CFDA: grants for proactive IPM solutions program

In mid-December, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has awarded a total of USD 1,110,283 funding for three projects to be administered through the Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis Proactive Integrated Pest Management Solutions grant program.

Each of the projects received strong support from commodities which could be affected by invasive pests. Each of the projects will last three years.

 Among the proposals scored by a review committee composed of scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of California, state government and private pest control advisors who made recommendations to CDFA, the Project lead by Dr. Ian Grettenberger and his research collaborators from the University of California, Davis, will receive USD 499,847 for “A proactive approach to prepare for the invasion of Tuta absoluta into California.” T. absoluta, a tomato leafminer, is a serious pest throughout Europe, Africa, western Asia and South and Central America and could decimate California’s tomato industry. This project will proactively test targeted insecticides, identify native natural enemies that could be used in biological control, and conduct work to assist in breeding plants resistant to this pest. This project will be conducted at UC Davis, throughout California, and in Chile and Peru.

The goal of the Proactive IPM Solutions grant program is to anticipate which exotic pests are likely to arrive in California and to identify and test IPM strategies that can be rapidly implemented if the pests become established in California.

CDFA is responsible for preventing and mitigating invasive pests in California. Techniques resulting from the Proactive IPM Solutions Program will allow for rapid deployment of future management plans. Detailed information on this program, including the application process and application requirements, is available at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/opca/proactive-ipm.html. 

Funding for this grant program was allocated to CDFA’s Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis, or OPCA, to help California’s farmers transition away from the insecticide chlorpyrifos.

Source: CFDA, lakeconews.com