University of California, Agricultural & Natural Resources

PURPOSE
STRUCTURE & OPERATIONAL PRODECURES
CORE COORDINATING GROUP
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS

Lygus bugs are indigenous insect pests in the order Hemiptera. They feed on floral and seed parts. Depending on the host, Lygus can cause loss of quantity (yield) as well as quality (surface scarring or pitting). The host range of Lygus hesperus is large with 110 host associations being reported. Crops on which Lygus is problematic include cotton, black-eye beans, lima beans, seed alfalfa, lettuce, tomato, pome fruits, and seed crops. Other crops that act as habitat are safflower, sugar beets, alfalfa forage, and almost any weedy field of tomatoes, garlic or onion. Range land and disturbed fallow ground can develop weed hosts, in which Lygus will build and from which populations will migrate.

In field and row crops, Lygus migrates from other sources. In cotton for example, a field might be under complete biological control until Lygus migrate and if the population exceed action thresholds, insecticides are required to reduce their numbers. A major problem in Lygus management is the lack of selective, environmentally soft insecticides; thus secondary pest outbreaks often follow Lygus migration.

The complexity of managing this polyphagous pest across large areas is immense.

Ecological and biological knowledge are essential to develop large-scale (landscape level) management approaches. Development and delivery of alternative management approaches and IPM strategies are required. These include:

Coordination and integration among campuses, departments, counties, and external agencies is essential understanding this regional pest and in developing large-scale management approaches. Currently, there is no single source of knowledge and information. There are many individuals conducting extension and research on the problem with little interaction among themselves The concept of this Workgroup is to draw together the different commodities and biological scientists to explore management opportunities that mitigate the migration potential and evaluate alternative management approaches. This group intends to include CE Specialists, Advisors, and AES researchers from entomology and commodity specialties. Its goals are to:

The members of the workgroups are far-flung geographically and disciplinarily. Initially, a core group of 10-12 will develop the details presented in this proposal. This coordinating body (see membership list) will provide the network among and between campuses, counties, workgroups, and commodity groups. The core group will conduct much of its communication via internet connections with conference calls as required. A meeting may be valuable to introduce each member to the expertise of all members, define the direction of the Workgroup, and discuss the process of completing the Workgroup’s tasks.

A wider community of interested but less involved parties will be polled for direction and issues. Existing commodity workgroup meetings will provide an opportunity for informing this wider community of activities. Commodity groups will be informed through communication through the appropriate Specialist.

Operational procedures are only generally conceived at this point. The core group can make a general call to identify issues from the wider CE, AES, and industry participants. These can be sorted, combined and prioritized. From this list, existing knowledge or gaps in knowledge can be identified. Future direction based on issue list can be suggested.

Core Coordinating Group:

Peter B. Goodell – Statewide IPM Project (Kearney Ag Center)
Rich Coviello – UCCE Fresno County
Larry Godfrey – UC Davis
Beth Grafton-Cardwell – UC Riverside (Kearney Ag Center)
Tony Hall – UC Riverside
Bob Hutmacher – UC Davis (Shafter REC)
Shannon Mueller – UCCE Fresno County
Steve Temple – UC Davis
Larry R. Teuber – UC Davis
Nick Toscano – UC Riverside
Steve Welter – UC Berkeley

1.   Coordination of Activities

Purpose and goals:

Outcomes:

Possible indicators of success and measures:

Purpose and goals:

Develop plans for a statewide Lygus conference. Conference goals might include:

Outcomes:

Indicators of success and measures: