A Collaborative Beneficial Insect and Pheromone Mating Disruption Demonstration Project

View the project final report

Commodities

• Fruits: grapes

Practices

• Education and Training: demonstration
• Pest Management: biological control, mating disruption

In agriculture, we constantly search for environmentally responsible pest management tools to reduce our reliance on synthetic plant protectants.  Implementing natural biocontrol for insect pests is best practiced before resistance to insecticides develops.  However, due to lack of experience and increased costs for materials and labor, producers are reluctant to experiment with biocontrol.  Leafroll virus is infecting California grapevines at an alarming rate due to an aggressive insect vector, the vine mealybug.  Leafroll virus infections reduce crop yield and quality, decrease a vineyard’s lifespan, and make the land less suitable for future grapevine plantings.  In Lodi where we have 750 farmers and 100,000 acres of vineyards, it is imperative to demonstrate mealybug biocontrol.  We conducted “A Collaborative Beneficial Insect and Pheromone Mating Disruption Demonstration Project” where a team of farmers practiced cooperative, regional mealybug biocontrol.  Farmers used plant protectants which are safe for beneficials, beneficial insect releases, and applied a blanket of protective pheromone mating disruption across five vineyards.  This team of early-adopter farmers set an example for Lodi by demonstrating the environmental, social, and economic benefits of cooperatively using biocontrol to manage a threatening disease.  Our team hosted a “Family Field Day” in July 2019 where Lodi’s 750 farmers, local pest control advisors, the winemaking community and their children were invited to learn about collaborative pheromone mating disruption and participate in a drone beneficial insect release.  The story behind the challenge of mealybugs and viruses, along with farmer experiences using biocontrol during this project, were explained in an outreach video called "Mealybug Biocontrol in California Vineyards."  The video along with a blog post/newsletter article were distributed via the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s community of 1,000+ winegrowing professionals, and further advertised via Wine Business Monthly marketing channels.  After learning about beneficial insects and pheromone mating disruption from this project, other farmers in Lodi continue to adopt biocontrol tools as part of regional and cooperative long-term mealybug and virus management.

Objectives:

1. To demonstrate collaborative mealybug biocontrol efforts.
2. To blanket five vineyards in mating disruption pheromone, reducing mealybug populations as measured by regular trapping and monitoring.
3. To support and augment natural populations of beneficial insects which act as predators and parasites to the vine mealybug.
4. To produce a fun and educational “Family Field Day” where farmers and their families learn about the importance of mealybug biocontrol.
5. To produce and distribute a professional educational outreach video highlighting the challenges growers face while trying to manage vine mealybugs and leafroll virus, along with their collaborative biocontrol management strategy.
6. To produce and distribute a blog post/newsletter article to 1000+ winegrowing community members about the project and what was learned.