California almond growers have cut the poundage of active pesticide ingredients applied in their orchards by 61% over the last 20 years, a University of California farm adviser reported Sunday at the 52nd California Association of Pest Control Advisers Conference and Agri-Expo in Anaheim.

The numbers get sharper from there. Pollinator risks dropped 39%, worker dermal risks fell nearly 97%, and acute toxicity has been reduced almost to zero, said David Haviland, a UC Cooperative Extension crop adviser in Kern County.

"Find an almond grower, look him in the eye and give him a round of applause," Haviland told the pest control advisers in the room.

The reductions track back to roughly $89 million in research the Almond Board of California has funded since 1973, covering production, environmental stewardship, food quality and safety, and human health, according to the board. That work is paid for by a mandatory per-pound assessment on California almonds under a federal marketing order created in 1950.

"It just shows the dedication of our industry and our growers, and how they've been able to adapt to the challenges they face on a daily basis," said Taylor Hillman, the board's manager of industry communications, who told Agri-Pulse the results "make us feel good about the amount of resources the assessment has been able to fund to this point."

What did the research actually neutralize?

Two pests that once forced heavy chemical loads are now largely managed problems, Haviland said:

• San Jose scale. Chemical treatments for the small armored insect used to cause environmental problems. Researchers developed pheromone traps and other biological controls, and "the shift was so good that San Jose scale has become irrelevant," Haviland said.
• Fire ants. In the early 2000s, chlorpyrifos was the standard treatment for ants feeding on fallen nuts. Growers switched to baits that sterilize or kill the queen and collapse colonies. The active ingredient per acre now runs 100 to 200 times below what is known to be safe on foliage, Haviland said.

"The fact that you would prevent [the ants] from being born in the first place is very effective and very sustainable," he said.

Where does pest control go next?

Not every problem is solved. The industry is still searching for alternatives to pyrethroids that kill navel orangeworm and other pests that don't respond well to biologicals, Haviland said.

Pheromones could carry part of the load. "I get more and more calls from PCAs telling me what they're doing isn't working anymore," said Jeannine Onstott, a technical sales representative for Pacific Biocontrol Corp., an Oregon-based firm exhibiting at CAPCA. Pheromones for NOW and other difficult pests can fit into a "layered solution," she said.

The board's research priorities, laid out by Lauren Fann, who manages its pest management portfolio, include:

• Understanding pest biology for cultural and biological control
• Developing resistant varieties and rootstocks
• Reducing off-site pesticide drift and runoff
• Building decision-aid tools such as models and forecasts

In the 2025-26 funding year, researchers sought to evaluate biological pesticides as part of an integrated toolbox, develop tools for stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs, and manage vertebrate pests such as roof rats and squirrels, Fann said.

What does this change for growers?

For growers weighing input costs and regulatory pressure, the track record matters: less active ingredient per acre, lower worker risk and fewer environmental liabilities, funded through an assessment they already pay. The CAPCA conference, held through Tuesday at the Disneyland Hotel, ran sessions on digital monitoring, biopesticides, endangered species protections and California Department of Pesticide Regulation label changes.

The next checkpoint is the 2026 Almond Conference, set for Dec. 8-10 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. Themed "Bold Horizons," the free three-day event opens with the annual "State of the Industry" presentation by ABC CEO Clarice Turner, and breakout sessions will cover rootstocks and new varieties, fertigation optimization, NOW and Carpophilus beetle updates, and reports on red leaf blotch, hull rot and foliar diseases, with poster displays updating all ongoing research.

"The Almond Conference is a great place to be" to receive "just a plethora of information," Hillman said.