Citrus
092 - Assessement of Systemic Neonicotinoid Insecticides for Management of Asian Citrus Psyllid
Principal Investigator: Dr. Frank Byrne, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside

090 - Mandarin Pest Management
Principal Investigator: Beth Grafton-Cardwell, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside and Director of Lindcove Research and Extension Center

088 Assessment of Mandarin Varieties
Principal Investigator: Dr. Mikeal Roose, Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside

093 - Cold Hardy Mandarins and Clementines in Northern California
Principal Investigator: Deborah Giraud, University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, Del Norte County
Trees of cold hardy mandarin varieties will be planted at several small mixed farms in Humboldt County in the inland valleys where peaches, grapes and kiwi are currently successful. Olives are also being planted as a new crop. Growers are interested in exploring diversification and have started to plant mandarin varieties. The Farm Advisor is interested in cold hardy citrus varieties to be able to make science-based recommendations and in maintaining citrus germplasm in isolated areas far from disease sources.
126 Citrus Pre-harvest Microbial Safety
Principal Investigator: Dr. Trevor Suslow, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis
The purpose of this field study is to develop the first baseline information of predicted pre-harvest survival of nonpathogenic bacteria (generic E. coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens) and an attenuated isolate of Salmonella as surrogates of human bacterial pathogens on navel and Valencia oranges under California conditions. Regardless of the perceived low risk position for many tree fruit, such as citrus, it is clear that pressure to adopt standards and ‘metrics’ of Commodity-Specific Guidance and Audit Criteria by other sectors of the produce industry is increasing. At the request of the California Citrus Quality Council and California Citrus Research Board, we have become engaged in a proactive effort to characterize the microbial food safety Risk Profile for California citrus within an initial specific priority food safety objective as follows;
- Determine the persistence of pathogen surrogates on citrus fruit, predominantly navel oranges, during the California harvest season at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center (LREC) experimental orchards.
The primary immediate goal is to develop risk assessment information for survival post-contamination in pre-harvest phases under open environment conditions to assist in current dialogue with the USFDA during produce safety rule-making.