Debach, Paul

The Paul H. DeBach Papers document University of California, Riverside professor Paul DeBach's pioneering work in the field of integrated pest management and in the biological control of insects pests and weeds.

From the description of Paul H. DeBach papers, 1921-1989. (University of California, Davis). WorldCat record id: 123914178

Biography

Paul H. DeBach (1914-1993) was an internationally recognized proponent of biological insect control. His research on citrus pests was fundamental in preserving the continued health of California citrus crops without reliance on chemical pesticides. DeBach was born in 1914 in Miles City, Montana and moved to southern California at an early age. In 1933, he graduated from Fairfax High School in Hollywood, California and thereafter began his university studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. After two years, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where in 1938, he received his B.A. in entomology. During his graduate studies, DeBach worked with Harry Smith at the University of California, Riverside's Citrus Experiment Station. In 1940, DeBach was awarded a Ph.D. in biological control of insect pests.

From 1942-1942, DeBach worked as a junior entomologist with the U.S. Public Health Service. He then worked for the United States Department of Agriculture from 1943-1945, researching control of the white-fringed beetle. Following World War II, DeBach was appointed as an assistant entomologist at the Citrus Experiment Station's Department of Biological Control, where he remained until his retirement in 1983. During this time, he developed the first formal courses offered in biological control at the University of California, Riverside, conducted pioneering research on the biological control of citrus pests, and revised and clarified the taxonomy of parasitic wasps.

Paul DeBach's primary research interests were control of citrus pests, particularly scale insects, whiteflies, and mealybugs. He took part in extensive foreign exploration to seek out natural enemies of California citrus pests, and successfully established many new species of predaceous beetles and wasps. During the 1960s and 1970s, DeBach was an active participant in the development and work of the International Biological Program's Integrated Pest Management Program. The United States Department of Agriculture and nineteen universities participated in the program, which aimed to reduce reliance on conventional pesticides.

In addition to his research and teaching, Paul DeBach was the principal editor of and author of several chapters in Biological Control of Insect Pests and Weeds (1964). The book has since become the classic text on biological control. DeBach also published Biological Control of Natural Enemies (1991), which he wrote for a non-academic audience. Paul DeBach died at his home in Laguna, California in 1993.

Source: Gordh, Gordon, Huffaker, C.B., and Luck, Robert F. "Paul Hevener DeBach, Biological Control: Riverside." University of California: In Memoriam. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

From the guide to the Paul H. DeBach Papers., 1921-1989, (University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of Special Collections.)