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October 6, 1999  CONTACT: Steve Nation, (510) 987-0036, steve.nation@ucop.edu UC names task force to address Pierce's disease problems in the state
OAKLAND – President Richard C. Atkinson announced
today (October 6) the appointment of a task force to mobilize and focus the
scientific, technical and information outreach expertise of the University of
California to help growers combat Pierce’s disease of grapevines. "Pierce’s disease has cost the California wine and
grape industries millions of dollars in lost revenues since it began destroying
grapevines in Napa and Sonoma counties several years ago," said Atkinson. "We
are committed to working with the agricultural community to control this threat
to a vital sector of the state’s economy." The UC Pierce’s Disease Research and Emergency
Response Task Force, chaired by Vice President – Agriculture and Natural
Resources W.R. "Reg" Gomes, will develop a science-based strategy and set of
research priorities to guide the university’s short- and long-term studies for
managing Pierce’s disease. The task force also will report on efforts by UC to
extend technical assistance to vineyard owners in winegrape growing regions
where the disease is a problem. Pierce’s disease is caused by Xylella
fastidiosa, a bacterium which kills grapevines by blocking their water
transport tissue. Unlike Phylloxera which causes a long, slow decline in
production, a vine infected with Pierce’s disease usually dies within two years
and produces no crop. X. fastidiosa is spread by insects known as
sharpshooters. UC scientists are engaged in research projects in
Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties to control the blue-green
sharpshooter, a leafhopper that transmits X. fastidiosa to vineyards near
streams and riparian areas. They also are conducting studies to breed resistance
to Pierce’s disease in grapes. These projects are jointly funded with the
American Vineyard Foundation. "The stakes have increased significantly with the
discovery in Temecula (Riverside County) of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a
highly mobile insect which threatens to spread Pierce’s disease to vineyards
across California," said Gomes. "If the glassy-winged and blue-green
sharpshooters remain unchecked, Pierce’s disease could mean significant economic
losses for the state’s wine, table and raisin grape growers, as well as citrus,
almonds and ornamentals which serve as hosts for the glassy-winged
sharpshooter." The California Legislature has proposed a state
appropriation of $750,000 per year for the next three years, with a $250,000 a
year match from industry, to fund Pierce’s disease research. The California
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently established the Glassy-Winged
Sharpshooter/Pierce’s Disease Task Force to advise the secretary of Food and
Agriculture on research needs and ways to control this sharpshooter. "We will be working closely with CDFA and
California’s growers to develop a research agenda that focuses on control and
management of the glassy-winged and blue-green sharpshooters and the Pierce’s
disease which they spread," said Gomes. "Eventually, we hope to produce
resistance to Pierce’s disease in grapes using genetic technologies." The UC task force will provide information and advice
to CDFA on research priorities by early November 1999, and a final report to
Atkinson by January 1, 2000. Representatives from CDFA, the American Vineyard
Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Legislature
will be invited to participate in UC task force meetings. In addition to Gomes, UC task force members
are:
Robert Webster, Department of Plant Pathology at UC
Davis and statewide project director for the UC Viticulture Consortium Research
Program and the UC California Competitive Grant Program for Research on
Viticulture and Enology, will staff the task force. |
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