In the US, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of US$8m in emergency funding to help prevent the spread of European grapevine moth (EGVM) in California.
'The European grapevine moth is a significant invasive pest that has the potential to devastate California’s US$5.7bn table grape, wine, raisin and other industries, as well as the hundreds-of-thousands of jobs connected to each,' said Vilsack. 'The programme is a great example of cooperative work between government and industry officials, and this infusion of resources should help ensure the programme's future success.'
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), county officials, affected industry and the University of California Cooperative Extension are cooperating closely to conduct response activities. These efforts include, among other items, outreach, surveys, quarantine enforcement and grower-led treatments.
EGVM (Lobesia botrana) is a significant pest of grapes. The moth is established in Europe, the Mediterranean, southern Russia, Japan, the Middle East, Near East and northern and western Africa. In the fall of 2009, EGVM was found in California, its first detection both in the US and North America.
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