Project Number: 6618-22000-039-29
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Sep 01, 2012
End Date: Aug 31, 2014

Objective:
1. Adapt the current smartphone and web-based scouting system to California vegetable and grape production. 2. Hold training sessions to teach producers, crop advisors, and scouts how to use the system. 3. Evaluate the utility and benefits of using regional scouting data to base management actions through case studies of the whitefly-transmitted viruses Tomato yellow curl virus and Squash vein yellowing virus in Florida, the mealybug-transmitted Grapevine leafroll-associated viruses in California, and the thrips-vectored viruses Tomato spotted wilt virus and Groundnut ringspot virus in California and Florida.

Approach:
The system will be adapted to California vegetable and grape production by creating digital maps of production fields, and incorporating the extensive database of the insect and disease pests, as well as the management options, into the system. The scouting system has been developed for Florida, but it has not been widely implemented. Training workshops will be held throughout Florida and California and will be led jointly by members from ZedX, locally-based collaborators and grant participants. We will offer individual training sessions for interested growers, grower groups, and scouting companies. 3. Evaluation and validation will be accomplished by comparing management practices prior to and post implementation of the scouting system, as well as surveying grower attitudes towards adopting the new technology.