Oils are some of the most useful pesticides available for managing pests on woody ornamentals and fruit trees. They are also widely used on many herbaceous flowers and vegetables. Oils control a range of soft-bodied insects and mites, as well as several foliar diseases including powdery mildew (Table 1). Not only do oils leave no toxic residues, they are safe to use around people, pets, and wildlife; have low impact on beneficial insects; and won't harm honey bees unless applied directly to flowers during the time of day that bees are foraging.

Oils used for managing pests on plants are most often called horticultural oils. Horticultural oils are derived from petroleum sources, and are sometimes called...

Spring is here, almonds are blooming beautifully and farmers have not a care in the world. Actually, even though no crop-damaging insects or diseases may be present at the moment, the UC Integrated Pest Management program advises farmers to manage pests year round.

Not sure what you should be doing? UC IPM has just published an online video outlining the year-round IPM program.

How to Manage Almond Pests Using the Year-Round IPM Program is a narrated how–to guide for growers, PCAs, and others who work in almonds, showing what needs to be done throughout the season to stay on top of pest problems.

Going back and forth between the year-round...

The third edition of Integrated Pest Management for Rice is now available. The publication's informative color photographs of pests and their damage, line drawings, tables, and figures are valuable aids in the diagnosis and treatment of common rice pests. 

New in this edition, readers will find information on:

• Exotic pests in rice
• Detecting, confirming and managing herbicide resistance
• New diseases:  bakanae, rice blast and false smut
• New weeds: red rice, rice cutgrass, waterstargrass and Monochoria

The publication also has:

• Illustrations now in color
• Life cycle illustrations for each disease

Integrated...