Did you know that it is illegal to feed wildlife? As tempting as it is to put out bread crumbs for birds or deer chow for Bambi, there are downsides to feeding wild animals, says a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources expert in human-wildlife conflict resolution.
California law states: “Except as otherwise authorized in these regulations or in the Fish and Game Code, no person shall harass, herd or drive any game or nongame bird or mammal or fur-bearing mammal. For the purposes of this section, harass is defined as an intentional act that disrupts an animal's normal behavior patterns, which includes but is...
The South Asian country of Bangladesh, bordered on three sides by India, contains more than 22 million acres of agricultural land, with the No. 1 crop being rice. The average farm size is one acre or less, and each farm produces about 4,000 pounds of rice per year.
Vonny Barlow, a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) entomology expert and affiliated advisor with UC ANR's Statewide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, traveled to Bangladesh in September to instruct pesticide dealers, pesticide retailers, rice farmers and other growers in...
Farmers who have managed their soil with cover crops and conservation tillage are in better shape to weather El Niño this winter than those who have used traditional soil management methods, says Jeffrey Mitchell of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR).
“The soil-water interaction under various soil management practices will be quite clear if we do get the increased rainfall this winter that has been forecast,” Mitchell said. “Soil high in organic matter and covered by plant residue will allow increased water infiltration and storage, less water runoff and, on a large scale, increased groundwater...
The destructive Rough, Valley and Butte fires have raised awareness of the abundant wildfire fuels in forests, leading to calls for thinning to reduce fire risk. But where should land managers put the small trees, limbs and treetops they remove? How does thinning affect forest structure, wildlife and pests? The latest edition of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' California Agriculture journal contains a collection of peer-reviewed research articles on forest biomass energy, ecosystems and economics.
One way of disposing of the woody material is to burn it in biomass power plants to generate energy. However,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The glorious fall colors in California wine country aren't good news for the industry. Although they look beautiful in the muted autumn sunlight, red leaves on grapevines can be a symptom of serious plant diseases, such as grape leafroll associated viruses and red blotch.
In 2008, a disease characterized by red blotches along leaf margins and red veins under the leaf surfaces was seen in red grapes growing in Napa Valley. The symptoms resembled leafroll disease, however laboratory tests did not detect any leafroll and rugose wood viruses in the samples. Since then, red blotch disease has been observed in vineyards throughout North America.
The infected grapevines may produce clusters with reduced sugar content, causing...