- (Public Value) UCANR: Promoting economic prosperity in California
- Author: Ben Faber
- Author: Ben Faber
The 2nd edition of the Avocado Problem Solver Field Guide is OUT NOW! It contains 14 new disorders (including six spotted mite, panicle dieback and tree lodging), it updates and expands the information provided in the original edition, includes three new beneficial insects and three new exotic pests, and includes 70 additional photographs as well as replacing many of the original ones. It is 30 pages longer than the 1st edition.
The new edition illustrates, describes, and provides management advice for 114 different pests, diseases, and other disorders of avocado in Australia, many of which are common to avocado industries in other countries. The first part of the book is expressly designed to help the user quickly identify the problem, this is achieved using 520 colour photographs which are arranged in order of plant part and grouped logically according to symptom. The caption of each photograph refers the reader to a page in the second part of the book which provides information covering the cause, general comments, description, prevention, and management of the problem.
All the pests are not found in California - yet- nor are all the diseases, but this is a beautifully illustrated and documented guide that can help CA avocado growers.
- Author: Ben Faber
Avocado Irrigation Calculator using CIMIS
(California Irrigation Management Information System)
Updated March 13, 2024
Gary S. Bender
Farm Advisor Emeritus – Subtropical Horticulture
UC Cooperative Extension – San Diego County
The irrigation requirement can be calculated each week by using CIMIS (California Irrigation Management Information System). CIMIS is a network of weather stations throughout California that takes daily information on evapotranspiration (ETo) of eight-inch tall grass and sends this ETo to a computer in Sacramento. ETo is basically the amount of water lost each day from this grass; it is calculated in inches of water. You can download this information when you want to irrigate your avocados and put it into an “irrigation calculator”. This information will be multiplied by the crop coefficient developed for avocados by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors and specialists . This will give you the amount of water lost each day by avocados through transpiration and evaporation from the soil surface. Then, assuming the weather doesn't change, you can replace that amount of water when you irrigate.
Follow the Attached Files "CMIS exercise" link below to see how it's done.
CMIS exercise
- Author: Ben Faber
Please join us at one of our California Avocado
Growers Seminar Series.
Presented by
California Avocado Society, Inc., California Avocado Commission, and University of California Cooperative Extension
Check our previous recordings on YouTube
California Avocado Growers Seminars Series 2024
Scheduled Topics
April 11 (1 - 3 PM)
Fertilizers
Topics and Speakers
- Author: Ben Faber
Soil Biodiversity in California Agriculture: Framework
and Indicators for Soil Health Assessment
Prepared by: California Department of Food and Agriculture Below Ground Biodiversity Advisory Committee
Soil health depends on soil biodiversity.
However, external pressures from land-use change, climate change and certain agricultural practices threaten the biotic networks that underpin the delivery of soil's many ecosystem services. Yet measuring soil biodiversity is a complex task, with a wide variety of possible indicators, and methodologies that are evolving with recent technological advances. This report, prepared by the Belowground Biodiversity Advisory Committee (BBAC) convened by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), focuses on how best to assess soil biodiversity in the context of working lands and considers current and future challenges faced by California agricultural producers, policy makers, governing agencies, and related stakeholders. The report presents information on the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil organisms, ecosystem services they provide, threats to soil biodiversity, assessment frameworks, and biodiversity indicators. Examples of how biodiversity indicators can be applied to specific use cases provide insights for soil health, sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, and biodiversity conservation in California.
Soil biodiversity is the interconnected ‘social' network of numerous species of living organisms that contribute to soil functioning. As these organisms grow, die, and interact with soil's abiotic components, they perform essential functions in carbon, water and nutrient cycling and plant growth, collectively described as multifunctionality, benefiting ecosystems and humans alike. Comprehensive assessment of soil biodiversity involves measurements of organism abundance, identity, and functional diversity or traits, ideally in tandem with measurements of soil processes, as well as interactions among organisms. Soil biodiversity and soil processes vary in space and time due to factors like location, climate, vegetation, and land management practices across California's diverse landscapes.
Soils are incredibly biodiverse habitats, containing a vast array of organisms ranging from macroscopic organisms like gophers to microscopic worms, fungi, and billions of bacterial cells. The physical and chemical properties of soils – soil texture, pH, water and oxygen content, salinity, organic matter inputs, and nutrients – determine the types of organisms found in a particular habitat. The array of organisms inhabiting soil spans over six orders of magnitude in size, and includes microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, archaea, and fungi); microfauna (protists, nematodes, and tardigrades); mesofauna (mites and springtails); and macrofauna (earthworms). Life in soil exists in ecological communities that are complex and interconnected. These interconnections provide stability to soil functions. Soil organisms are critical to regulation of greenhouse gases, both by consuming and producing gases such as nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. Mycorrhizal fungi in symbiosis with most plant species promotes root growth and availability of water and nutrients. A broad range of soil organisms mediate the decomposition of organic inputs and enhance nutrient cycling. Other functions of biodiverse soils include soil structure formation, organic matter formation, carbon storage, water regulation, and pathogen suppression. But despite these critically important functions, the diversity and complexity of soil biodiversity makes it challenging to decipher these intricate relationships and understand the impact of human activities.
Soil biodiversity faces many of the major threats from human activities and global change that also impact soil health and sustainability of California's agroecosystems. Land use changes, intensive agriculture, climate change, pollution, invasive species, overexploitation, and loss of habitat connectivity all pose risks. These threats disrupt soil biological networks, reduce biodiversity, impair ecosystem functions, and degrade soil structure and fertility. Soil biodiversity loss reduces multifunctionality and the provision of ecosystem services, highlighting the need to recognize the value of belowground communities to overcome challenges such as climate change, land degradation, and overall biodiversity loss. Addressing these challenges through sustainable land management, agroecological approaches, and awareness campaigns is crucial for preserving belowground biodiversity to maintain provision of essential ecosystem services.
READ ALL ABOUT SOIL DIVERSITY in the Report:
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/biodiversity/docs/Soil_Biodiversity_California_Ag_July_2023.pdf