SJC and Delta Field Crops

UC Cooperative Extension has augmented efforts to monitor armyworm populations in rice fields since 2015 when we observed large populations earlier in the year (June) than previously observed. Here in San Joaquin County, we began monitoring in Delta rice fields a couple weeks ago.

We are now in the second year of a project investigating how to estimate nitrogen (N) mineralization in mineral and organic soils.

The annual UC Davis Small Grains and Alfalfa Field Day will take place on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at the Agronomy Field Headquarters (2400 Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA 95616). Registration opens at 7:45am, and lunch is provided between the small grains morning program and alfalfa afternoon program.

To say it has been a strange year would be par for the course. When don't we have a strange year anymore?! To say it has been a wet year, however, would be an understatement.

A consultant recently brought in some alfalfa plants to get another opinion on why growth was resuming slowly this spring. The field is located in Merced County and is a sandy loam soil. The field is in its fifth year, is glyphosate-tolerant, and has traditionally produced high-quality hay.