UPCOMING MEETING EVENT:

UCDavisViticultureand EnologyOn theRoad in Monterey County

Monterey County Cooperative Extension Office

1432 Abbott Street, Salinas, CA

March 8, 2019, 8:30 am-1:30 pm

8:30 - 9:00       Check-in,lightbreakfast andcoffee

9:00 - 9:30       Managing vector spread/virus diseases of grape, Neil McRoberts, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology, Director of the   Western Plant Diagnostic Network, Department of Plant Pathology, UC Davis.

9:30 -10:00     The effect of grapevine red blotch virus on wine quality, Anita Oberholster,UC CooperativeExtension Specialist,Enology,Department ofViticultureandEnology,UCDavis

10:00-10:20    Introduction of Megan Bartlett, New Faculty member, Assistant Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis.

10:20-10:30  Break

10:30 -11:00   Using plant material to promote early vine development, Larry Bettiga, Viticulture Farm Advisor, UCCE Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties.

11:00 -11:30    Understanding how grapevine roots respond and recover, Andrew McElrone,Research Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS, Adjunct Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis.

11:30-12:00    Current and future objectives of the grape breeding program at UC Davis, Andrew Walker, Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis.

12:00-12:30    Precision viticulture, Kaan Kurtural, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist in Viticulture, Department of Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis.

12:30 -1:30      Lunch and Discussion

Advanced registration is required to attend this meeting. The cost to attend is $40.00:     

To Register, http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=26522

PCA and CCA credits have been requested. For more information or directions call (831) 759‐7350. Please call ahead for arrangements for special needs, every effort will be made to accommodate full participation.

Cosponsored by  UCCE-Monterey County, UCANR, RCDMC

Why: Apply for CDFA funding- State Water efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP). Receive up to  $100,000 in grant funding to improve your on-farm water and energy efficiency through the SWEEP grant funding program. During the workshop irrigation specialists will:

• Provide a comprehensive review of SWEEP and summary of other CDFA Climate Smart Grant programs
• Guide you through the required water savings and greenhouse gas reduction calculations
• Show you how to assemble a strong grant proposal

When: Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 1:00 PM- 3:00 PM 

Where: Monterey County Agriculture Center, 1432 Abbott St. Salinas CA 93901

 Presenters:   

Michael Cahn, Irrigation and Water Resources Advisor, UCCE Monterey

Laura Murphy, Soil Scientist, Resource Conservation District of Monterey County

Khaled Bali, Irrigation Specialist, UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Daniele Zaccaria, Agricultural Water Management Specialist, UC Davis

Registration:   

To register send name, telephone and email address to Lennis Arriaga (larriaga@ucanr.edu)

Questions:     

Contact   Lennis Arriaga @ 831-759-7353, email: larriaga@ucanr.edu 

Michael Cahn @ 831-759-7377, email: mdcahn@ucanr.edu

Grant info.:   Applications are due March 8, 2019 online at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/

The SWEEP provides financial assistance in the form of grants to implement irrigation systems that reduce greenhouse gases and save water on California agricultural operations. Eligible system components include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water use and energy.

Please feel free to contact us if you need special accommodations.

Diamondback moth (DBM) is a persistent pest in the Salinas-Castroville area. We were able to find late instar caterpillars in several spots along Blackie road on Tuesday January 22^nd. Basically, these caterpillars were feeding on brassica weeds, located along the side of the road (Fig. 1). This is an example of how insects exploit weeds as alternative hosts when there is a lack of a preferred and abundant host plant in the landscape. DBM will continue feeding on these weeds, while increasing their numbers. These DBM adults, originated from weeds, have the potential to infest any commercial cole crop during the upcoming weeks and months. Based on our observations, most of these caterpillars were close to pupate. Within the next two weeks, we might see an influx of DBM adults flying around fields and weed patches. A new generation of caterpillars may be present around mid-February in our system, depending on temperature fluctuations.

Fig. 1. Diamondback caterpillar spotted on a secondary branch of a brassica weed by the side of Blackie Road, Castroville, CA. Photo by E. Garcia.

It seems like not all of these caterpillars will become adults. Approximately, 10% of the caterpillars collected from Blackie road were parasitized by Diadegma wasp. We took these caterpillars to the UCCE Entomology lab to refresh and re-introduce DBM into our colony; and we were able to spot the parasitic wasp pupae inside our rearing containers (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Brown barrel-like Diadegma pupa (top) and light green diamondback caterpillar (bottom) on a cauliflower leaf inside a rearing container at the UCCE Entomology lab.

Ideally, controlling weeds outside our fields and along the roads could be part of our strategies to manage resident pest populations. Control of these weeds will allow to reduce population of these pests cycling through the winter here in the Salinas-Castroville area. Managing these weeds could be challenging too, due to accessibility and other issues. Please, keep in mind that cole crop fields surrounded by weedy patches will have a higher chance to be infested with DBM. You could prioritize the scouting of those fields to timely detect any economically damaging DBM population in your crop.

If you would like to learn more about DBM and the research conducted by the UCCE Entomology team, please contact Alejandro Del-Pozo at adelpozo@ucanr.edu or 831-759-7359.