California’s warm climate attracts many insect pests and diseases, and its diverse agriculture is under constant threat. Some of these threaten not just a single harvest, but entire industries and the communities and workers depend on them. California’s iconic citrus industry, for example, is battling an insect (Asian Citrus psyllid) that carries an incurable disease, huanglongbing, that has already decimated the citrus industry in Florida. To protect California citrus, growers must not allow one single psyllid to escape as it only takes one to transmit the disease to a tree or trees.
Other examples:
- Navel Orange Worm in Almonds and pistachio, which not only damages the nut, but opens the door to aflatoxin contamination that can harm human health
- Pesticides control weeds that harbor pests, rob water and other resources from crops, and create hazards for worker safety
- Pesticides are also used for public health and safety, habitat restoration and keeping rights of way near powerlines, roads, rails from becoming overgrown and potentially unsafe
Californians for Smart Pesticide Policy 