The Citrus Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program has announced three updates relevant to citrus growers and pest control advisors.
The first update is about the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) and Huanglongbing (HLB) Outreach Day, scheduled for March 5 at the Lindcove Research and Extension Center (LREC) Conference Room. The event aims to inform attendees about the current situation of ACP and HLB in California. Speakers will include grower liaisons and regulators who will discuss regulations, mitigation measures, and ongoing research. The outreach day will also offer practical training on identifying Asian citrus psyllid using trap cards and on conducting mock sampling exercises. Attendees can earn continuing education units by participating.
The second update concerns the start of the California red scale (CRS) season. Pheromone traps have detected male CRS flights between March 1–3 in Kern, Tulare, and Fresno Counties, with captures at Lindcove REC on March 2. No male flights have been reported yet from Madera County. These early sightings mark the beginning of the first CRS generation for the year, signaling that orchard monitoring should begin soon for crawler activity. Growers are encouraged to use the UC IPM Weather Model to track degree days since biofix—March 1 for these counties—which helps predict key stages such as crawler emergence at 550 degree days and subsequent generations at set intervals. Monitoring updates will be provided on the LREC website.
The third update highlights a new issue of “News in the Subtropics,” which includes research updates and information for industry professionals. One featured article details recent field trial results on insecticide effectiveness against citrus thrips, offering insights for managing pests during fruit development. Other topics covered include avocado irrigation practices, orchard asphyxiation issues, cellulase activity in mulches related to soil health, a guava pest alert, and using bees to detect sunblotch.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources supports these efforts through statewide research centers such as LREC and by sharing science-based practices designed to improve lives across California (https://ucanr.edu/). The organization operates offices in all 58 counties as well as nine Research and Extension Centers (https://ucanr.edu/). UC ANR’s initiatives draw on University of California expertise to provide communities with practical solutions in agriculture, environmental management, nutrition education, youth programs, wildfire protection, and more (https://ucanr.edu/). Glenda Humiston serves as vice president of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (https://ucanr.edu/).