Over that last week, at least 1,200 acres of melons and peppers in Imperial County were treated with a previously restricted pesticide to mitigate a potential sweet potato whitefly infestation.
Gaining approval for the pesticide was the result of a collaborative effort over the last two months by scientists, the Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner's Office, and local agricultural services. Environmental concerns and the agricultural needs of Imperial County stakeholders were discussed during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 10, where the usage of the neonicotinoids pesticide family was given an exemption locally.
The most predominant strain of sweet potato whitefly — Bemisia tabaci — is what's causing concern for growers, said Dr. Arun Babu, an entomology adviser for the University of California Davis Cooperative Extension in Holtville. "It all depends on temperature and what types of crops they're on … the female (whitefly) can lay up to 500 eggs."
Babu and Dr. Oli Bachie, the cooperative extension's director, have been working extensively with the Ag Commissioner's Office and local growers in preparation for the period when the whitefly would begin to emerge from winter dormancy and the heavily regulated pesticide would be needed.
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