Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1084285
Vigilance and knowledge are a grower's strongest assets when it comes to managing pest threats, and the Almond Board of California (ABC) has long worked to support growers through research on how best to monitor and control unwelcomed orchard guests. Recently the ABC Board of Directors reaffirmed the key role that responsible pest management plays in growing almonds in a changing regulatory and consumer climate. The Board of Directors designated integrated pest management (IPM) as one of four key areas within the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, which were announced earlier this crop year. These goals are critical for ensuring almonds remain an economically, environmentally and socially responsible crop for California. When prioritizing IPM, the Board established an industry goal of increasing the use of environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25% by the year 2025. Fundamentally, this means expanding the utilization of IPM by both growers and handlers. In the early '70s, the almond industry supported development of the Almond Board's research program that then had a focus on developing better insect management tools. Since then, the industry has been recognized for its investment in pest management research and adoption of IPM by both the California Department Are there areas that could benefit from a more concentrated focus? In addition to current areas of research, ABC is working with University of California IPM specialists and farm advisors, who have developed IPM systems for several key pests. These systems provide growers and PCAs with techniques that can be applied in their orchards today. For example, research conducted 30 years ago showed that mummy nut removal is an excellent IPM tool to help reduce NOW. Over time, however, better monitoring tools were developed and, more recently, pheromones for NOW mating disruption have moved from the lab to commercial products. In fact, a DPR-funded IPM demonstration project shows that NOW mating disruption puffers are effective even on smaller acreages. The UC IPM website, along with the Almond Board's "Today's regulatory climate is making it more difficult to use certain pest control tools, and consumers both in the U.S. and in some of almond's key export markets have less patience with 'chemicals' in their food products." – Gabriele Ludwig IPM Supports Long-Term Success Shot hole. Hairy fleabane. Naval orangeworm (NOW). Each is an example of pests that can hurt almond production. of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, "Today's regulatory climate is making it more difficult to use certain pest control tools, and consumers both in the U.S. and in some of almond's key export markets have less patience with 'chemicals' in their food products," said Gabriele Ludwig, director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at the Almond Board. Recognizing these trends, the Almond Board's Pest Management Workgroup is reviewing key and emerging pests, the current tools available to fight against those pests and the areas where there are gaps or risks to using those tools. Based on their analysis, the group will develop a research program focused on finding better monitoring tools where resources are lacking, determining better timing of pest control tool applications and understanding the pest's biology more deeply, and finding a mix of cultural and chemical tools to control these pests when they are rising toward damaging levels. Research in pest management is already ongoing in most key areas; however, the question remains: 10 A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S PEST MANAGEMENT