Biologically Integrated Farming Awards
2025
Improving sustainability of diamondback moth management in cruciferous vegetables
Project leads: Ian Grettenberger, UC Davis; Ricky Lara, CDFA; Oleg Daugovish, UCCE; Hamutahl Cohen, UCCE; Daniel Hasegawa, USDA; Matt Grieshop, California Polytechnic State University
Project funding: $1 million
This project will develop and promote best management practices for sustainable control of diamondback moth, the single most damaging pest of California’s $1.4B cole crop industry. Alternative management techniques are critically needed due to the pest’s resistance to a wide range of insecticides. This project focuses on pheromone mating disruption and the use of natural enemies to manage the pest at the landscape level. Outreach will be conducted in collaboration with the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, the California Leafy Greens Research Board, and pest control advisors.
Optimization of steam soil disinfestation for healthy soils and communities around the ag-urban interface of coastal California
Project leads: Dr. Darryl Wong and Janet Broome, UC Santa Cruz; Steve Fennimore, Smart Steam Applications for Agriculture LLC; Peter Henry, USDA ARS; Mark Bolda, UCCE; Nicholas LeBlanc, USDA ARS; Oleg Daugovish, UCCE; Rachael Goodhue, UC Davis
Project funding: $1 million
This project will fund the development, evaluation, and demonstration of non-chemical alternatives to pre-plant fumigants in strawberry fields, especially in areas near schools, daycare centers, and other sensitive sites. Project leaders will establish demonstration plots on the Central Coast to replace soil fumigation with steam injection, disease-resistant varieties, and other methods. Soil fumigants, used to control pathogens, nematodes, and weeds, are facing increased regulatory restrictions. Outreach and community engagement will be conducted in collaboration with key partners including the California Strawberry Commission, local growers, the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner, California Certified Organic Farmers, and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
Demonstration project for watershed-wide transition to pheromone-based navel orangeworm and codling moth management in almond and walnuts
Project lead: Parry Klassen, Coalition for Urban Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES)
Project funding: $1 million
This project will implement pheromone mating disruption for navel orangeworm (almond and walnut) and codling moth (walnut) in orchards adjacent to a waterway impaired with pyrethroid insecticides. Pyrethroids are the primary insecticides used to control the target pests, so the goal of implementing mating disruption tools is to minimize their use while maintaining yield and quality. The project lead will work with collaborators including Jhalendra Rijal (UC Cooperative Extension), the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, California Almond Board, and pest control advisors to coordinate project efforts and outreach the importance of orchard sanitation practices, such as removing "mummy nuts," which harbor pests.
2024
Project leader Dr. Ian Grettenberger (University of California, Davis) and colleagues received $1 million to refine and outreach biologically integrated practices for managing insect pests and viruses in California lettuce production. The project will evaluate the use of non-crop habitat for pest control and the importance of landscape context. Outreach will be conducted in collaboration with USDA and UC scientists, Wild Farm Alliance, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, California Leafy Greens Research Board, and grower cooperators.
2023
Project leader Hanna Kahl (Community Alliance with Family Farmers) will receive $1 million in funding to demonstrate and conduct the outreach for the use of biological control to manage spider mites and other pests in winegrape and walnut orchards. Outreach will be conducted in collaboration with commodity groups, Pest Control Advisors (PCAs), and UCCE, and will also include Spanish-language options. Technical assistance will be provided to support select growers interested in adopting biological control.
2022
Grant project leader Houston Wilson (University of California, Riverside) and collaborators will receive $994,551 in funding for "Building Agroecological Partnerships to Facilitate Integrated Pest Management in Hemp." The project will form a new partnership known as the Hemp Agroecology Network (HAN) to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate ecologically based pest management practices in hemp. The HAN partnership will include hemp growers, consultants, researchers, and Cooperative Extension personnel and will provide the foundation for a variety of research and grower–to–grower experiential learning opportunities. These activities will target four hemp production regions, including the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast, and Southern California.
2020
Project leaders Sara Tiffany and David Runsten (Community Alliance with Family Farmers), Jhalendra Rijal (UC-ANR), and collaborators received funding for “Promoting biologically integrated orchard systems in walnuts in Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.” This project will setup six demonstration sites throughout major walnut-producing regions in the state where IPM-based programs will be implemented. Demonstration sites will utilize mating disruption programs for two major pests that were previously controlled using chlorpyrifos: coddling moth and navel orangeworm. Biological control of spider mites will be investigated through release of predatory mites and planting of cover crops to attract natural enemies. A rigorous pest monitoring program will inform spray decisions, and when sprays are needed, more selective and lower-risk pesticides will be used. The Project Team, in collaboration with the California Walnut Board and others, will utilize demonstration sites to host field days and training sessions with growers, PCAs and CCAs where season-specific pest management activities will be covered. Web-based materials, podcasts, videos, and industry publications will also be generated by the project team and distributed to the relevant audiences.
2019
Project leader Dr. Kent Daane of UC Berkeley and collaborators will receive $1 million in funding for “Refinement and Implementation of an Areawide Program for Vineyard Pathogens and their Insect Vectors.” This project will establish two demonstration blocks of at least 1,000-acres each where pheromone disruption tools will be used to control vine mealybug, the insect responsible for vectoring grape leafroll disease (GLD). Vines infected with GLD will also be systematically removed to further prevent the spread of this economically devastating disease. Grower outreach will be conducted in collaboration with the Central Coast Vineyard Team and the Lodi Winegrape Commission to expand the adoption of these low-impact practices in place of chemical insecticides. The project work will be done in the Lodi and Central Coast winegrape regions and take four years to complete.