The schedule has been finalized for the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Navel Orangeworm (NOW) Summit next week. Hosted by the Almond Board of California (ABC), the event will take place at the Modesto Junior College Ag Pavilion on February 21. ABC Senior Specialist of Industry Communications, Taylor Hillman said NOW will be a primary focus of the summit. However, the event has been expanded to include multiple almond pests, with presentations from a variety of trusted speakers.
“We’re going to have Brittney Goodrich from UC Davis, Mel Machado, also some industry members,” Hillman noted. “But added this year, you’ll see some other pests up there like hull rot. We’ll be covering biology symptoms and correct diagnosis of hull rot. Names that you would recognize would be Mohammad Yaghmour from UC Cooperative Extension, Brent Holtz, Cameron Zuber, and a lot of different names there as well.”
Over the past few years, growers have been more frequently reporting issues with leaffooted bug and brown marmorated stink bug. Kent Daane from UC Berkeley and ABC’s Lauren Fann will be talking about management tactics and pheromone identification for leaffooted bug.
“We’ll also have a big session on canker identification, management after you do a proper identification, and some case studies and perspectives,” said Hillman. “A lot of different names there too that growers will recognize including Florent Trouillas and Brian Dugo. There’s also a Q&A segment in that session so growers can get their questions answered.”
A panel discussion on the year-end review of pest management programs will wrap up the event. Growers, handlers, and pest control advisors will be going over what they do at the end of the year to make sure their programs are as efficient as possible.
“In tight years, growers need to be kind of watching where they put their money in and making sure they’re getting the most out of that. And evaluating their IPM program on a yearly basis is key,” said Hillman. “So, listening to some industry members talk about that I think is very beneficial.”
Registration for the IPM & NOW Summit is available at Almonds.com/Summits.
Listen to Hillman’s interview below.
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