In The News
California’s Pest Management Shift: What It Means for Nut Growers and How to Prepare
California agriculture is entering a new phase in pest management. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is rolling out a Pesticide Prioritization Process as part of its Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Roadmap , a move designed to reduce reliance on certain pesticide tools and accelerate adoption of lower-risk alternatives.
Read the original National Nut Grower article here: California rethinks sustainable pest management
Why This Matters
For permanent crops like almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, pest and disease control isn’t optional, it’s essential for protecting yields and profitability. But in many cases, growers depend on a small toolbox of chemistries, carefully timed to hit critical pest or pathogen windows.
Under the SPM process, some of these products could be prioritized for phase-out. That means there will be, tighter spray options, increased need for non-chemical or reduced-risk approaches, and greater pressure to prove economic feasibility of alternatives
What Growers & Agronomists Are Saying
Industry feedback, including some from the American Pistachio Growers, emphasizes that regulatory decisions must weigh economic viability alongside environmental impact, only phase out products if there are effective proven alternatives, and new strategies must be backed by research, education, and technical assistance.
Many nut growers are already using sustainable methods; mating disruption, beneficial insects, trap-based monitoring, and precision spraying, but there’s a gap: How do we know these alternatives are working in real time?
The Critical Role of Data
As the regulatory landscape changes, data becomes a grower’s best risk management tool. Specifically; Early detection of pests and diseases allows growers to avoid prophylactic sprays and only treat when necessary, Baseline monitoring across regions can guide cooperative action and help avoid surprises, Evidence-based results make it easier for regulators to approve, and for growers to trust, alternative control methods.
What We Can Do Now
Here are a few proactive steps for the 2025–2026 seasons:
- Engaging early in DPR’s process, public input now can shape how “viable alternatives” are defined.
- Invest in monitoring and forecasting tools to detect pest or disease pressure before it’s visible.
- Document the impact yield, cost savings, spray reductions, or new approaches you try.
- Collaborate regionally pests don’t respect fence lines, and coordinated monitoring reduces blind spots.
Where Spornado Fits In
At Spornado, we work with growers, researchers, and advisers to provide molecular-level early warning for airborne crop diseases. Our samplers and lab testing detects spores days to weeks before symptoms, support decision-making during spray program transitions, and help validate the effectiveness of new, lower-risk control methods.
As California moves toward sustainable pest management, we believe science-backed, grower-led data will be the bridge between policy goals and practical, profitable farming.