Rivers are an important part of our communities. However, some agricultural practices can detrimentally affect river health and water quality. The University of California Cooperative Extension conducts research and extension to educate growers about science-based practices that can reduce the impacts of agriculture on river health. These practices include such things as nutrient management, integrated pest management and conservation grazing. At the same time, local communities may not be aware of the choices that growers make to protect the environment.

River Camp Firebaugh is a summer camp for first- through eighth-graders in western Fresno County, and is managed by the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust. We...

Many factors make weed management on federal public lands an interesting challenge.

In September I was invited to join one of the Sierra National Forest Rangeland Management Specialists to explore a medusahead infestation in one of the grazing allotments she manages. The infested meadow used to be a homestead, though the only obvious reminder is the cluster of still-productive apple trees in the middle of an otherwise grass-dominated site. Pines and other conifers border the meadow, and a forest road divides the meadow into two parts. The portion uphill of the road is steeper and has more trees interspersed with the herbaceous vegetation, while the downhill portion is a more expansive, gentler sloping meadow. Due to the...

Destructive debris flows, commonly known as mudslides, have affected many parts of California in the past few years. Debris flows can cause extensive damage to homes and infrastructure, and threaten human safety. A related issue that gets less attention is how debris flows affect water quality downstream following fires. A current study led by Andrew Gray of the University of California, Riverside, is therefore timely.

“Historically, we haven't known much about the quality and quantity of sediments exported from burned areas. Our approach to addressing this knowledge gap was to monitor debris flows and associated suspended sediment so we could get a...

Summary Note

Mechanical cultivation is a useful tool in controlling herbicide-resistant Italian ryegrass individuals in a rainfed wheat system but is only about half as effective as Axial in reducing overall pressure from Italian ryegrass (expressed as a percentage of total groundcover). Growers should consider multiple approaches (chemical and mechanical) and integrate IPM strategies to reduce the spread of resistance among Italian ryegrass individuals. 

Background

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) has been shown to be a persistent weed for growers in rainfed winter grass systems. It is particularly problematic due to its biological...