Posts Tagged: pest

Pest Control in South Africa

South Africa is a known exporter of subtropical fruit (avocado, litchi and mango). The main production areas for subtropical fruit in South Africa are parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The avocado and litchi industries are export orientated while the majority of mangoes produced are processed. The main export markets are the European Union and the United Kingdom. Subtropical fruit production is susceptible to various insect pests that significantly contribute to yield losses. Twenty years ago mainly broad spectrum insecticides (organophosphates and pyrethroids) had been registered for control of pests and progress was made in adopting eco-friendlier management approaches. The lowering of maximum residue levels for pesticides on food products by importing countries provide new challenges for growers. Here, details are provided on the important insect pests of subtropical crops and the current management strategies use for controlling these pests. An integrated pest management strategy should aim to use interventions that lower maximum residue levels. A challenge that still remains is the sucking bug complex on avocado and more environmentally friendly strategies used for suppression need to be developed. An effective trapping system to monitor adult sucking bugs coming into the orchards will be important for effective management. Challenges that still remain are the litchi moth, Cryptophlebia peltastica (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on litchi, and the citrus thrips, Scirtothrips aurantii Faure (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and the mango seed weevil, Sternochetus mangiferae (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on mango. The development and testing of mating disruption products, attract and kill products, and biological control products for litchi moth is important. Biological control products also need to be tested against citrus thrips on mango. The mango industry needs to find more environmentally safe suppression methods that can be used with sanitation to manage mango seed weevil as it is a pest of phytosanitary concern. The set of economic thresholds for the important pests also need some attention. The use of botanical pesticides has not yet been tested on a large scale and could possibly contribute to the control of pests in the future.

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Vertebrates in Avocado Orchards

April 20 (9 - 11 AM)

Seminar/Webinar Topic

Vertebrate Pests

CE Units Available

 Click Here for the April Webinar Registeration

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February Is Safe Pesticide Use Month

Author: Petr Kosina, UC Statewide IPM Program

To raise awareness of pesticide safety practices, February is celebrated as National Safety Education Month. This year the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program offers help to refresh your knowledge about safe and effective pesticide use. Two frequently sought-after online courses focused on proper pesticide use to avoid illegal residues and proper selection, use, and removal of personal protective equipment are offered for free during the month of February. Use code safety100 at checkout to get your continuing education units (CEU) for free.

Pesticides are among the most regulated chemicals in the country. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the use of pesticides. All pesticides must be registered with the EPA, and the agency requires a battery of scientific tests to determine the potential risk to humans and the environment. 

Best practices for using pesticides safely start with reading the label before each pesticide application. How will readingthe label help you? Pesticide labels answer most of the basic questions you need to know about the product, its safe application and handling. Always make applications in strict accordance with all label instructions. Following label instructions will ensure safe, effective, and cost-effective use of the pesticide. Apart from the label, it is important to know what your state regulations are because some state regulations that also have to be observed are not written into the label. Note that not all pesticides approved by the EPA and available for purchase in the United States can be used in California. California is one of the few states that have more strict pesticide regulations for certain pesticides than what is required by the EPA. Even if you have used a given pesticide in the past, make sure you have an up-to-date label, as EPA may occasionally change labels. To learn more about pesticide labels and how to extract information relevant to the specific setting and situation in order to apply pesticides safely, enroll in the online course Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues. Pest management professionals will earn 2.0 hours of Laws & Regs CEUs.

Because pesticides have the potential to cause injury or illness to anyone working with them, it is important to wear personal protective equipment, or PPE, to reduce a person's exposure to pesticides. PPE includes clothing and certain devices worn to protect the human body from contact with pesticides or pesticide residues. Regular clothing is not considered PPE even though some pesticide labels may indicate that these specific items of regular work clothes can be worn during certain activities. All employees who handle pesticides in California are legally required to wear PPE. They must follow all PPE instructions on the pesticide label and follow all California laws and regulations. To learn how to select the proper PPE, use it, remove it, and dispose of it or clean and store it before, during, and after each incidence of pesticide handling and application, enroll in the online course Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Pest management professionals will earn 1.5 hours of Laws & Regs CEUs.

Visit the UC IPM website to see all 22 online courses that are available for continuing education credit.

Diagnosing Herbicide Injury- New Online Course

Written By--Petr Kosina, UC Statewide IPM Program A brand-new online course on Diagnosing Herbicide Injury focusing on how an herbicide injury situation can arise, what information can help diagnose symptoms during field...

Better Pest Control?

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ARS News Service A New Technology for Environmentally Safe Pest Control Discovered Inside Insect Cells For media inquiries contact: Janice López-Muñoz, (301) 793-7007 August 27, 2021 If you feel you are in a continuous search to have a fire ant free home lawn, you are not alone. These invasive and common insect pests are difficult to control and come back as uninvited guests over and over. The good news is that USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, recently discovered a new technology that is safer than pesticides to control fire ants and keep them away. The technology, known as "receptor interference" (RECEPTOR-i), disrupts the vital processes (e.g. feeding, digestion, and development) needed for fire ants to survive, resulting in a natural biological control strategy. "The concept and procedure for RECEPTOR-i has been developed over years," said Man-Yeon Choi, Research Entomologist at the ARS Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, OR. "Now it is a proven technology that will serve as a model for other pest management strategies such as for spotted wing drosophila, thrips and pest slugs." The research published by Biomolecules, establishes how RECEPTOR-i technology uses the fire ants own cell components to target and screen for the small proteins needed to disrupt the insect's vital processes resulting in negative effects on their survival. Using the insects own cells is key to the success of RECEPTOR-i, since those small proteins can be obtained within 2-3 weeks versus other pest control strategy approaches that take longer and are more expensive. "The RECEPTOR-i active ingredients are biodegradable, having no environmental impact and since it is species specific, it is not expected to affect other insects," said Robert Vander Meer, Research Leader at the ARS Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research Laboratory in Gainesville, FL. "This technology is broadly applicable to animal pests and the speed of discovery makes it ideal for developing a rapid control response to new invasive insects." The use of this natural pest control technology will depend on the target insect. In the case of fire ants, it will be put together in a sucrose solution and presented for feeding in a bait station. For other pest insects the application of this technology will depend on the target insect's feeding type, e.g., chewing, caterpillars, piercing or sucking, mosquitoes and crop pest insects. Fire ant control costs American households billions of dollars every year, hence developing effective and safer pest control strategies will be a great benefit to families and other economic sectors affected by fire ants. More research will take place for field experiments that will provide the data needed to stimulate commercial interest and get this technology to homeowners and others needing fire ant control. The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.

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