- Author: Mark Lundy
The smattering of rain is a welcome change, and we can only hope for more. Nevertheless, the drought continues to occupy much of the conversation about the upcoming growing season. With that in mind, I wanted to link to a recent post on the UC Weed Science blog discussing how the drought might influence herbicide efficacy:
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=12800
In addition, many folks probably saw this in the news, but there was some federal assistance for California farmers most affected by drought announced yesterday. More details here:
- Author: Mark Lundy
Wheat is a tough little plant. This is a field that was planted in early November to enough moisture to germinate. After about the 3 leaf stage it got thirsty and spent several weeks withering. By mid-January I was wondering if there would be a crop to harvest (note the plants in the furrows are doing better than those in beds due to the soil moisture difference):
Although we still need more rain (and we're getting some as I write this!), here's what the rains in early February did for the same field:
There is some heterogeneity between the beds and furrows in terms of growth stages, and some moisture-related spatial-variability across the field, but, for the most part, nary a plant is missing. Any...
- Author: Mark Lundy
Recently, I had the chance to tour a variety trial site for canola and camelina located north of Maxwell and part of a project headed by Nicholas George, a UC ANR scientist whose specialty is the evaluation and development of new and under-utilized crops, and Steve Kafka, an extension specialist on the UC-Davis campus and the director of the California Biomass Collaborative.
The trial is one of several located across the state. The work is funded by UC ANR and is trying to determine if canola and camelina are economically viable winter crop options for California growers and which varieties of each crop might be best adapted to California conditions. Often the price of canola moves inversely relative to the price of wheat, so...
- Author: Mark Lundy
CleanWorld (http://www.cleanworld.com/) is a company in the pilot phase, which processes organic waste streams into energy, fertilizers and other soil amendments via anaerobic digestion. They are seeking partners in the agricultural sector who are interested in experimenting with their liquid and solid by-products. More details on the nutrient makeup of these by-products is available in the document attached below. The material is not currently certified organic, but would presumably be used in that context once certified. Feel free to contact me to discuss, or contact them directly.
- Author: Mark Lundy
The annual Small Grain and Alfalfa Field Day will be held May 7th at the Agronomy research station west of the UC-Davis campus from 8:00AM-4:30PM. Details on the agenda and directions are in the attached flier. I'll be presenting some of my N management work in wheat. I hope to see you there!
