What is caps?

WHAT IS CAPS?

• Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS) is a cooperative program requiring coordination and communication between many Federal, regional, State, county, and private entities to collect and manage data on plant pests, weeds, and biological control agents.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) provide national and regional coordination and funding to supplement and enhance Alabama’s pest survey and detection programs.

CAPS GOALS

• Goal I: Early detection of exotic plant pests and weeds

• This goal is reached through cooperators conducting directed detection surveys based on pest risk assessments for organisms that demonstrate a high risk of entering the United States and may have a high probability of becoming established and reaching significant pest status.
• Components of Alabama’s early detection program encompass such areas as analysis of interception data, taxonomic support, pest information, pest risk assessments, pathway analyses, risk mapping, and guidelines for reporting new detections.

CAPS GOALS

• Goal ll: Maintain a pest information database to support the cooperative management of PPQ program pests and biological control programs.

• The second goal is obtained through NAPIS.
• The purpose of (NAPIS) or the National Agricultural Pest Information System is to facilitate data management coordination for the plant pest survey data gathered as part of the CAPS program. NAPIS provides the capabilities for entering, storing, processing, summarizing, managing, retrieving, graphing, and distributing plant pest survey data to the participants of the CAPS program and to other interested parties.
• NAPIS currently houses 1.3 million records on more than 3800 different organisms covering such diverse areas as insects, pathogens, weeds, and biological control organisms. NAPIS contains data that describes the results of a wide range of plant pest surveys and observations conducted throughout the United States
• www.ceris.purdue.edu/napis/

CAPS GOALS

• Goal lll: Provide timely and accurate plant pest and weed distribution data to support export of U.S. agricultural products

• This goal will is achieved through the distribution of plant pest data (presence/absence) to county level resolution.
• This data will support the development and/or expansion of specific export markets where export of agricultural products has been or may be impaired because of inadequate or inaccurate plant pest occurrence data (such as lack of demonstrated pest free zones).

INVASIVE PLANTS AND THE CAPS PROGRAM

• 1. COGONGRASS

• 2. TROPICAL SODA APPLE

• 3. TROPICAL SPIDERWORT

COGONGRASS

COGONGRASS

• 2003 – 2005

• The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries conducted 863 visual surveys finding 177 positive sites.

• 2006

• The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries conducted 169 visual surveys finding 7 new positive sites.

TROPICAL SODA APPLE

TROPICAL SODA APPLE

• 2003 – 2005

• The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries conducted 957 visual surveys finding around 15,903 positive acres.

• 2006

• The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries conducted 118 visual surveys finding 9 new positive sites equaling around 1,764 acres.

• Present

• 20,000 to 30,000 acres positive

TROPICAL SPIDERWORT

TROPICAL SPIDERWORT

• Tropical spiderwort is an aggressive weed that produces aerial (above ground) and subterranean (below ground) flowers.

• This results in viable seed being produced both above and below ground.

• Tropical spiderwort also possesses the ability to root at the nodes and can be propagated from cut stems.

• Therefore, light cultivation can often break plant parts and increase the area of infestation.

• Tropical spiderwort has been documented as being extremely tolerant to glyphosate.

• In other words, it is Round Up resistant.

TROPICAL SPIDERWORT

• Tropical spiderwort aerial flowers. [A.S. Culpepper]

• Tropical spiderwort subterranean flowers. [E.P. Prostko]

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Travis Taylor

• Survey Coordinator

• ADDRESS

• Alabama Dept. of Agriculture

• 1445 Federal Drive

• Montgomery, AL 36109

• CONTACT INFORMATION

• 1-800-642-7761
• [e-mail]