- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Sunday Riverside Press-Enterprise ran a lengthy article marking the 10th anniversary of news that rocked the fledging Temecula wine industry: newly arrived glassy-winged sharpshooters were spreading Pierce's disease and threatening to wipe out grapevines.
The article said the region is a key battlefront in the quest for ways to overcome the challenges of producing quality wines in the presence of GWSS. Almost $400 million has been spent on Pierce's research in California since the outbreak, the newspaper reported, but experts believe it could be 7 to 10 years before the experiments yield a practical...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The farm price roller coaster isn't often reflected in the cost of produce at the retail level, according to a column by Fresno County freelance writer Don Curlee. His article, based on research reported in the UC Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics Update newsletter, appeared in Capital Press yesterday.
While retailers are mostly unresponsive to farm price changes, they are more apt to respond to increases than decreases, Curlee noted, adding wryly, "Not...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Scientists from Cooperative Extension programs at Rutgers University, University of Arizona and University of California worked collaboratively on lettuce field trials that have shown applying a protein to lettuce can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, according to a story in The Packer. The work also shows that the treatment prolongs the shelf life of processed lettuce used in bagged salads.
The naturally occurring protein the researchers are studying, harpin, triggers a natural defense mechanism in plants, something like the broad spectrum...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A San Francisco Chronicle writer sought expertise from a UC scientist to unearth eco-friendly ideas for killing termites, the nemesis of wood-constructed home dwellers worldwide. Termites cause more consternation than depreciating property values and adjustable-rate mortgages, wrote Glen Martin, a former Chronicle environmental reporter.
Martin turned to Vernard Lewis, a UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension specialist, one of the country's top authorities on termite taxonomy and control, for advice on killing termites with kindness. Detection is one of the first problems with the pest. Lewis told the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
An article posted today on Salon.com said the maker of imidacloprid, Bayer CropScience, found the pesticide in the nectar and pollen of flowering trees and shrubs at concentrations high enough to kill a honeybee in minutes. That December 2007 revelation, plus beekeepers' own experiences in fields treated by the pesticide, have scientists taking a new look at imidacloprid's role in sudden, unexplained bee die-offs that have been reported around the world for the past 10 years.
Scientists have pondered whether there is a single cause of Colony Collapse Disorder or whether the phenomena results from a variety of factors,...