FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2000

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Linda Pinfold, Asst.
Agricultural Commissioner
(209) 953-6000

Agricultural Commissioner's Office Starts
Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Detection Program

(Stockton, CA) - This week marks the start of the County Agricultural Commissioner's Office detection program for the Glassy-winged sharpshooter. This pest is known to carry and spread Pierce's disease, which attacks grapevines and other types of agricultural and nursery crops, which would have a negative effect on our county's economy. A demonstration of how traps are set is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. today at Micke Grove Park off Hwy 99 and Armstrong Road. Park in the Historical Society and Museum parking lot to the north of the main entrance. To date, only one GWSS has been found in San Joaquin County; the only find occurred in September 1999 in an apple orchard near a south Lodi area vineyard. No other GWSS have ever been found anywhere else in San Joaquin County.

The detection program is one part of an overall approach to ensuring that the county is free of the Glassy-winged sharpshooter. The trapping and surveying program includes setting traps on or in vineyards and stonefruit orchards within a 1/2-mile radius of urban areas. Traps also will be placed in wholesale and retail nurseries, residential areas and in large landscaped areas such as parks and colleges. Traps will be checked, starting in May, to determine if any GWSS have been caught. Each trapper will service approximately 70 traps per day and report findings each Friday through the trapping period of seven months.

The county, throughout the trapping period, will set more than 3,000 traps with new traps being set every two weeks. Another 10,000 traps will be distributed to private growers and nurseries. Approximately 14,000 acres of crops and nurseries within a 1/2-mile radius of urban areas will be visually surveyed. At the end of the first phase of the trapping period, approximately four to six weeks, the county, if no additional GWSS are found, will be declared "apparently free from" the pest by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. At the end of the seven month period, if no additional GSWW are detected, the state will declare the county "free from" the pest.

Urban and commercial areas are considered to be the most likely site for the detection of GWSS since the pests may be brought into the county by shipments of nursery products from other counties where the pest has been detected in large numbers. To protect against this, the Agricultural Commissioner's Office has started, beginning March 10, a hold and inspect program of all nursery stock shipments from other counties where GWSS is known to be a problem. Shipments of this stock must be shipped with a "Blue Tag" or other notification mechanism. These counties include Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The list of host plants for the GWSS is large and includes such common plants as Bougainvillea, Camellia, Boxwood, Fig, Oleander, Crepe myrtle, Holly and Privet. Tree hosts include Almond, Apple, Ash, Eucalyptus, Cherry and Citrus.

The Agricultural Commissioner's Office also has set up a Glassy-winged sharpshooter Task Force comprised of representatives from commodity groups, grape growers, educational institutions, businesses and others in the agriculture and nursery industries. This task force is leading the effort to address the issue of the GWSS with an awareness and education program, cooperative partnerships, survey and detection programs, and resources and funding.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2000

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Linda Pinfold, Asst.
Agricultural Commissioner
(209) 953-6000

Agriculture Department Finds
Glassy-winged Sharpshooter

(Stockton, CA) - The San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner confirmed late Monday that a single, adult Glassy-winged Sharpshooter was found in the eastern section of San Joaquin County. The insect found Monday was caught in a trap set at a wholesale nursery as part of the Agricultural Commissioner's GWSS Trapping and Detection program, started in April. The insect, found in a trap on a Hackberry Tree, is the only GWSS found to date as part of the detection program. This is an isolated find and is not connected to the only other GWSS found in San Joaquin County in a Lodi orchard in September 1999. These insects have been known to enter counties via nursery shipments from areas where the insect is found in large numbers. This nursery receives such shipments.

The Agricultural Commissioner is taking immediate steps to determine if additional insects are present. This includes intensified visual surveys of the site and the setting and monitoring of additional traps. If additional insects are found, all necessary actions will be taken by the department and the nursery to comply with state nursery regulations as they pertain to "B" rated pests. The GWSS is a "B" rated pest by the California Department of Food and Agriculture; this rating requires appropriate eradication measures be taken if the need arises.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2000

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Tim Pelican
Agricultural Commissioner
(209) 953-6000

Tapping Program Detects Additional GWSS

(Stockton, CA) - The San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner confirmed today that three adult Glassy-winged Sharpshooters were found late Tuesday at a wholesale nursery just south of the town of Clements. A fourth GWSS was discovered today during the visual inspection started this morning in the find area. A single adult GWSS was found on May 8th in the same nursery. Agricultural Commissioner Scott Hudson said, "We have found no egg masses or additional GWSS in other parts of the county since we began the trapping and detection program in April. We have 10 people on site today doing visual inspections of all of the plants in the find area. We are also looking at recent shipments the nursery may have received from Southern California. If additional pests are found, the nursery will be required to treat the area. This find indicates that we are taking the right actions with our trapping and detection program."

Following the first find at the nursery on May 8, the Agricultural Commissioner intensified the trapping and detection program at the nursery for several weeks. No other GWSS were detected at that time. The GWSS found Tuesday were caught in a single trap and were discovered during a routine, on-going survey as part of the countywide trapping and detection program. This find was not in the same area of the nursery as the find on May 8. This is the second GWSS find to date as part of the trapping and detection program started by the Agricultural Commissioner in April. Prior to the survey period, a single adult GWSS was found in a Lodi orchard in September 1999.

The steps taken following this find will include intensified visual surveys of the site and the setting and monitoring of additional traps. If additional insects are found, all necessary actions will be taken by the Agricultural Commissioner and the nursery to comply with state nursery regulations as they pertain to "B" rated pests; this rating requires appropriate eradication measures be taken if the need arises.

Glassy-winged Sharpshooters spread the bacterium (Xylella fastidiosa) that causes Pierce's Disease (PD), a disease that has no effective treatment. Fastidiosa causes almond leaf scorch, alfalfa dwarf, oleander leaf scorch, and citrus variegated chlorosis. Fastidiosa blocks the movement of water within the plant system, eventually killing the plant. Sharpshooters become contaminated with the disease while feeding on infected plants. They consume many times their body weight in fluids daily and must visit many plants to satisfy their nutritional requirements. The insect feeds on a wide variety of ornamental crops and crop plants, over 100 in all, including wine grapes. The majority of these plants, such as citrus trees, act as a host only and are not infected with disease. Sharpshooters generally feed on stems rather than leaves and can leave plants with a whitewashed appearance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2000

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Tim Pelican
Agricultural Commissioner
(209) 953-6000

AG Commissioner Trapping
Program Finds More GWSS

(Stockton, CA) - The San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner said today that on Monday, June 19 one adult GWSS was found at a second wholesale nursery located approximately four miles east of Linden, on Escalon Bellota Road. Additional adult Glassy-winged Sharpshooters have also been found at the wholesale nursery just south of the town of Clements, off Kettleman and Clements Roads, where a find was first made on May 8. The Agricultural Commissioner has requested both wholesale nurseries to conduct aggressive spraying programs to eliminate the pests.

Both finds indicate that the countywide GWSS trapping and detection program is working. Prior to the trapping and detection program, which started in April, a single adult GWSS was found in a Lodi orchard in September 1999. The find on Monday brings the total number of sites where GWSS have been identified to three. All finds have been in controlled settings where the pest can be managed and eliminated.

Glassy-winged Sharpshooters spread the bacterium (Xylella fastidiosa) that causes Pierce's Disease (PD), a disease that has no effective treatment. Fastidiosa causes almond leaf scorch, alfalfa dwarf, oleander leaf scorch, and citrus variegated chlorosis. Fastidiosa blocks the movement of water within the plant system, eventually killing the plant. Sharpshooters become contaminated with the disease while feeding on infected plants. They consume many times their body weight in fluids daily and must visit many plants to satisfy their nutritional requirements. The insect feeds on a wide variety of ornamental crops and crop plants, over 100 in all, including wine grapes. The majority of these plants, such as citrus trees, act as a host only and are not infected with disease. Sharpshooters generally feed on stems rather than leaves and can leave plants with a whitewashed appearance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2000

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Tim Pelican
Agricultural Commissioner
(209) 953-6000

COUNTY BOARD APPROVES GWSS URGENCY ORDINANCE

(Stockton, CA) - The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, at the July 18, 10:00 a.m. meeting, approved an urgency ordinance allowing the County Agricultural Office to regulate the movement of host nursery stock and bulk grape shipments from counties infested with the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter. The ordinance provides the county Agricultural Commissioner with procedures to protect the county's agricultural industry, particularly the grape industry. State law requires that the California Department of Food and Agriculture approve the ordinance following county approval. Fourth District Supervisor Jack Sieglock, whose district covers a large rural area, said "Passing this ordinance lets the state know this is a very important issue here. Our task force is actively working with our Agricultural Commissioner's Office to keep the GWSS out of our county."

The ordinance allows regulation of nursery stock and bulk grapes, requires the abatement of any GWSS found in San Joaquin County, and gives the Agricultural Commissioner the ability to regulate host material within the county if that becomes necessary due to the find of a large population of GWSS in any one area. County Agricultural Commissioner Scott Hudson said "GWSS is a serious threat to our agriculture industry, especially our grape industry, and this ordinance will help to ensure we remain free of GWSS in this county by managing the pathways that might allow them to enter the county."

The county ordinance approved by the Board of Supervisors is based on a model ordinance developed by the state. The California Department of Food and Agriculture is also working to pass a statewide regulation, which would supercede any county's ordinance, to assist county agricultural commissioners in their efforts to protect their counties. The San Joaquin County Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Task Force requested that San Joaquin County move to pass its own ordinance in the event the state is unable to pass a regulation quickly enough to address the issue of grape harvest from GWSS infested counties. "There is currently a GWSS infestation in Sacramento County. I think San Joaquin County can control this pest and keep it abated here with the adoption of this ordinance," said Fifth District Supervisor Bob Cabral, whose district is largely rural.

The ordinance would prohibit GWSS host nursery stock shipments from infested counties, which appear to be the root cause of the spread and proliferation of GWSS statewide, unless the shipment meets a number of criteria, including inspection and/or treatment.

Glassy-winged Sharpshooters spread the bacterium (Xylella fastidiosa) that causes Pierce's Disease (PD). Fastidiosa also causes almond leaf scorch, alfalfa dwarf, oleander leaf scorch, and citrus variegated chlorosis. Fastidiosa blocks the movement of water within the plant system, eventually killing the plant. Sharpshooters become contaminated with the disease while feeding on infected plants. They consume many times their body weight in fluids daily and must visit many plants to satisfy their nutritional requirements. The insect feeds on a wide variety of ornamental crops and crop plants, over 100 in all, including wine grapes. The majority of these plants, such as citrus trees, act as a host only and are not infected with disease. Sharpshooters generally feed on stems rather than leaves and can leave plants with a whitewashed appearance. Once established, there is no economically feasible control of the insect to mitigate the spread of Pierce's disease.