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Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS)
The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) is a combined
effort by Federal (USDA) and State agricultural organizations
to conduct surveillance, detection, and monitoring of agricultural
crop pests and biological control agents.
Survey targets include: weeds,
plant diseases, insects, nematodes, and other invertebrate
organisms.
Components of the program
include:
1. Survey, detection, and identification activities in the field and the laboratory.
2. A national database - the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS).
3. Electronic information exchange systems.
USDA APHIS PPQ provides national and regional
coordination, funding, and technical support for Federal and cooperative survey
projects. State Survey Committees, comprised of members from various state agencies
and scientific disciplines, work with State Survey Coordinators to direct individual
State programs that satisfy the needs of the state as well as serving national
interests.
The current Ohio CAPS program
goals include:
Detect
exotic pests before they can become well established:
One goal of the CAPS program is to detect exotic or invasive pests early so that
measures can be taken to eradicate them before they become established and have
an impact on the environment and industry. Surveys for hemlock woolly adelgid,
viburnum leaf beetle, oak splendour beetle, chrysanthemum white rust and sudden
oak death are currently under way to meet this goal.
Facilitate
the export of U.S. Agricultural products:
A second goal is to facilitate export of U.S. agricultural products by demonstrating
a pest does not exist in the state. Ohio's karnal bunt survey demonstrates to
other countries that the disease does not occur in the state, and as such Ohio's
wheat is safe to import.
Collect
and manage survey data:
All CAPS survey data is entered and maintained in the NAPIS database, which is
accessible by other states. This information repository allows other states to
quickly and easily determine which pests are distributed throughout what states,
which also assists state officials who make regulatory decisions. The NAPIS Pest
Tracker site is available to the public at the following address: http://ceris.purdue.edu/napis.
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