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...
When a researcher determined that Native American marking on boulders at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center in Mendocino County could date back as much as 8,000 years, the staff and scientists at the center began pondering their role in stewardship of the archaeological treasure.
What kind of behavior is appropriate around such important discoveries? Can we touch these markings without degrading them further? Can we show them to the public? How do our tribal partners feel about such finds? How do they affect land management decisions?
The questions led to a partnership with the local Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) Shawn Padi of...
New guidelines being implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – effective Jan. 1, 2017 - require label changes allowing only therapeutic uses of some medically important antimicrobial drugs, and call for increased veterinarian oversight for these drugs used in animal feed. The drugs are currently sold over the counter with unrestricted access. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overuse may be related to the development of antibiotic-resistance-related infections, which kill 23,000 people and sicken millions each year.
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the Farm...
