DATE: September 21, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Melissa Cregan, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures
SUBJECT: Retroactive Revenue Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for the Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Retroactive Revenue Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for the Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus Program effective June 18, 2021, through June 17, 2022 ($3,222).
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost as approval of the recommended action will allow for the County to enter into an Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to reimburse the Department’s costs of field surveys and sampling to detect Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the Department will not receive revenue from the CDFA for this mandated survey program.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
This Revenue Agreement is retroactive as it was received by the Department on July 23, 2021 and is retroactive to June 18, 2021.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Fresno County will receive approximately $3,222 in revenue from CDFA to fund this mandated program. Sufficient appropriations and revenues are included within the FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget for Department of Agriculture Org 4010.
DISCUSSION:
CGMMV is an “A” rated pest that infects a relatively narrow host range of cucurbits such as watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, squash, and zucchini. Depending upon the cucurbit host plant infected, yields can be reduced by 5-80% with associated reductions in fruit quality.
CGMMV is contagious and is transmitted by contact. Infected plant sap contains the virus, which can spread through foliage contact when plants are handled during cultivation, and through human contact and clothing. It can spread from infected plant debris in soil to uninfected plants via roots and through untreated irrigation water. The primary means of long-distance spread is through contaminated seed. Since the pathogen is seedborne, establishment of CGMMV could result in trade restrictions for both seed and fruit of host commodities.
CGMMV was first detected in California in 2013, and the CDFA confirmed the presence of CGMMV in fourteen fields since then. The CGMMV Program provides funding for the detection survey of CGMMV in fields where CGMMV has been previously detected and in which host plants are being cultivated. At the time of approval of this Agreement by the Board, adjacent agricultural fields belonging to two different growers have been sampled and confirmed positive for CGMMV. Additional adjacent agricultural fields containing cucurbits will be sampled for CGMMV.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture
CAO ANALYST:
Moises Mendoza