Lygus study validates treatment thresholds

DRAFT was discovered in 1979 by McKenry and his UC Riverside colleagues. The scientists identified microorganisms that were protecting five Fresno County peach orchards from root knot nematodes. The fungus, Dactylella oviparasitica, was found to be attacking the pest’s eggs. “This fungus has now been noted in other field settings and in other regions involving other nematode species,” McKenry says. “Research is slow and we still do not know how to correctly inoculate fields, but this fungus ranks as a top nematode control agent within nematode-infested soils and is naturally at work in the San Joaquin Valley.” Another method of nematode control is the development of resistant rootstocks. In 2003, McKenry’s lab released two new grapevine rootstocks that possess broad nematode resistance. These and other advancements are of particular interest to growers who plan to replant orchards or vineyards. When land that has not previously been used to cultivate crops is converted to agricultural use, nematodes that damage trees and vines are at a minimum. After years of hosting an orchard or vineyard, however, nematodes will have colonized and reproduced to levels that would put a new For more information