- (Public Value) UCANR: Safeguarding abundant and healthy food for all Californians
- Author: Thomas J Getts
I have gotten quite a few calls about blister beetles this year. There was a newspaper article up in Modoc that caused some stir, and was picked up by a lot of social media pages. So, what are blister beetles and why do we care?
Blister beetles get their name for a reason. They contain the toxin cantharidin, which can be excreted when they are threatened, or crushed which causes bad blisters on the skin. While this is problematic they typically are not drawn to humans, and blisters can be avoided by not handling them. Where they pose a larger problem is as a contaminant of hay, where they can be crushed/killed and incorporated into a bale posing as a potential toxin to be consumed by livestock.
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- Author: Daniel H Putnam
- Author: Mark E Lundy
The weather looks great for 9 May, 2024.....
Please Join us for a Grains/Alfalfa Field Day at UC Davis, coming up soon. Always a great field trip in the morning!!!
Join us for a BBQ lunch sponsored by California Crop Improvement and learn something new about grains and alfalfa.
Date & Time: May 9th, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Supported by the California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA)
- Author: Vicky Boyd
- Author: Rachael Long
This is a great article on Stem Nematode management in the West. Stem Nematode has been a severe pest in some years throughout California's Central Valley and high mountain valleys.
Stem nematode causes severe stunting, shortened internodes, and low first cut yields and can cause severe stand loss if infections are high. It's transferred by irrigation water and equipment. It is typically seen in very late winter or early spring.
Article by Ag Writer Vicky Boyd, in the Crops and Soils Magazine, available at:
- Author: Sarah E Light
- Author: Rachael Long
- Contributor: Taiyu Guan
- Contributor: Clair Akin
Background of the Project
Recent regulations, incentive funding, and the state's goal of reducing organic matter into the waste stream has led to increased organic matter application to California Farmland. With increasing limitations on burning orchard by-products, some alfalfa growers have been applying almond shell mulch to their fields.
Almond shells are distinct from almond hulls, which are high in carbohydrates and fed widely to livestock. Unlike hulls (which are more similar to dried peaches), shells are woody and break down more slowly. Almond shells are high in carbon and low in nitrogen (N).
- Author: Michael Rethwisch
- Editor: Ian M Grettenberger
This Grade Chart represents the average Insecticide Efficacy Grade against alfalfa weevil larvae from experiments conducted in the Palo Verde Valley over the past five years, with applications being approximately 18-20 gallons/acre to ensure excellent foliar coverage. Some products and rates are represented by only a single data point, while others have multiple year/rates of data. Data shown are from experiments which had weevil larvae numbers at or above economic threshold levels, providing high confidence in data.
Efficacy of pyrethroid insecticide products has changed through this period due to the development of insecticide resistance in this area's alfalfa weevils. Resistance has shifted multiple pyrethroids from...