- Author: Konrad Mathesius
Hello Growers and Members of the Ag Community,
I'm Konrad Mathesius (Muh-tay-zee-us), the new agronomy advisor for Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties. I'll be resuming work done by my predecessors Tom Kearney and Kent Britton and working with Mark Lundy this year on several projects in wheat. I look forward to sharing our findings with you. That said, my primary duty is to be available to growers, PCAs, and other members of the ag community to link them to resources and help them address concerns or issues with pests, soils, regulations, varieties, rotations, cultural practices, cost studies, or pretty much anything related to farming. My main crops of concern will be corn, sunflower, safflower, wheat, barley, and rye; but I...
- Author: Mark Lundy
Over the past 10 days there have been several processing tomato fields in the Sutter Basin area that have tested positive for BCTV, which is vectored by the beet leafhopper. BCTV had been more noticeably present in the San Joaquin Valley than in the Sacramento Valley during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. It can have a serious, negative impact on crop productivity. If tomato growers in the Sacramento Valley are not currently monitoring for the beet leafhopper, it might be worthwhile to begin doing so.
For additional UCCE information on BCTV as it relates to tomatoes, see:
- Author: Emma torbert
- Author: Dan Putnam
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Rachael Long
UC Davis Annual Field Day for Alfalfa & Small Grains will be held 12 May, 2015 on the UC Davis Campus. Many subjects including pest management, irrigation management, genetics, disease resistance and drought response will be featured. Come visit field research plots showing new varieties, subsurface drip irrigation, monitoring of irrigation and water needs, and pest management.
The grains program is in the morning and the Alfalfa/Forage Program is in the afternoon.
FREE Barbecue Lunch at Noon Sponsored by California Crop Improvement Association.
There is no pre-registration required, just come!
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Rachael Long
Over the past few months there have been many small grain fields infested with aphids, primarily the bird cherry-oat aphid, which vectors barley yellow dwarf virus. Economic thresholds for chemical control are quite high, and most of the agronomists I've conferred with have indicated that spaying for aphids has generally limited efficacy. The best defense against aphids vectoring BYDV is selecting a resistant variety. Rachael Long, a UCCE farm advisor in the Sacramento Valley, recently posted some information about the susceptibility of some oat varieties here....
