Southern blight, caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii, is a soilborne pathogen that is increasingly becoming problematic in many crops - including tomato, potato, sunflower, bean, and pepper -  likely due to higher spring and summer temperatures. Initial symptoms of southern blight include a yellowing of the foliage with slight darkening of the stem just above the soil line. Lesions on the stem at or near the soil line develop rapidly, girdling the stem and  causing sudden and permanent wilt of the plant. The fungus grows downward on the stem, rotting the cortical tissue. White mats of mycelium develop on the stem and nearby soil. In a few days, tan to brown spherical sclerotia (tiny compact...

With generous donations from seed companies and support from the California Dry Bean Advisory Board, we're working on two research projects in garbanzo beans this year.

One is focusing on the herbicide Tough 5EC (pyridate) for broadleaf weed control in established garbanzo stands. Currently there are no herbicides registered for use in garbanzos after crop emergence except hooded sprays or directed sprays (not on the crop). Tough by Belchim Crop Protection, is currently being registered for use in garbanzos in other states.

We're conducting two trials with Tough in garbanzos; one at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center and the other at UC Davis. Hopefully this will lead to Tough being registered for use on...

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 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...

Across the globe, scientists have shown that birds can be farmer allies. Insectivorous birds feed on damaging insect pests in many crops including coffee, cacao, oil palm, corn, cabbage and apples. Raptors, including hawks and barn owls, feed on rodents, including gophers, voles and mice (see blog, Barn owls help clean up rodents naturally).

Despite this deep historic knowledge that birds are important predators of crop pests, over time the perception of birds as natural enemies of pests has been generally replaced with the idea that birds are often major crop pests themselves. Indeed, some bird species — like some types of...