A pair of European grapevine moths (EGVM) (Lobesia botrana) was trapped in early August a vineyard just east of Lodi, Calif., triggering a five square mile quarantine around the vineyard.

It is the third EGVM quarantine for the San Joaquin Valley. One is east of Fresno and the other is in Merced County.

The finds are likely third-generation hitchhikers since the vineyard is near Highway 99.

The quarantine is bordered by Peltier Road, Davis Road, Morada Road and Jack Tone road.

The San Joaquin County ag commissioner will be notifying grape growers within roughly a half mile of the two EGVM trap catches. Control measures are recommended for vineyards in that area. Check out the University of California IPM Web site for products registered for use to control EGVM. However, with harvest close at hand growers are asked to contact winery buyers and PCAs as to any pesticide use restrictions like pre-harvest intervals, according to UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Paul Verdegaal.

If your vineyards is located in the five mile quarantine area, but outside the 0.6 mile of the first find site, or any possible future locations of moth finds, no spray is required or suggested.

There will be grape movement sanitation requirements within the quarantine area involving harvest and trucking the fruit both in and outside of the quarantine area. These will be coming from the county ag commissioner’s office.

The trap where the two EGVM were caught is was part of a statewide program, in conjunction with USDA and California Department of Agriculture to detect this invasive moth. “As a result of these finds, our local inspectors and state staff will place nearly 2,400 traps in commercial vineyards within a 97-square mile area around the discovery,” says Scott Hudson, San Joaquin County agricultural commissioner. “It is critical we determine if there are any more of these pests in our area.” Prior to this detection of EGVM, San Joaquin County had approximately 2,200 EGVM traps in place throughout commercial vineyards in the county.

European grapevine moth was first detected in Napa County in September of 2009. Since that time, EGVM has also been found in Sonoma, Solano, Mendocino, Merced and Fresno counties where grower pest management efforts are underway. EGVM is a grape pest of significant economic importance in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, southern Russia, Japan and, more recently, Chile. The larva feed on grape flowers and developing fruit. Second and third generations cause the most damage by direct feeding on mature grape berries and indirectly by predisposing the crop to fungal infections, like grey mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea). Damage is greatest in grape cultivars that have compact clusters or are sensitive to rot.