- Fall 1995 "Update" Newsletter Article -
New publication offers close-look at spiders
From CATI Publication #951001
Copyright © 1995. All rights reserved.
All you ever wanted to know about spiders in your vineyard but were afraid to ask....
No, that's not quite the name of the new field guide soon to be available to growers, researchers and pest control advisors in the central San Joaquin Valley. But some close-up color photographs and brief descriptions in the guide will give interested persons a better understanding of the lifestyles of the creatures that help to control many of the unwanted pests in California vineyards.
The new publication is titled "Spiders in San Joaquin Valley Grape Vineyards." It is a guide for identifying the most common spiders found here.
"Lots of questions have come up recently about spiders in vineyards," explained Dr. Mark Mayse, professor in the Department of Plant Science and Mechanized Agriculture at California State University, Fresno, and one of the authors of the spider guide. To help answer many of those queries, Mayse helped to form a research team from both California State University, Fresno and the University of California to put the publication together.
The guide is brief, just four pages, and designed for use in the field. A primary goal was simply to help growers and pest control advisors become familiar with the types of spiders that will take up residence in a vineyard - if allowed to.
"These are considered good guys. Virtually every spider in the vineyard is an insect eater," Mayse said. "If we begin to get a little insight into who they are and what they do, we will find the means to conserve them."
Many spider species, for example, are known to dine on the variegated leafhopper, one of the most notorious of vineyard pests. Some spiders also eat omnivorous leafroller larvae, mealybugs, mites, and thrips. By using practices that encourage the presence of spiders (such as using cover crops), growers can enlist the aid of these natural predators to help control populations of unwanted pests.
Attitudes of grape growers towards the use of pesticides have changed significantly in the last 10 years, Mayse noted. Many now fully embrace integrated pest management (IPM) techniques, which involve among other things the use of spiders and other natural predators, whenever possible, for pest control.
Publication of the spider guide is another way of advancing the philosophy of IPM, among both growers and pest control advisors. Mayse said he and the other authors will use it in upcoming academic and industry presentations. Other authors include Michael J. Costello, from the Fresno County office of the UC Cooperative Extension; and Kent M. Daane of the Kearney Agricultural Center.
For more information, contact one of the following:
Mark Mayse
Department of Plant Science
California State University, Fresno
(559) 278-2150
E-mail: markm@zimmer.csufresno.edu
or
Steve Olson, Publications Editor
California Agricultural Technology Institute
California State University, Fresno
(559) 278-5680
E-mail: steveo@zimmer.csufresno.edu{ page top }