- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
UC Cooperative Extension and UC Davis will host a Healthy Soils Program field meeting on compost. The meeting will take place on Thursday, July 28th from 10:00am to 11:30am. The meeting will take place off of S. Landi Road, on Roberts Island in the Delta. Presentation topics include how to acquire compost, different types of compost, how compost can improve soil health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and how to apply for cost-share funding. The meeting location is where we are trialing different rates of green waste compost application for potential soil health and alfalfa yield benefits. Preliminary results will be described. Attendance is free, and...
- Author: Madi Hendrick
- Author: Ian M Grettenberger
- Author: Michael Rethwisch
Insecticide resistance in alfalfa weevils is spreading across California
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
- Author: Rachael Long
- Author: Rob Wilson
- Author: Ian Grettenberger
I have received a couple calls this year from growers and a PCA about root scarring in alfalfa fields. These observations were a bit of a “head scratcher” for all of us. At one of the fields, I noticed what looked to be a wireworm on the root, so that was throwing me off (Figure 1). Cutworms can also feed on plant roots. The larger instars have been found below the crowns under plant debris, but we didn't find any at this site. I reached out to Farm Advisor Rachael Long to get her thoughts. I had once heard Rachael talk about clover root curculio, and I wondered if it was causing the problem. While we have not confirmed that clover root curculio is present and causing damage in...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Morgan Doran
- Author: Brooke Latack
- Author: Richard Zinn
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A question came up from a rancher/farmer about grazing alfalfa seed production fields after seed harvest. Can one safely turn livestock onto alfalfa seed fields or cut and bale the hay for feed after harvesting the seed?
Yes, with the following considerations:
1) Watch for Chemical Residues. Some of the currently registered chemicals used in alfalfa seed production for pest control and desiccation restrict treated plant material from entering the food chain. Be sure to read the pesticide label before allowing livestock to graze or feed on alfalfa hay after a seed crop harvest. For example, alfalfa treated with Reglone, a diquat based...
- Author: Daniel H. Putnam
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
JUST HOW DRY IS IT?
It really doesn't look good out there for many western alfalfa growers. Most parts of the West are currently under 'severe, extreme, or exceptional' drought.
One would think that NOAA and USDA would run out of superlatives! (how about 'excruciating'?).
Figure 1. Drought status, April 28, 2022 (Drought Monitor, USDA, NOAA).
Normally our wettest months, the first four months of 2022 were some of the driest on record for California, which does not bode well alfalfa and other crops. Many of our...
