CDFA Nursery Advisory Board Report Summer 2017

by Loren Oki

The CDFA Nursery Advisory Board (NAB) met in Sacramento on March 1.  The agenda, as usual, was packed but here are some highlights.

New Pests of Concern in California

• There are typically 80 detections of invasive exotic fruit flies per year in California. Last year (2016) there were 46 detections.  All were transported in (since the insects cannot fly into the state) and all the detections were in metropolitan areas.
• The detection in the Ontario/San Bernardino area of Bactrocera tau in 2016 was the first detection of this pest in the United States. This fruit fly lays its eggs in fruit on which the larvae feed.  It favors cucurbits but can be found on other plants, including bell pepper.
• Monitoring of the Japanese beetle continues in the Sacramento area.
• Eradication of the European grapevine moth was declared in August 2016.
• Asian citrus psyllid is now in West Sacramento. The huanglongbing (HLB) disease is only in Los Angeles County right now.
• Olive bark beetle (Phloeotribus scarabaeoides), a Mediterranean native, was detected in Riverside in 2016. This was the first detection of this pest in the Americas.
• Curtain fig psyllid (Macrohomotoma gladiata) was detected in Anaheim in 2016, and was the first detection of this pest in the United States.

Invasive Plants and Weeds

Santa Maria feverfew (Partenium hysterophorus) was found in two locations in Orange County.  In addition to being a noxious weed, the American tropics native plant can cause contact dermatitis.

Disease Update

Boxwood blight caused by the fungus Calonectria pseudonaviculata (synonym Cylindrocladium buxicola) was found for the first time in California in the Palo Alto region.  Information regarding this disease that was distributed at the NAB meeting can be found at https://goo.gl/EU8CYH and https://goo.gl/xB9WXs.

Quarantine Update

• Glassy-winged sharpshooter has infested all of Southern California. There is one active infestation in Santa Clara County, but eradication in that county may be declared this year.  Unfortunately, there is an increased incidence of Pierce’s disease in Northern California.
• Medfly quarantines continue in the San Fernando Valley (Areleta) where 3 males, 15 females and 111 larvae were found with the last detection in January.
• Asian citrus psyllid quarantines continue either partially or entirely in 29 counties. Plants grown in approved screen houses can be sold anywhere.  However, plants grown outdoors can only be sold within the quarantine area.
• The HLB quarantine was expanded into San Gabriel where infected plants were destroyed. The HLB quarantine area is now 56 square miles in Los Angeles County and 26 square miles in Orange County.
• Light brown apple moth quarantines continue in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties in Southern and Central California and in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, Mendocino and Yolo counties in Northern California.

SANC Program

Six nurseries were approved in the first round of reviews into the SANC (Systems Approach to Nursery Certification) program and two additional nurseries are currently in review.  There will be eight more nurseries added to the program in the second round of reviews. For information about the SANC program, see http://ucanr.edu/sites/UCNFA/files/159116.pdf and the SANC website at http://sanc.nationalplantboard.org/.

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Loren Oki is UC Cooperative Extension Landscape Horticulture Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis.