- Author: Ian Grettenberger
- Author: Rachael Long
- Author: Michael Rethwisch
- Author: Rob Wilson
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“I'll be back!” And, they are, with a vengeance!
Just like the Terminator, those pesky blue alfalfa aphids are once again wreaking havoc in alfalfa fields, including those just breaking dormancy in colder climates. They are also showing up in the first two cuttings under low-desert conditions in Southern California and Arizona. In some areas, there is a mix of blue alfalfa aphid, pea aphid, and cowpea aphid
How to respond might depend upon where you are, in part due to environment, stage of growth, and role of natural enemies.
Recently, Bill Chounet from Stanislaus Farm Supply contacted us from Nevada, observing alfalfa fields with extensive aphid damage in the very early in...
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
- Author: Rachael long
How about a trip to beautiful Reno with >500 of your closest friends? Please join us for the
2019 Western Alfalfa & Forage Symposium
Optimizing Yield and Quality in Irrigated Forages
19-21 November, 2019, Grand Sierra Hotel, Reno, NV
CE Units Provided (24 units CCA, 3 units PCA)
Early-Bird Registration will close Nov....
- 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...