialist and research entomologist at UC Riverside and Director of UC ANR Lindcove Research & Extension Center, said growers are forming ACP management areas to prevent ACP from spreading HLB.

Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell

Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell

“ACP management areas are being formed by the citrus industry and community,” Grafton-Cardwell said. “They’re basically saying, ‘Let’s get together. Let’s form these groups of growers—25 to 35 growers in an area. Let’s work together as neighbors to treat across a large area and get more of the psyllids killed than if we each treated individually at different times.’”

HLB is a serious concern to growers, according to Grafton-Cardwell; the disease has already devastated the citrus industry in Florida. “We want to prevent that from happening here,” shel said.

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, ACP notices posted thus far in the first quarter of 2016 include the following areas:

            COUNTY                                                                 CITY

   Fresno County   Fresno
   Kern County   Bakersfield, Shafter, Wasco
   Imperial County   Bard, Brawley area, Calipatria, Niland, Winterhaven, Zone 7
   Los Angeles County   La Puente, San Gabriel
   Riverside County   Hemet, Riverside, San Jacinto
   San Bernardino County   Cadiz
   San Diego County   De Luz, Escondido, Fallbrook, Ramona, San Diego
   San Joaquin County   Stockton
   Santa Barbara County   Areawide, Buellton, Casmalia, Garey, Orcutt, Santa Maria, Sisquoc
   Santa Clara County   Milpitas, San Jose
   Stanislaus County   Oakdale
   Tulare County   Porterville, Strathmore
2021-05-12T11:03:03-07:00March 17th, 2016|

Semios Approved for Navel Orangeworm Control

Semios Aerosol Pheromone Approved for Navel Orangeworm Control


Announced TODAY, Semios, a leading provider of real-time agricultural information and precision pest management tools, has received US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval and California Department of Pest Regulation (DPR) approval for aerosol pheromone biopesticide products that disrupt the mating of the Navel Orangeworm (NOW).  
Michael Gilbert, founder and CEO of Semios said, “The Navel Orangeworm pest causes significant loss of crop and revenue in the California almond and pistachio industries, and it’s getting worse every year.  The Semios NOW pheromone aerosol formulas give farmers the ability to reduce and control pest populations and, as a result, significantly reduce crop damage.  The Semios pheromone aerosol dispenser is part of a custom-designed controller and sensor network that gives farmers decision-making tools and remote access to the field conditions in real-time- all day, every day.”

Remote Control Makes it Highly Effective

The Semios platform includes in-field camera traps that monitor the number of pests and flight strength, which when combined with wind, temperature and other environmental conditions measured and reported by Semios, optimize pheromone deployment.  The combination of traps, pheromone dispensers and other sensors on the same network means farmers can deploy the right amount of pheromones where and when needed through a single interface.

A Destructive Pest for Many Crops

NOW is the most destructive pest of introduced nut crops. Semios NOW Plus and Semios NOW Standard (for organic growers) are available for control of NOW in orchards growing walnuts, pistachios, almonds, dates, figs, citrus, pome and stone fruits.

 

Sustainable Solution

Pheromones are a naturally occurring part of the communication systems used by insects.  Semios uses pheromones to disrupt the mating cycle of insects, thus diminishing pest populations and reducing crop damage.  Pheromones do not kill or damage the target insects and, as pheromones are species-specific and only target the specific pest, pollinators and other beneficial insect species are not affected.

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About Semios

Semios is a leading precision farming platform that provides real-time information and pest management tools for the tree fruit, nut and grape growers.   Semios combines hardware with powerful secure online software that monitors field and weather conditions and allows remote pest monitoring and deployment of mating disruption pheromones. It’s easy to use, reduces labor and allows farmers to make decisions that preserve and increase crop value.
2021-05-12T11:03:03-07:00March 2nd, 2016|

Joel Nelsen on New Cases of HLB in San Gabriel

Joel Nelsen on New Cases of HLB in San Gabriel

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate EditorSave Our Citrus

On Wednesday of last week, two more trees, an orange and a kumquat, were found infected with the citrus-deadly Huanglongbing (HLB) disease in the core of San Gabriel. The trees are located on separate properties. One has been removed, and the other is awaiting the owner’s permission for removal. Last summer, 10 diseased trees were confirmed in the San Gabriel area, and a quarantine, already in place since then, will not need to be expanded.

Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual, commented on the HLB discovery, “The two trees were found in the core area, pretty adjacent to the others that were found in San Gabriel,” Nelsen said. The finding “is a result of the program and its intensity in continuing to look for positive HLB finds. Unfortunately, these two trees were positive. The Asian Citrus Psyllids (ACP) in the area have been treated. One tree has already been pulled. The other homeowner wasn’t home so we’re hoping for cooperation there. It’s not positive, but again it shows that the program is trying to find HLB before it finds the commercial citrus industry.”

2021-05-12T11:03:04-07:00February 8th, 2016|

Agriculture Detector K-9 on Duty!

Agriculture Detector K-9 on Duty!

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

[embedvideo id=”Il2TOH1NvOM” website=”youtube”]

California Ag Today’s associate broadcaster Charmayne Hefley recently asked Soya, a mixed-breed agriculture detector K-9 (canine) with big responsibilities, and Samantha Tomlinson, Soya’s handler with the Fresno County Ag Commissioner’s office, what type of dog Soya is.

ST:      We don’t know exactly what she is for sure, but we’re thinking about getting her DNA-tested someday. We’re thinking she’s a lab-border-collie.

Samantha Tomlinson, Soya and Charmayne Hefley

Samantha Tomlinson, Soya and Charmayne Hefley

CAT:   How long have you and Soya been together?

ST:      We have been matched up since mid-July when we went through the training program in Georgia through the National Detector Dog Training Center.

CAT:   What is Soya able to do for the Ag Commissioner’s office?

ST:      Soya smells out parcels for potential plant material and she alerts us [to suspicious ones] by scratching. We check to see if [the material] has been properly certified and if it’s good to go.

CAT:   What are some of her recent detections?

ST:      She can detect a number of things. She was initially trained on five scents: mango, stone fruit, apple, guava, and citrus. From there, through scent association, she’s been able to find a number of additional agricultural materials, including avocados, blueberries, nuts, soil, cut flowers; anything that is plant material, Soya can find.

CAT:   What region does Soya cover?

ST:      Right now we’ve been covering only Fresno County because we still are in what we call the “acclimation phase,” as she’s still new. We’ve been working at FedEx and UPS, but we’ll broaden our horizons eventually and we’ll be in the post office, GSO, OnTrac, any service that ships parcels.”

CAT:   How important is it for the agricultural industry to have dogs like Soya working for it?

ST:      Well Soya and I are considered a “first line of defense” for California’s multi-billion dollar ag industry. She is in the facilities checking boxes sent from potentially quarantined areas from within the state and from outside the state for materials that may contain any pests or diseases that could prove detrimental to California agriculture.

CAT:   People may not know when they’re shipping certain items—certain plant materials—from one county to the next that the destination county may have a quarantine in place. How do people properly ship plant material?

ST:      Every county is actually different. If you are thinking of shipping some of your backyard fruits to your nephew or grandson, I would contact your local ag commissioner and make sure there are not any quarantines in place for both the county you’re shipping from and the county you’re shipping to. In these facilities, we look for boxes to be properly labeled with the growing origin and we inspect thye contents inside. Depending on what is inside, where it’s grown and where it’s going, we act accordingly.

2016-05-31T19:24:13-07:00February 5th, 2016|

Breaking News: New HLB Infected Tree in San Gabriel

Breaking News

Citrus Insider Reports New HLB Confirmed in San Gabriel

Today, two additional trees in have tested positive for Huanglongbing (HLB). The two trees, an orange and a kumquat, are on separate properties but are both within the core area in San Gabriel where 10 diseased trees were confirmed last summer. Given the close proximity, there will not be a quarantine expansion.

One of the HLB-positive trees has already been removed and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) officials are in the process of contacting the other homeowner to schedule tree removal. Agriculture officials are working quickly in the area.

Citrus trees in San Gabriel had already been treated for the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) within the last few weeks as part of CDFA’s routine HLB response. ACP populations are closely monitored in areas where HLB has been detected and treatments occur if there is a noted increase in population size. Since trees have been recently protected, no additional treatments will take place at this time. Instead, CDFA will focus on sampling extensively in the area. Much of the area has already been sampled and CDFA’s lab has identified all samples from San Gabriel as high priority.

The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program is working with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner’s office and CDFA to develop a multilingual informational flyer to notify residents of the significance of these finds and potential implications to other citrus trees in the area. CDFA staff will distribute this information as they go door-to-door sampling and surveying.

More information will be shared as it is available. In the meantime, the citrus industry is encouraged to keep a critical eye on all plant material moving into or out of your groves and recommends taking the following steps so collectively, as a team, we can all save our citrus trees.

-Remove all leaves and stems

-Shake out picking bags

-Inspect harvesting equipment

-Educate fieldworkers

-Get on board with area-wide treatments

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Additional Links:

Citrus Insider

Save Our Citrus

California Citrus Mutual

2021-05-12T11:03:04-07:00February 3rd, 2016|

Greg Douhan is New Citrus Farm Advisor

UCCE Tulare Welcomes New Citrus Farm Advisor

By Brian German, Associate Director

The UC Cooperative Extension Program has served Tulare County since 1918 and continues to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. UC Cooperative Extension, Tulare County is preparing to welcome their new citrus farm advisor, Greg Douhan, on March 1, 2016. Douhan, who noted his excitement for the opportunity, will be taking the reins from the recently retired Neil O’Connell who gave over 34 years of faithful service advising Tulare County citrus growers.

Douhan shared that his relatives inspired him to focus his career in agriculture. “I had an uncle who was an almond grower when I was a kid. And my grandfather was an avid horticulturalist; he used to graft different trees and I always found that fascinating.”

“As I got older, I decided I was interested in plants, so I went to Humboldt State University. I also got interested in fungi, so I decided to fuse my interests in fungi and in plants and go into plant pathology,” Douhan said.

“I earned my Master’s and Ph.D. at Washington State University, and then completed a post-doc assignment at UC Davis for 3-4 years. I moved to UC Riverside for about 6 years. Now I am here in Tulare County!” 

Cooperative Extension advisors serve as conduits of information from various UC campuses. Subject matter specialists, along with local research centers, collaborate with local advisors to identify and solve local problems through research and educational programs. The mission of the program is to serve California through the creation, development and application of knowledge, in agriculture, natural and human resources. Farm advisors then apply this knowledge to improve our agriculture and food systems along with our natural resources and environment.

“I’ve been working for the UC system basically since I was a post-doc,” Douhan said, “so it has been for many years. I think Cooperative Extension was the best system for working with both the growers and everybody else to better California agriculture,” Douhan said. “This was just an incredible opportunity. I was doing science and looking for another career move, and this was a perfect opportunity to have a next chapter in doing something different.”

_______________________

Link:

Tulare County Cooperative Extension

2016-05-31T19:24:14-07:00February 1st, 2016|

Social Media Minute—January 2016

SOCIAL MEDIA MINUTE—January 2016 Edition

Do you have a farm or ag business that’s not engaged on social media yet? We want YOU to be on top of your social media game! We’ll be sharing tips and pointers to help you get started or improve promotion of your ag-related company through social media.

Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 12.32.07 PM_zpsp95jexpr

Step 1: Create a “Friend” Page or Log In

Today we’ll get you started with Facebook.

Definitions:

  • Friend Page – a personal page for you to make friends of your own and connect with others
  • Fan Page – a public page used to share updates for your farm, ranch, organization or company (these updates can be seen by everyone)

Step 1: Create a “Friend” Page or Log In

(1.1) First things first:  Open your web browser and type facebook.com into the url bar at the top.

Before you can create what is known as a “fan” page for Facebook to post updates and promote your business, you are required to have a Facebook “friend” page.

Already have a “friend” page? Great! Go ahead, log into it and proceed with us. If not, continue with Step 1.2.

(1.2) Enter the required information and click “Sign Up.”

(1.3) Record your information and password in a secure place. Well now, that was easy enough!

Step 2: Creating a "Fan" Page

Step 2: Create a “Fan” Page

Red Left Arrow

 

Step 2: Create a “Fan” Page

This is the most important part! Once you’ve set up your “friend” page it will be time to develop a “fan” page. We’ll walk you step-by-step through the process.

First and foremost, across the top of your page, in the blue border, you’ll notice:

  • your name
  • a “home” button
  • a few other buttons.
  • a little arrow, all the way to the right.

(2.1) Click the little arrow.

The pop up menu that appears next should read, “Create Page” at the top. Don’t worry if it looks different than the sample page (at left) because this was previously created.

(2.2) Click on “Create Page” to continue creating your “fan” page.

 

Step 3: Select the Type of “Fan” Page

Step 3: Selecting the Type of "Fan" Page

Step 3: Selecting the Type of “Fan” Page

At this point, you’ll be prompted to select the type of page. You have the following options:

For the purposes of this tutorial we are going to create a “Company, Organization or Institution” page. No matter what you choose, the overall appearance will generally be the same.

Definitions, for our purposes:

  • Local Business or Place – A location or business such as a bar, restaurant or retailer. This page allows you to define your business hours and price range of products sold. Ideal for fruit stands.
  • Company, Organization or Institution – Ideal for companies, businesses or organizations that don’t need to publicize work hours or prices to the public. Examples could include: CDFA, California Ag Today, Fresno County Farm Bureau.
  • Brand or Product – A specific product, service, organization or campaign you want to promote with trademark or distinctive name, aside from your corporate identity. This page could garner a lot of attention for a specific crop, such as Wonderful® Halos® California Mandarins or Cuties Mandarins.
  • Public Figure – A politician, community leader, reporter, or person of note within the community.
  • Entertainment – (not a likely choice) 
  • Cause or Community – A page to rally for someone suffering from health issues, a family needing help after a tragic accident… Aka pages to rally to help those in the community in need of help.

(3.1) Click on the “Company, Organization or Institution” icon (or another category that works best for your business). You will be prompted for information.

In this case. we were asked to (3.2) “Choose a Category” and (3.3) enter the company name. For this tutorial, we selected “Farming/Agriculture” as our category and named our mythical company “Calagtoday’s Social Media Farm.”

(3.4) Select “Get Started.”

Step 4: Setting up your “Fan” Page

Now you will be directed to enter more information. The first page will ask you (4.1) to enter a brief sentence or two about your page. We described our mythical business as, “Calagtoday’s Social Media Farm page is about teaching people how to use social media to promote their ag businesses.”

Step 4: Setting up your "Fan" Page (cont.)

Step 4: Setting up your “Fan” Page (cont.)

(4.2) We connected it to the californiaagtoday.com website in the next field, and (4.3) entered our Facebook web address or link as, “calagtodaySMfarm” for people to find our page.

(4.4) Once you’ve saved that information you’ll move on to selecting a profile picture.

All profile pictures have a 1:1 ratio, which means they are squares. Keep this in mind so you select a picture or logo that fits properly in your profile box. We took our basic graphic square “CalAgToday” logo and added “Social Media Farm” to it for use as our profile picture.

Our picture was on our computer, so (4.5) we selected “Upload From Computer” to get it onto Facebook.

Step 4: Setting up your "Fan" Page (cont.)

Step 4: Setting up your “Fan” Page (cont.)

(4.6) Your next choice is whether or not you’d like to add your page to your “favorites”—making it easier to find your page on your Facebook home page instead of having to scroll. This becomes extremely useful as you join more Facebook groups and administrate more of your own pages.

Once you’ve made the decision on whether or not you want your page to be accessible in your “favorites” menu [Click on “Add to Favorites”] or not [Click “Skip”] you’ll be prompted (4.7) to narrow your audience. You can choose the location of the audience you’d like to target, the age range, gender and interests. We simply chose to our audience to be those who are interested in “agriculture,” but you can select additional audience interests.

(4.8) After you’ve completed all of these steps, click “Save.” 

Step 5: The "Almost" Finished Page

Step 5: The “Almost” Finished Page

Step 5: The “Almost” Finished Page

Congratulations! You’ve completed the basic steps to create a “fan” page for your ag-related business.

For now, though, pause and admire your work. You’re on the way to advocating for agriculture. Facebook is the first step in the social media puzzle, yet it has the largest audience compared to all other social media pages.

We’ll cover the remaining steps required prior to posting content on your page in our next “Social Media Minute.”

Stay tuned . . .

CAT Facebook

 

 

Now, please go to our company’s real Facebook page, California Ag Today, and “like” us!

2016-05-31T19:24:15-07:00January 21st, 2016|

Red Scale Challenges Citrus

Besides HLB, Red Scale Challenges Citrus

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

While much of the talk in the citrus industry is about how to fend off Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, one of the most devastating citrus diseases, Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, director of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Lindcove Research and Extension Center, reinforced that HLB isn’t the only pest that can overtake California’s citrus orchards.

Grafton-Cardwell explained how last year’s warm winter led to an increase in the California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii, population. “Normally we have cold conditions that kill off the younger instars of the scales and [basically] restarts the system. But we didn’t really have any low temperatures last year, so the scales didn’t go into their usual hibernating phase. They just kept cranking out crawlers and adding in an extra generation or two of production. So the higher number of scales on the trees made it much more difficult for the growers to control.”

Grafton-Cardwell explained while it is difficult to speculate whether this coming year will yield another large population of the CaSave Our Citruslifornia red scale, “We have already received more moisture as a result of seasonal rainfall, which should help hinder the pest. Hopefully we’ll get some cooler weather conditions too–not freezing because citrus groves don’t like freezing temperatures–but cold enough to knock out some of the scales and get the population back under a manageable level,” she said.

Nevertheless, despite the challenges that California red scale can cause, Grafton-Cardwell said, overall, citrus growers need to keep their focus on the fight against the Asian Citrus Pysllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri, and its ability to spread HLB. “Growers need to start thinking in terms of: California has the [HLB] disease and it’s going to start spreading in southern California soon,” Grafton-Cardwell said. “What do we do to prevent it from spreading up here into the San Joaquin Valley?”

Photo source: “Life Stages of California Red Scale and Its Parasitoids,” UC ANR Publication #21529, by Forster, Lisa D.; Robert F. Luck; and Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell; with photos by L. Forster and M. Badgley)

2021-05-12T11:03:04-07:00January 20th, 2016|

FROM THE EDITOR

From the Editor

California Ag Today would like to issue a formal apology regarding errors in our article, “Korea Refuses Contaminated Citrus,” published yesterday on our website, CaliforniaAgToday.com.

While we strive to accurately report timely, trusted and essential news about California’s comprehensive and complex agricultural industry according to the highest standards in professional journalism, we always appreciate the opportunity to correct any errors we have made.

To be clear, Korea is not refusing citrus imports from California. Korea is concerned about the detected presence of Fuller rose beetles in arriving citrus shipments.

I, personally and sincerely apologize to:

  1. Dr. Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell for any and all misrepresentations of her message.
  2. The California agricultural industry for any hindrance or concern our article may have caused.
  3. Our readers, the California Ag Today team, and Charmayne Hefley, author of the article, for my editorial errors.

In addition, I thank California Citrus Mutual for informing us about our errors with haste. 

We promptly removed the story from our website, CaliforniaAgToday.com, as soon as we were notified. We will continue to strive to better adhere to our mission of accurately reporting news about California’s agriculture industry.

Here is a more recent article on the issue:

“Californian Citrus Rejected by Korea,” published on www.freshplaza.com today and tweeted by Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell today as well.

Laurie Greene

Editor

1/14/16

2016-05-31T19:26:59-07:00January 15th, 2016|

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