Pest prevention programs are mandated
by the California Food and Agricultural Code to prevent the introduction
and spread of pests in California. Pests include insects, weeds,
plant diseases, and animals. Pest prevention involves three strata:
pest exclusion, pest detection, and integrated pest control.
The pest exclusion program is the first line of defense preventing
the introduction of detrimental pests that are not of common
occurrence in the county. Currently, glassy winged sharpshooter
and red imported fire ant pose
the biggest threat, however inspectors are always looking for
the presence of any potentially unwanted pest. In Madera County,
inspections ensuring pest cleanliness are performed annually
at all nursery locations. In addition, incoming shipments of
plant material are inspected for potentially harmful pests. When
needed other non-plant material shipments are also inspected;
such as beehives to insure they are not carrying red imported
fire ant. Through these safeguards we hope to stop unwanted pests
from entering Madera County.
The Pest Detection Program is the second line of defense. This
program utilizes insect traps and surveys to discover
foreign pests which may have eluded exclusion efforts.
The goal of this program is to detect small, isolated
areas of possible infestation so that these pests can
be eradicated before they spread to other areas. The trapping
program of Madera County targets several different insect
pests including:
Caribbean Fruit Fly (Anastrepha suspensa)
Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata)
Melon Fly (Dacus cucurbitae)
Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens)
Olive Fruit Fly (Bactrocera oleae)
Oriental Fruit Fly (Dacus dorsalis)
Apple Maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella)
Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar)
Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)
Khapra Beetle (Trogoderma granarium)
European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalus)
European Pine Shoot Moth (Rhyacionia buoliana)
The Integrated Pest Control Program strives to eradicate small
infestations of new pests before they become widespread. Currently,
Pink Bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), a non-established and
economically significant pest of cotton, is controlled by post-season
plowdown of cotton plants. This ensures destruction of habitat
for the destructive pest.
Back
to Agricultural Programs
Contacting Us  |
Madera County Department of Agriculture
|
|
