Shipments would not be unloaded until the commissioner inspects and determines the stock is free of adult GWSS and eggs. Development of local management plans in all regions of the state to provide for early GWSS detection with ongoing trapping and monitoring. The plans need to provide protocol for actions to be taken when the pest is detected and an agreed upon treatment protocol to eradicate the pest. A statewide program manager to coordinate the activities related to research, management and control of Pierce's disease and the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter. Although our immediate focus is on what to do about the GWSS, the real problem is Pierce's disease which kills the vine.
Additional funding is needed to figure out the disease.
To be effective, this research needs to be coordinated with the University of California and other states to draw on all available expertise to solve the problem. If international experts have made progress in understanding the Xylella fastidiosa we should also reach out to them to help develop a solution. There is a need for additional researchers because Pierce's disease and related plant bacterial diseases represents a serious new threat to California grape production and poses a threat to the long-term health of citrus crops and other fruit, nut and ornamental crops in California and throughout the southern United States. In addition to Pierce's disease Xylella fastidiosa causes almond leaf scorch, alfalfa dwarf, oleander leaf scorch, and citrus variegated chlorosis. The bacterium has been under study for years and there does not appear to be an easy or quick way to manage the diseases it causes without an accelerated research program dedicated to finding a solution.