To conserve water and meet California's new water-use restrictions, one place to start is literally in one's own backyard. More than half of all household water use is typically used outdoors on landscape, according to University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources experts.
For homeowners, there are six key things to do to conserve landscape water, says Karrie Reid, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor, in San Joaquin County. Reid gives the following six tips:
- Tune up your irrigation system right away. When water is efficiently and accurately applied, less water is needed to keep plants healthy. Spray heads can get knocked out...
Bats are voracious predators of night-flying insects that target California crops. Research statistics show that a pregnant or nursing female can consume as much as two-thirds of her body weight in insects per night. That's somewhat like a 150-pound man eating 100 pounds of food per day.
What's the economic value of bats to the agricultural pest control? It probably exceeds $23 billion per year, according to recent studies. However, very little data exists on the benefits of bats for individual crops, such as walnuts.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers, together with UC Davis, are launching a survey to better understand the value of bats (and birds) on managed lands. The...
- Author: Kim Ingram
Between January 1 and March 15 of this year, 374 wildfires have burned 3,240 acres in California. According to CALFire, the five-year average for the same time period is 359 wildfires burning 1,124 acres. All of this during California's supposed wet winter months. As the East Coast bundles up and digs out from yet another storm, we in California have been shedding layers and applying sunscreen. Though we appreciate lower than normal seasonal disorder blues, we are facing a tough year ahead in terms of potential fire activity. The forest and shrub ecosystems are dry and with little relief in sight, many who live and recreate in the in these areas and their surrounding communities, are crossing their fingers that wildfire will not disrupt...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
To successfully eliminate bedbugs, pest management professionals say they need the cooperation of people living the pests, according to a survey conducted by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists.
California's pest management pros are divided over whether they believe that some of the state's bedbug populations are resistant to insecticides, but they agree that the bugs may survive treatments by finding safe harbor in excessive clutter and personal items that tenants didn't want treated or thrown away. In addition, some settings – such as hotels, motels, college dorms and homeless shelters – may be continually reinfested.
Bedbugs are among the most challenging and...
A half-block from the highway that brings thousands of tourists to Yosemite National Park each year, the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Master Gardeners landscaped a short and scenic hiking path that provides the perfect break on a long drive.
The quarter-mile-long Mariposa Creek Parkway runs parallel to State Route 140 (Main Street in downtown Mariposa) on Stroming Road between Eighth and Sixth streets. Along the path, the Master Gardeners created the California Native Plant Demonstration Garden, which includes dozens of beautiful, drought-tolerant plants labeled for easy identification.
The path, which follows a short stretch of Mariposa Creek, was designed to increase...