Zalom Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
With California Ag Today, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.In a recent virtual ceremony hosted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Dr. Frank Zalom was honored with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable 40-plus year career as a distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis.
Along in the celebration was the Almond Board of California who boast that one of Dr. Zalom's noteworthy collaborations was with the Board in the 1980s, where he worked alongside UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors to develop a groundbreaking pest management program for Navel Orangeworm in almonds. This program, which included winter sanitation, early harvest and the development of a degree-day model, led to a substantial reduction in Navel Orangeworm damage and insecticide use, benefitting the entire almond industry.
Highlighting the almond industry's significance, Dr. Zalom shared, "I want to acknowledge the visionary leadership associated with many California commodity boards and consultant organizations that I have had the pleasure to work with during my career. A good example is the Almond Board of California, whose longtime production and environmental research directors, Bob Curtis and Gabriele Ludwig, have set the standard for how a major farming industry can bridge seemingly disparate interests to create an acceptable outcome for all stakeholders."