CDFA Pierce's Disease Advisory Task Force to meet Feb. 11, 2002 in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, January 25, 2002-The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pierce’s Disease Advisory Task Force is scheduled to meet February 11, 2002, at agency headquarters in Sacramento. The group, appointed by CDFA Secretary William (Bill) J. Lyons, Jr., guides the ongoing effort to fight Pierce’s Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a flying pest that threatens California grapes, ornamental plants and other crops. The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the CDFA Auditorium, 1220 “N” Street, Room 127, Sacramento, CA 95814.

The glassy-winged sharpshooter feeds and lays eggs on hundreds of plant species. It can carry bacteria that cause Pierce’s disease in grapevines and other diseases in trees and ornamental plants. The sharpshooter has infested Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Kern counties, and smaller segments of Butte, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Fresno, and Tulare counties.

The task force meeting agenda is attached. To view the agenda on the Internet, or for additional information on the glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce’s disease, please visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/gwss.


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