Beetle spreads worry among Ventura County farmers
OVLC Stewardship Director Rick Bisaccia was featured in a great article by Claudia Boyd-Barrett in the Ventura County Star on January 15th, 2016. Learn what you can do to prevent the spread of this invasive beetle »
Ojai citrus and avocado rancher Roger Essick has a lot to worry about these days.
Like other citrus farmers in the area, he’s dealing with the threat of the Asian citrus psyllid, an invasive pest that can carry a bacterial disease deadly to citrus trees. The bug turned up in some of the orchards he farms earlier this year, requiring aggressive insecticide treatment.
Bisaccia checks out a sycamore tree for the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer at the Old Baldwin Road Trailhead on the Ventura River Preserve
The beetle hasn’t turned up on any of Essick’s trees, but it’s making him and other local avocado farmers nervous. It’s attacked trees in San Diego and Los Angeles counties, and in early November was found in Ventura County for the first time. So far, it’s been detected at a green-waste facility in Ojai and in nine Santa Paula avocado groves.
Now, Essick is concerned about yet another pest, one that could threaten his avocado groves. Known as the polyphagous shot hole borer, the pest is a beetle that targets at least 38 types of trees, including avocados. It carries a fungus that interrupts the transportation of water and nutrients within the trees, leading to branch dieback and ultimately death.
With no known cure, officials are concerned the beetle could spread.
“We’re very concerned because we’ve seen it farther south and as a grower you figure it’s going to move around,” said Essick, a rancher for 45 years. “Farmers are facing (threats) constantly. … But these are a little tougher than some of the issues we’ve had before because we really don’t have any great solutions for them.” {continued…} Read the full article on the Ventura County Star »
