Two new serious pests have appeared in the western United States in the past months. Please familiarize yourselves with the biology and morphology of these pests so you can identify them.

The first is the European Grapevine Moth, which was found in the Napa Valley of California in October 2009.  This is the first occurrence of this moth in the United States. It is a serious pest of grape, feeding on the flowers and bunches. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, the Caucasus, and since 2008, in Chile.  The wingspan is 12-13 mm.  In September, The Napa County Ag Commissioner became aware of significant damage and crop loss occurring in Oakville and Rutherford area vineyards. Growers were finding numerous larvae in winegrape fruit clusters and experiencing significant crop damage or loss primarily from subsequent botrytis bunch rot. Growers had been asked to keep their eyes open for the presence of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), and many contacted their office and provided samples of damaged fruit, larvae, etc. Staff biologists also visited sites to conduct vineyard surveys and collect additional samples. These moth larvae and pupae samples were sent to the California Department of Food and Agriculture laboratory for analysis and were determined to not be LBAM or other common species, such as Orange Tortrix or Omnivorous Leafroller. CDFA entomologists utilizing newly acquired genetic lab techniques were subsequently able to identify the European Grapevine Moth, a very destructive pest of winegrapes which has never before been seen in the United States. 

The second pest is Cherry Vinegar Fly (CVF) , now called the Spotted Wing  Wing Drosophila, (Drosophila suzukii ) was detected by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in fresh cherries near Gilroy CA in 2009. It now has been detected all along the west coast. The reports note that the larvae are found in ripe but undamaged fruit. The skin of the fruit has small holes resembling oviposition scars. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, fruits attacked include apple, blueberry, cane berries, cherry, peach, persimmon, plum, grape, and strawberry that it is also found in wine and table grapes. It is also found in Florida and As of October 13, 2009, the ODA reports it has also been found in wine and table grapes.

Special thanks to the Richard Hoenish, Editor of the Western Plant Diagnostic Network Newsletter for the text and photographs of this article from their October 2009 Newsletter.   Used by permission.   

As a Master Gardener, you get a lot of samples of plant problems in your office.  I recently received a sample of Bradford pear leaves (Pyrus calleryana) with very interesting symptoms.  At first, I thought that the plant may have been picking up something that was toxic to it because it appeared that the leaf was showing dieback progressively from the middle of the leave out to the margins.  At least I thought that was what I was seeing.  However, upon further inspection and discussion with the owner, I realized that the dieback was actually a fairly quick but progressive drying from the margins inward toward the middle.  The brown part at the mid-vein was from sunburn and was the last part to dry out whereas the margins dried very quickly without actually sun burning.  It turned out that the woman and her husband were very ill for a month or so in the middle of summer and were unable to get out and water (they didn’t have automatic sprinklers).  The point of the story?  Snap judgments can be dangerous.  To learn more about pests and problems with Bradford Pear…….

People often call the MG Helplines with questions about curing olives at home.  While many times you can refer this type of question to a Master Food Preserver, most counties no longer have this program.  You can learn to cure olives at home by joining UC Olive Expert Bill Krueger and myself at our Home Olive Curing Workshop on Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  The workshop is being held at the historic Mills Orchard, near Hamilton City, CA (about 1-1/2 hours north of Sacramento, just outside Chico).  Cost is $35.00 and it includes olive tasting, refreshments, and a home olive processing guide.  To Register, please make check payable to UC Regents and mail to UCCE, P.O. Box 697, Orland, CA  95963.  For more information, please call (530)865-1107. Registration is first come, first serve and there is limited seating. 

  

Every day I recommend ANR publications to people, especially our free ones and I am sure you do too.  I wanted to let you know that ANR Communication Services has just released an on-line catalog of FREE publications.  This makes the search for them so much easier.  I hope you will agree.  You can get to new catalog by clicking on:  http://ucanr.org/freepubs/