The U.S. Congress will add another $22 million to California
’s quiver for fighting the glassy-winged sharpshooter, an insect
that kills grape vines and has infested three one-square-mile areas
already in Santa Clara County.
The U.S. Congress will add another $22 million to California’s quiver for fighting the glassy-winged sharpshooter, an insect that kills grape vines and has infested three one-square-mile areas already in Santa Clara County.
Agriculture officials, nursery groups and local vintners this week welcomed the increase in federal funding, especially given the state’s budget deficit. The budget signed by Gov. Gray Davis this year included $6.4 million to fight the sharpshooter.
The $22 million from the federal government comes on the heels of last year’s contribution, which amounted to roughly $22 million as well. Although what portion of the federal money each county will receive hasn’t been determined, last year Santa Clara County saw $890,000 of the money. That’s an amount County Agricultural Commissioner Greg Van Wassenhove wants to see increased by about $70,000.
“This is good news. The costs of running a good (sharpshooter control) program are more than what was first expected,” Van Wassenhove said. “The additional federal dollars help. We’re in the process of asking for more, separate of what’s coming from the feds.”
Van Wassenhove reported less incidence of adult sharpshooters in Santa Clara County since his department changed its pesticide regime. Initially two different pesticides at two different times were sprayed on residences with infested ornamental plants and fruit trees – two known hosts of the sharpshooter.
Ultimately, scientists found that just one pesticide and one spraying was most effective against the sharpshooter. However, broader application of the poison – also discovered to be key in fighting the pest – has caused costs to rise.
“They’re good flyers,” Van Wassenhove said of the sharpshooters.
Because the county is using only one pesticide and since the adult sharpshooter population seems to have dropped, Van Wassenhove said costs will eventually decrease.
Grape growers in the South Valley so far remain isolated from the pest. Infestations have occurred off Highway 85 near Blossom Hill Road as well as Branham Lane in San Jose. Another infestation was found in Cupertino, Van Wassenhove said.
“Are we still worried about it? Yes,” said Carlo Fortino, a winemaker at Hecker Pass Winery in Gilroy.
Fortino, whose family has owned the winery for more than 30 years, hopes grapevines at the Hecker Pass vineyard have some level of resistance to the sharpshooter. Fortino said the grapes were planted 60 years ago and have a well-embedded root system, making them stronger than less mature plants.
Also, Fortino said the winery does not have any plants or vines from nurseries. Nurseries have inadvertently spread the sharpshooter in some instances.
According to UC Riverside scientists, the glassy-winged sharpshooter, “Homalodisca coagulata,” is native to the southeastern United States. It was first found in California in 1990. It is a large insect, almost a half-inch (12 mm) in length. It is a dark brown to black. Its head and back are stippled with either ivory or yellowish spots.
Sharpshooters can acquire bacteria from plants and transmit it to healthy plants while feeding. If the adult stage of the insect has the bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease, it can spread the disease systemically. Once in the plant, the bacteria multiply and the plant eventually develops symptoms of dry or scorched leaves, particularly in mid-summer.
Pierce’s disease decimated 40,000 acres of grapes in the Anaheim area in the late 19th century.
