California to Study Biological Controls for Spotted Lanternfly
May 19, 2019 The California Department of Food and Agriculture has awarded funding for one project in the initial funding cycle for the Proactive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Solutions grant program. The project, titled “Proactive Biological Control of Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae)” was awarded $543,936.
The three-year project will develop biological control agents for spotted lanternfly, an invasive pest that has not yet arrived in California but is spreading rapidly across the eastern U.S. This pest has the potential to affect many high-value California crops including grapes, walnuts, avocados, and pistachios. The project will piggyback on work that is already being conducted on the pest in the eastern U.S. and abroad. Project leads are Dr. Mark Hoddle (University of California, Riverside) and Dr. Kent Daane (University of California, Berkeley). The biological control agent is a small (3 mm) stingless wasp native to China that parasitizes the eggs of the spotted lanternfly.
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
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