- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Dan Putnam
Put on that jacket! This winter has been cold and dry, and many of our crops have felt it, including almonds, but also alfalfa! Fortunately, alfalfa has a high degree of tolerance but yields can also be reduced due to frost.
Frost Damage. We had record high temperatures in early February (near 80oF) followed by record lows (27oF on Feb 24, CIMIS data, Davis site). This caused some frost damage to alfalfa fields in many areas of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento Valley, with tip burn and dieback in the upper canopy.
Established alfalfa has good frost tolerance and will readily regrow once the weather warms. Harvest may be delayed by a week or two, depending...
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Rachael Long
Please mark your calendars for the annual Small Grains/Alfalfa-Forages Field Day to be held at the University of California, Davis Agronomy Field Headquarters from 8AM – 4:30PM (Morning-Small Grains, Afternoon-Alfalfa/Forages). We will send out an agenda closer to the date. We hope to see you there!
FREE LUNCH!
Barbeque Lunch provided by California Crop Improvement Association.
Please see http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/...
- Author: Thomas Getts
- Author: Rachael Long
Picture 1: Adult alfalfa weevil
Alfalfa weevils, key pests of alfalfa hay, have been showing pyrethroid insecticide resistance within the Intermountain region, specifically in the Scott Valley area west of Mount Shasta. In some alfalfa fields, weevil counts have been off the charts with 100 weevils per sweep, FIVE times the economic threshold level. These same fields showed little efficacy on weevil control by pyrethroids. In a 2016 test only 3-15% of weevils collected from conventional fields died from exposure to pyrethroids. Weevils collected from organic alfalfa fields that had no exposure to pyrethroids showed a 92% mortality (
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Thomas Getts
It's that time of year again to watch for those evil alfalfa weevils! Weevils are key pests of alfalfa, causing yield and quality losses mainly to the first alfalfa hay cutting. The alfalfa weevil complex includes the Western, Egyptian, and Eastern strains that are all likely the same species (Hypera postica). Each year, growers throughout the country deal with this devastating pest. Telltale signs of weevil damage are small holes in the leaves of the new growth during the winter and spring, depending on field location. Damage is most severe in the first cutting, with large uncontrolled infestations potentially causing damage to the alfalfa regrowth under windrows within the second cutting.
In...
- Author: Thomas Getts
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
This fall there were serious armyworm outbreaks in California's Intermountain Region. Many pastures, and hay fields were overtaken by this pest, especially in Siskiyou, Shasta, Modoc, and Lassen counties.
While armyworms are only occasionally a problem in the Intermountain Area, when the numbers are high the amount of damage can be devastating. Certain fields were wiped out this fall with many growers losing their third cutting or fall grazing ground to armyworms. Injury can be dramatic, where entire fields can be eaten down to the ground seemingly overnight.
