Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.1
An almond that has been ruined by the feeding of a NOW larva.
Earl Decker grew up working in his father's almond orchard in
Durham, near Chico, during the 1940s. His father had a long history of
cooperating with Farm Advisors in research, and this orientation toward
scientific solutions was apparently passed on to his son. In 1978,
Decker's NOW damage rates were so high as to make him pull his hair
out. He brought pest-control advisors, extension agents, and several
scientists to his orchard, but none were able to control the NOW. Decker
realized they needed more help, so they contacted George Post and
Bob Hanke, the first independent PCAs in the Sacramento Valley. Post
and Hanke replied that they would be willing to help them with their
problem, but they would require $35,000 as a down payment. Decker
and four other growers pledged the full amount that same day, and
organized a meeting at Decker's house. Post and Hanke came to investi-
gate, and then contacted George Okamura, a scientist recently retired
from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, who had
managed the Los Angeles Medfly crisis. Okamura determined that the
NOW overwintered in “mummies” (un-harvested nuts that did not drop
from branches), which perpetuated large populations the subsequent
season.
