- Author: Tunyalee A. Martin
Wildlife and people have been in the news lately. Perhaps you've heard of coyotes wandering in your neighborhood. You might have also read about how you shouldn't feed wildlife. Did you know they are connected? It's a problem when people feed coyotes either intentionally or unintentionally through uncovered garbage and outdoor pet food. Available food may encourage coyotes to associate closely with humans and to lose their natural fear of us. These interactions will be discussed during a special symposium on urban coyotes at the 27th Vertebrate Pest Conference.
The Vertebrate Pest Conference is held every two years, mostly in California. This year, the meeting will be Monday through Thursday, March 7to 10 in Newport Beach. Meetings are held in cooperation with the Pesticide Applicators Professional Association (PAPA). The leading authorities with vertebrate management expertise from around the world congregate to present the latest research and extension information. Are you an animal control official, wildlife manager, agricultural producer, pest control adviser, consultant, educator, researcher, or natural resource manager? Then this meeting is for you. California Department of Pesticide Regulation and California Department of Public Health continuing education units are available for participants.
Special symposia include bird management, wild pig management, and urban coyotes. In Cooperative Extension Advisor Niamh Quinn's backyard of extremely urban Southern California, these coyote-human conflicts occur. With over 3 million people in Orange County, 8 state parks and beaches, countless city parks and 19 county parks and wilderness areas, conflicts with urban coyotes are bound to happen. Managing coyotes includes managing people's behavior too.
- Author: Michael D Cahn, Ph.D.
Tomorrow we will host the 2016 UC Irrigation and Nutrient Meeting at the Agricultural Center in Salinas CA. We also have a field meeting following a pizza lunch to discuss the use of cover crops in strawberries. 4.5 hours of Certified Crop Adviser educational credits will also be available. This year we will include a panel discussion about how growers are implementing practices to better manage water and nitrogen fertilizer as well as a presentation on the sustainable groundwater management act. Please see the agenda below:
2016 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Meeting
Agricultural Center 1432 Abbott Street, Salinas, CA
Wednesday, February 17
7:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
4.5 CCA Credits applied for
7:45 Registration
8:00 Summary of N use of crops in Region 3 and current water quality regulations
Chris Rose, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
8:30 Fertilizer value of N in irrigation water
Michael Cahn, Irrigation and Water Resources Farm Advisor, Monterey County
9:00 Field studies on N and water management (broccoli and spinach)
Richard Smith, Vegetable Crops Farm Advisor, Monterey County
9:30 Denitrification beds for removing nitrate from tile water
Tim Hartz, Vegetable Specialist, UCD
10:00 Break
10:30 Potential for increasing groundwater recharge on agricultural land
Toby O'Geen, Soil Specialist, Dept of Land, Air and Water Resources, UCD
11:00 Groundwater Sustainability Act – Where are we headed in Monterey County
Stephanie Hastings: Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck Law Firm
11:30 Panel discussion on Grower implementation of BMP's
Salvador Montes, Christensen and Giannini; Manual Mercado, River Valley Farms;
Eric Morgan, Morgan Consulting
12:00 Conclusion and Pizza Lunch
Afternoon Session:
12:45 Field trip to see conservation practices
1:45 Conclusion
- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
- Author: Petr Kosina
Whether or not your favorite team is playing in Sunday's big game, the Super Bowl is often a great excuse to gather with friends and family and enjoy some tasty treats! Maybe your favorite snack involves chips with salsa or guacamole, or perhaps you prefer shrimp with a delicious avocado dip. Whatever your snack of choice, chances are that you might spice it up with a little cilantro or parsley.
Cilantro and parsley growers have something else to be happy about – The UC Statewide IPM Program just released new Pest Management Guidelines for Cilantro and Parsley.
Cilantro and parsley are herbs used both fresh and dry for preparation of many popular dishes in almost all parts of the world including California. Apart from their pleasant flavor, both plants are also known for a number of nutritional and health benefits.
In California, cilantro and parsley are grown commercially on more than 7,000 acres, primarily along the southern and central coast. Cilantro (also known as Chinese or Mexican parsley) and parsley are examples of specialty vegetable crops important in crop rotations and in contributing to California's overall agricultural diversity.
Although pest problems aren't too common for home gardeners growing cilantro or parsley, for commercial growers, crop damage due to insect pests and diseases may be devastating and cause important economic losses. The new UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for cilantro and parsley provide pest and management information for insects pests (including beet armyworm, cabbage looper, and aphids), diseases (including apium virus Y, bacterial leaf spot, carrot motley dwarf, cilantro yellow blotch, Fusarium wilt, and septoria leaf spot), and nematodes. Because weed management costs can be very high in cilantro and parsley unless weed control programs are carefully planned and implemented, a comprehensive weed management section is also included.
Check out the new guidelines and other pest management information on the UC IPM website.
- Author: Richard Smith
2016 Irrigation & Nutrient Management Meeting Agenda
- Author: Eric Brennan
This is a novel ‘Do it Yourself' hoe with interchangeable, plastic-friendly, adjustable, sharp & flexible blades. It's called the Recycle Strap Hoe and is amazing for hand weeding vegetables, strawberries, and other crops. This hoe is great for weeding along plastic mulch without damaging it. It's inexpensive, light-weight & super easy to make from recycled materials and extremely efficient. The long handle make it very ergonomic. The blade is made of steel strapping and the light weight, flexible handle is made from Arundo donex grass (or bamboo, or wood dowel) and it's all held together with bicycle inner tube (or hose or ring clamps). It was developed by Eric Brennan at the USDA (Agricultural Research Service), organic research program in Salinas.
CLICK LINKS BELOW FOR VIDEO TUTORIAL:
How to make an Inexpensive and Efficient hoe for weeding, DETAILED Tutorial: The Recycle Strap Hoe'
How to make an Inexpensive and Efficient hoe for weeding, BASIC Tutorial: The ‘Recycle Strap Hoe'
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