RAPID RESPONSE PLAN CRUCIAL TO CONTROLLING GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER
Successful Bio-control program depends on plan

SACRAMENTO - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has completed work on its rapid response plan for control and containment of the glassy-winged sharpshooter.

The plan has continued to evolve following its introduction in Tulare, Fresno and Sacramento counties, and it's a critical element in CDFA's strategy to manage the sharpshooter, which carries the bacterium causing Pierce's Disease. Grapes and many other plants and crops in California are threatened by the bacterium.

The rapid response plan's goal is to help local agencies to keep pest populations in check with ground treatment programs, allowing bio-controls to be introduced in infested areas. A managed pest population is one of the keys to successful use of bio-controls. The plan also outlines the relationship between CDFA and county agricultural commissioners, with CDFA providing program review, guidance and funding to the agricultural commissioners and their staffs.

"The rapid response plan is ready to roll, if needed, in other counties," said CDFA Secretary William (Bill) J. Lyons, Jr. "The counties already operating under the plan have helped us fine tune it. We appreciate their commitment to controlling the glassy-winged sharpshooter."

CDFA plans a limited introduction of its bio-control program, featuring parasitic wasps, this summer. The wasps will be used in an integrated fashion with ground treatment programs.

CDFA is fighting the battle against the glassy-winged sharpshooter thanks to $36 million raised under the leadership of California Governor Gray Davis.

For more information on the glassy-winged sharpshooter, check out CDFA's web page at www.cdfa.ca.gov.