Avocado

099 - Evaluating Avocado Selections of Commercial Potential

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mary Lu Arpaia, Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside

Advanced avocado selections identified from our avocado plant improvement program based at the UC South Coast REC and funded by the California Avocado Commission are being planted at Lindcove REC. This is part of a statewide effort to collect data on advanced selections from different regions in the state. We will have a total of 5 regional sites: UC South Coast REC, San Diego Co (site to be identified), Ventura County (site confirmed), San Luis Obispo (site to be identified) and the San Joaquin Valley (UC Lindcove REC).  All material will be on clonal avocado rootstock. For the near-term, controls of ‘Hass’ avocado will be included as a control treatment. We collect dry weight, yield and other horticultural data to assess the adaptability of these selections to the San Joaquin Valley. When sufficient fruit is available we will also collect samples for postharvest fruit evaluation.

 

075 - IR-4 Pesticide Residues

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jeff Dahlberg, Kearney Agricultural Center

The Inter-regional Research Project #4, or IR-4, was created by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1963 to aid growers of high-value specialty crops in obtaining pesticide registrations that would otherwise be unavailable. For a pesticide to be labeled for use, a tolerance, or the legal allowable limit of pesticide residues, must be established on that crop. The cost to register pesticides for specialty crops far exceeds the purchases made by the growers and packers. In response, the publicly funded national IR-4 Project was established to facilitate pest management solutions for specialty crop growers. Citrus, avocados and olives are specialty crops. By facilitating the registration of new pesticide uses in these crops, the IR-4 project helps the growers and packers use safer pesticides, use existing pesticides in more ways, have access to enough pesticides to help reduce the development of pesticide resistance in the pest populations, respond to invasive or new pests, and/or increase export market potential. This is done by having trials throughout the United States that mimic commercial practices, apply new pesticides to commodities, and send samples for analysis of residues. The field and lab data package is sent to EPA so that tolerances can be set and the new (often reduced-risk) pesticides or new uses of existing pesticides can be registered. The permanent plantings at Lindcove REC are used to conduct IR-4 trials on citrus, avocado and olive crops.