- Author: Michael D Cahn
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024
Course 10:30 am – 2 pm
Drop-in office hours 2-3:30 pm
Location: Watsonville Public Library
275 Main St., Suite 100, Watsonville, CA 95076
- Learn how to use CropManage to support irrigation and nutrient management decisions and record-keeping for your crops.
- Learn how to set up your ranch and crops in CropManage.
- Learn about the latest updates and how CropManage can assist with Ag Order 4.0
- New—deep dive into advanced CropManage topics during office hours
CropManage is a free online decision-support tool for water and nutrient management of vegetables, berry, agronomic, and tree crops. Based on research and field studies conducted by the University of California Cooperative Extension, CropManage provides real-time recommendations for efficient and timely irrigation and fertilization applications while maintaining or improving overall yield.
At this free workshop, we will provide hands-on training so that you can learn to use the newest version of CropManage. Crops currently supported include many vegetables (carrots, cabbage, celery, broccoli, lettuce, tomato, spinach, etc.), berry crops (raspberry and strawberry), tree crops (almond, walnut, pistachio, prunes, and pear), and agronomic crops (alfalfa and corn). CropManage is also available in Spanish.
A new addition to the workshop are drop-in office hours for anyone already familiar with CropManage and does not want to attend the full program but needs more advance assistance or may have specific questions. Stop by at 2 pm and we will be ready to help answer your questions and dive deep into more advanced topics.
Who should participate? Growers, farm managers, other farm staff, crop advisors, consultants, and technical service providers are welcome. The workshop is for both new and current CropManage users. Spanish translation will be available. Lunch will be provided.
What to bring? This is a participatory workshop. Please bring a tablet or laptop computer so that you can follow along and participate in the exercises. Each participant will need a user account for CropManage. Please set up a free user account at https://cropmanage.ucanr.edu/ before the workshop. Please arrive early to set up your laptop or tablet computer on the wifi and get logged on to CropManage.
Registration is free: Please register here
by March 4, 2024. Seats are limited to the first 30 registrants.
Questions: Contact Michael Cahn at mdcahn@ucanr.edu / 831-214-3690 or Sacha Lozano at slozano@rcdsantacruz.org / 831-224-0293
Agenda
10:30 – 10:50 am Registration and computer set-up
10:50 – 11:20 am Introduction
11:20 – 12:00 pm Getting started with CropManage
12:00 to 12:30 pm Lunch break
12:30 – 1:15 pm Using CropManage for decision support and record-keeping
1:15 – 1:45 pm Group exercise
1:45- 2 pm Discussion /Q&A/ wrap up
Drop-in office hours
2 – 3:30 pm Stop by to receive one-on-one assistance with CropManage and explore more advanced ways to use CropManage to understand nutrient and water needs of crops.
Continuing Education Units (CEU) for Certified Crop Advisors (CCA) have been applied.
- Author: Michael D Cahn
2024 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Meeting
Tuesday, February 20
7:55 am to 1:30 pm
Habrá traducción al Español
7:30 Sign-in and refreshments
7:55 Introduction
8:00 Managing runoff during the growing season and winter.
Michael Cahn, UCCE Irrigation Advisor, Monterey County
8:30 Satellite estimates of crop water use on the central coast and OpenET
Lee Johnson, CSU Monterey Bay/NASA
9:00 Update on using high carbon amendments for reducing nitrate leaching during the winter
Richard Smith, UCCE Vegetable and Weed Emeritus Advisor, Monterey County
Joji Muramoto, UC Santa Cruz, Organic Production Specialist
9:30 Cover crops for reducing winter nitrate leaching and controlling storm water runoff.
Eric Brennan, Research Horticulturist, USDA ARS
10:00 Break
10:15 Ag Order requirements for the upcoming year
Sarah Lopez, Executive Director, Central Coast Water Quality Preservation Inc.
10:45 UCANR Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative: Opportunity for technical assistance.
Aparna Gazula, UCCE Small Farm Advisor, Santa Clara County
11:00 Using CropManage to help with Ag Order compliance.
Michael Cahn, UCCE Irrigation Advisor, Monterey County
11:25 DPR Surface Water Protection Program: An overview of ag. monitoring on the Central Coast.
Pedro Lima, Sr. Environmental Scientist Cal DPR
11:50 Introduction to pump efficiency
Bill Green, Fresno State University, Center for Irrigation Technology
12:00 Pizza and Salad Lunch (free!)
12:45 Demonstration of pump efficiency and variable frequency drives (Parking lot)
Crystal Sandoval-Leyva, Fresno State University, Center for Irrigation Technology
2:15 Adjourn
CCA and DPR continuing education credits have been requested
For more information, contact Michael Cahn @ 831-759-7377, email: mdcahn@ucdavis.edu
- Author: Yu-Chen Wang
Broccoli head rot, also known as pin rot, can cause significant problems, especially in fall broccoli production in Salinas Valley. Two types of head rot are affecting broccoli, including bacterial head rot and Alternaria head rot (Koike 2010). Differences between those two types can be seen in the previous blog post: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3861. Here we focus on the Alternaria head rot, caused by the fungi Alternaria spp.
Symptoms. All aboveground parts of broccoli are subject to infection including heads and leaves. Head rot symptoms start as yellow spots and then turn brown and black (photo 1). The infection can spread from buds to stems (photo 2). With secondary bacteria or fungi infection, further decay occurs.The initial yellow spots resemble brown bead (photo 3), a broccoli disorder that can potentially be caused by excessive temperature, poor growth, or nutrient and water deficiency. However, the brown bead doesn't rot the stem, and no sign of fungi is presented on the buds. For uncertain cases, scraping the buds to see if the stem rot or fungi are presented is a useful technique. Leaf spot symptoms start as small yellow spots on the old leaves and then form dark, concentrical rings like a target (photo 4). The old spots may become brittle and split open or fall out as shot holes. The high number of leaf spots per plant indicates a higher disease pressure and could be a signal for fungicide application.
Management. The disease is favored by prolonged wetness from rain, dew, and fog. Fungal spores are spread by winds and splashing water. Cultural practices to promote leaf drying or prevent leaf wetness may reduce disease severity. Some growers have seen the benefits of using drip irrigation instead of overhead irrigation. An early harvest before rainfall could also reduce disease risk. Variety effects on disease tolerance might play a role. Lumpy broccoli heads tend to accumulate water which may further weaken the plant tissues and become a suitable target for the pathogens. Finally, there are a number of fungicides that have activity against the disease. More frequent fungicide applications should occur during wet weather which is favored by the disease.
Research update: fungicide evaluation.
Methods. One fungicide trial was conducted in a commercial broccoli field to test the efficacy of select fungicides for controlling broccoli head rot in 2023 fall. Broccoli ‘Centennial' were direct seeded on 27 July, 2023. Seven fungicide treatments and a nontreated control were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Each plot consisted of two seedlines of broccoli that was 30-ft long on the 40-inch wide bed. On each side of the plot was a nontreated guard bed. Treatments were applied with a CO2-pressurized backpack sprayer calibrated to deliver 35 gpa at 30 psi using a double TeeJet 8004E flat fan nozzles. Fungicide applications were made on 4 October and 16 October. All treatments were applied with non-ionic surfactant Dyne-Amic 0.08% v/v. Alternaria head rot incidence was evaluated at harvest on 23 October, 2023. Disease incidence was expressed as the percentage of the number of plants with Alternaria head rot in the total number of plants within the middle 15 ft of the plot. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey test to separate means at P<0.05. The total rainfall received one month before harvest was 0.57 inches. The average, minimum, and maximum temperatures were 62°F, 53°F, and 75°F, respectively.
Results (Table 1). The disease pressure in this trial area was low with nontreated control having 14.0% head rot. However, significant differences occurred among treatments for the % Alternaria head rot. All treatments reduced % Alternaria head rot numerically, while Pydiflumetofen+Fludioxonil, Azoxystrobin, Fluxapyroxad+Pyraclostrobin, Fluopyram+Trifloxystrobin, and Pyraclostrobin had significantly lower % Alternaria head rot than nontreated control. And they had statistically similar % Alternaria head rot. These results also showed that single FRAC 11, premixes with FRAC 7 and 11, and premixes with FRAC 7 and 12 provided good control of Alternaria head rot; single FRAC 7 provided fair control of Alternaria head rot.
Table 1. Disease incidence of Alternaria head rot at harvest
zProduct and Rate/A in this trial: Boscalid (Endura 9 oz), Penthiopyrad (Fontelis 30 fl oz), Pydiflumetofen+ Fludioxonil (Miravis Prime 11.4 oz), Azoxystrobin (Quadris 15.5 fl oz), Fluxapyroxad+ Pyraclostrobin (Priaxor 8.2 fl oz), Fluopyram+ Trifloxystrobin (Luna Sensation 7.6 fl oz), Pyraclostrobin (Cabrio 16 oz). xNumbers in a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different based on Tukey's significant difference test (P<0.05). yFRAC: Fungicide Resistance Action Committee.
Thanks to the cooperating growers and PCAs for assisting the trial. Thanks for the technical assistance from Carlos Rodriguez.
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- Author: Paramveer Singh
Hello everyone! I'm the new Ag Technology Advisor serving Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and San Luis Obispo. My focus is on harnessing technology to tackle the unique agricultural challenges we face. My mission involves collaborating with you to understand these challenges and explore innovative solutions. I'm eager to connect with growers, tech companies, and community members to gather insights and ideas that will help shape our agricultural future. Your experiences and thoughts are crucial in this endeavor, and I look forward to working together to advance our agricultural practices. Feel free to reach out to me at psbsingh@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Daniel Hasegawa
- Contact: Yu-Chen wang
Weather, weeds, thrips, and INSV: key points from the 2023 season
Daniel K. Hasegawa
Weather:
- Early 2023 brought historic amounts of precipitation and colder temperatures (Figure 1).
- In contrast to 2023, previous years experienced less precipitation and warmer winters, as observed from 2018 – 2022 (Figure 1).
- Saturated soils delayed much of the lettuce plantings at the beginning of 2023.
Weeds:
- Lots of precipitation led to an abundance of grasses and weeds that germinated during the late winter and early spring.
Thrips:
- Thrips populations recorded from February to April were some of the lowest we have observed since we started the monitoring program. This is a stark contrast to 2022 (Figure 2).
- During the middle and late season (May to November), thrips populations rebounded to levels that we have typically seen in previous years (Figure 2).
INSV:
- Reports of INSV in lettuce were very low during the 2023 season.
So… why were INSV levels so low this year? Our current theory is that the colder weather and precipitation suppressed thrips populations at the early part of 2023. This coincided with an abundance of weeds and grasses that germinated in early 2023. Because the weeds were newly germinated, they were not infected with INSV and thus, served as “clean” hosts for thrips to feed and reproduce on. The thrips that moved out of the weeds and grasses were also “clean”, which led to lower INSV levels in lettuce. Even though thrips populations rebounded to average levels by the month of May, the opportunities for thrips to acquire the virus from infected plants were much lower than in previous years.
For further questions, please reach out to Daniel Hasegawa and Yu-Chen Wang (yckwang@ucanr.edu).
Figure 1: Salinas Valley climate data from 2000 – 2023. Data was obtained from CIMIS 214: Salinas South II station for each month from January 2000 to September 2023 and reported as total precipitation (light blue bars), average maximum air temperature (orange solid line) and overall trend across time (orange dotted line), average minimum air temperature (dark blue solid line) and overall trend across time (dark blue dotted line), and the minimum temperature required for western flower thrips to develop (red dotted line at 45ºF).
Figure 2: Salinas Valley thrips monitoring from 2019 – 2023. Data is reported weekly as the average number of thrips collected per sticky card from 21 locations (Castroville to King City). The data can be viewed in the Salinas Valley Lettuce Pest Mapping Tool, which was developed and managed by Ian Grettenberger and Benjamin Lee (UC Davis).
Desktop version: https://salinaspestmap.shinyapps.io/salinas-pestmap/
Mobile version: https://salinaspestmap.shinyapps.io/salinas-pestmap-mobile/