California Department of Food and Agriculture Sacramento, California
Justification for a state-run program dedicated to implementation of biological control organisms for exotic insect pests and weeds was based, in part, on the need for mass production and statewide distribution of newly approved biocontrol organisms to satisfy the demand for these agents. Mass production can be labor-intensive and take several years to supply sufficient numbers of beneficial organisms. California is the third-largest state by area (424,000 km2, 163,700 square miles) and consists of 58 counties. To assist with statewide distribution, the California Department of Food and Agriculture partnered with the Association of County Agricultural Commissioners. State biocontrol scientists trained county biologists who selected and identified locations for release of biocontrol agents and dealt directly with property owners and land managers. This partnership provided a means for a small group of state scientists to effectively provide biocontrol agents statewide. For example, a total of 1,445 adult Eustenopus villosus, a seed weevil introduced for control of yellow starthistle, were released into California in 1990-1991. From these, 316,000 adult weevils were released at 1,024 field sites in 52 counties during 1992-2002. In total, 39 species of exotic weeds in California have been subjected to releases of biological control organisms and state biocontrol scientists have participated in some biocontrol-related activity for 95% of these species. A recent review of weed biocontrol in California reported that 42% of projects for which long-term data are available showed complete or substantial control of the target weed. The economic and environmental benefits of these projects continue today.
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