Enhancing Western Orchard Biological Control (EWOBC) is a
collaborative SCRI project between Washington State University (lead
institution), USDA-ARS, Oregon State University, and the University of
California at Berkeley. The team is focused on ways to improve the
stability of IPM programs in apple, pear, and walnut orchards, by
enhancing biological control. Our team includes six entomologists, an
insect geneticist, an economist, an extension specialist, and a
sociologist.
Goals
The project has two goals: (1) To ensure the sustainability of
three high-value tree crops (apple, pear, and walnut) in the western US;
and (2) to synthesize new information developed by this project with
the existing knowledge base, and deliver it in a user-accessible
package. This project is a response to stakeholder-identified needs for
solutions to FQPA-mandated reductions in organophosphate pesticide use,
which has destabilized IPM systems in use for decades in all three
crops.
Funding
This project is funded by the Cooperative State Research
Education and Extension Service (CSREES) Speciality Crops Research
Initiative (SCRI) with matching support from Washington State
University, Oregon State University, University of California at
Berkeley, Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Washington State
Commission on Pesticide Registration, Washington State University Pest
Management Transition Project, and California Walnut Board.
