- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
- Author: Ian Grettenberger
The end is near for chlorpyrifos (Lorsban) applications in many California crops, now on a faster timetable than previously anticipated. This results from a recent agreement between CA Department of Pesticide Regulation (CA-DPR) and pesticide manufacturers to withdraw their products beginning in a few months (February of 2020).
This is a major issue for alfalfa, since it is one of the most popular wide-spectrum insecticides for management of key alfalfa pests. These include the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica, which chews on the foliage (Figure 1, Figure 2) and the aphid complex (several...
- Author: Nicholas Clark
- Author: Lynn Sosnoskie
- Author: Joy Hollingsworth
2019 Annual Alfalfa and Forage Field Day
Thursday, September 19, 2019
UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier
9240 S. Riverbend Ave.
NO COST TO ATTEND
Get ready for a half day of forage research demonstrations and educational presentations in the field and in the classroom. The meeting will begin early morning and finish through lunch.
Lunch will be...
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
- Author: Dan Putnam
- Author: Rachael Long
A question came to me from a crop consultant. His alfalfa grower asked him how he could increase crude protein (CP) in his alfalfa. The buyer of the alfalfa, for the most part, is happy with the hay. For example, the buyer is happy with the total digestible nutrients (TDN), but he would like to see a little higher CP. The consultant said that the grower is generally on a 28-day cutting cycle and is generally cutting the hay pre-bloom. He wondered if nitrogen (N) fertilizer would help to improve CP.
The best way to improve CP is to: 1) cut early, 2) choose a more dormant variety (but give up yield), and 3) manage the harvest to retain the leaf fraction. Since this grower is already cutting pre-bloom, and since...
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
Come and join farmers, industry reps, PCAs and researchers at the annual Grains/Alfalfa Field Day at UC Davis
The annual UC Davis Small Grains and Alfalfa Field Day will take place on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at the Agronomy Field Headquarters (2400 Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA 95616). Program is below.
This event is organized by University of California Cooperative Extension, and sponsored by California Crop Improvement Association and UC Davis.
Registration opens at 7:45am, and lunch is provided between the small grains morning program and alfalfa afternoon program. The event is free and open to the public, and continuing education credits will be available. Check here for...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Ian Grettenberger
Painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) are dazzling us with color, but surprising us with sporadic finds of caterpillars on crops this year, including alfalfa, pistachio, walnuts, artichokes, and hybrid sunflower (see IPM Advisor Emily Symmes blog: What's that Caterpillar on my Weeds?).
Painted lady caterpillars primarily feed on weedy hosts such as Malva (cheeseweed), plantago, cocklebur, star thistle, and some legumes, especially lupines, but NOT alfalfa or close relatives. They do not breed on alfalfa or tree crops, so while one may find larvae in these crops, they should not cause any...
