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CLIFF OHMART Vineyard View PD Cure Not Near; Prevention Effective disaster set in motion actions that led to the formation of the Pierce's Disease Con- trol Program (PDCP), which continues its work today. After a three-year hiatus, I attended the I annual research symposium in Sacramento, Calif., to report on what interests grape- growers the most. Recently I read a head- line from a report on the symposium that seemed to indicate a cure for PD is just around the corner. While PDCP has ac- complished a great deal since it was started more than 10 years ago, and great progress is being made to develop a management program for PD, it is very unwise to think that the problem is about to be solved. The symposium The PDCP Research Symposium primarily benefits the many researchers being funded by PDCP. It offers them the opportunity to gather once a year to be updated on each other's research progress and to exchange ideas. Several speakers said in their opening remarks that this was their favorite meet- ing of the year because of the opportunity to meet with their peers. Given the caliber of the scientists present, this is a high com- pliment to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), which or- ganizes the symposium. It is also a great meeting to attend for anyone interested in summaries of current research. CDFA secretary Karen Ross opened the program, emphasizing that the PDCP is an extremely successful partnership of indus- t has been 12 years since glassy- winged sharpshooter (GWSS) in- fected 300 acres of grapevines in Te- mecula with Pierce's disease, killing the vines and inciting panic in the California wine industry. That mini- try, government and university personnel formed to tackle a very important and chal- lenging problem, the control of PD. I also see the program as a model for the future of research, outreach and implementation in agriculture. As willingness of the taxpay- er to fund government programs declines, such partnerships will be essential for any Partnerships will be essential for agriculture sectors to maintain cutting- edge research and meet challenges. agriculture sector that wants to maintain cutting-edge research to meet new challeng- es. Federal support of important agriculture programs will likely continue, but the most successful programs will be ones where fed- eral dollars are matched with contributions from the agriculture sector, as is the case with the PDCP. PDCP director Bob Wynn then took the podium and presented highlights of the program from 2011. One impressive statistic was that 50,000 loads of plants from nurseries in GWSS-infested Southern California were inspected for GWSS in- festation while being shipped to Northern California, and only six were rejected. The inspection program continues to prove that trade in plant material can occur between GWSS-infested and non-infested regions without spread of the sharpshooter. Another success is evident in the devel- opment of what has been termed the Ap- View video in the Digital Edition. In this collection of videos, several researchers discuss their work to combat Pierce's disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter. proved Treatment Program. It is extremely costly to inspect millions of nursery plants to be shipped from GWSS-infested to non- infested areas. Therefore, PDCP funded research that resulted in the development of a highly effective treatment protocol for nursery plants in infested regions so they would no longer have to be visually in- spected prior to shipment. In a pilot test, 6 million plants were sub- jected to the Approved Treatment Program and then inspected. No living GWSS life stages were found. Wynn discussed the Rapid Response Program, which comes into play when an infestation of GWSS is found in a new, Highlights • Three research programs focused on resistance to Pierce's disease have progressed to the stage of field testing resistant grape material. • The programs in place to keep GWSS from infesting new areas of California without restricting shipment of nursery plants continue to be highly successful. • An affordable and commercially viable program to manage PD in California is still not a reality. • The PDCP is very successful model of a government-university-wine community partnership. Wines & Vines MARCH 2012 63 Wines & Vines