- Posted By: Gale Perez
- Written by: Posted by David Low | WeedsNews2639; written by Matthew Weaver | Capital Press | 05 Dec. 2011
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Ann Kennedy leaned forward over her desk, the better to share her exitement. "We're talking about a bacterium that could change the fabric of the lands of the West," she said. "It could change how the West looks." A soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Kennedy has been testing organisms found in soil that can inhibit the growth of various types of weeds. Kennedy and her fellow researchers examined 10,000 naturally occurring isolates, looking for those that attack weeds like jointed goatgrass, cheatgrass and, potentially, medusahead. They excluded those that hurt crops like wheat and barley. They ended up with a group of about 100 isolates that inhibited the weeds, but not crops or native plants,...
- Author: Brad Hanson
We recently updated the Herbicide Registration chart for California tree and vine crops. Since I've done this two years in a row, I think this is officially a trend and can be called an "annual update"!
The updated version of the T&V herbicide chart is attached at the bottom of this post and is also available at this link: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/PDFs/herbicide_registration_on_horticultural_tree_and_vine_%20crops_2011_10.pdf to the
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
I'm often asked the question: "Who is to blame for the development and spread of herbicide resistance in weeds?" Seeing as I am neither a lawyer nor a politician, I am not in the habit of pointing fingers and laying blame. Mostly, I just rephrase and redirect the question: "Who is responsible for preserving herbicide susceptibility in weeds?" The answer is easy and egalitarian: "We all are." If you really want to trip me up, ask me: "How do we preserve herbicide susceptibility?" Ummm…
Do you want me to give you the strict scientific game plan? Simple. Rotate crops, rotate chemistries, rotate strategies, etc…the best advice for managing your farm is the advice that you would employ in managing your bank account:...
- Posted By: Gale Perez
- Written by: Vonny Barlow, Entomology Advisor, UCCE Riverside County
Weeds are often the most problematic to manage in and around agricultural fields. Yellow and purple nutsedge are difficult to manage and it seems brings an additional pest of concern. Nematodes! From Weed Science; Greenhouse experiments showed that yellow nutsedge established from root-knot nematode-infected tubers produced more tubers than noninfected tubers. Root-knot nematode populations became established on yellow nutsedge root systems when plants were established from tubers previously cultured with root-knot nematodes. When root-knot nematodes are present, yellow nutsedge tuber germination is not affected by metolachlor herbicide... the pests do not exist independently and that their management may be interrelated.
- Posted By: Gale Perez
- Written by: Diane Nelson
My calendar says November but the weeds in my garden think it’s spring. That nice rain last month followed by warm, sunny days has prompted them to grow like, well, weeds and that’s not good news for my winter crops.
What’s a gardener to do?
Like so many other gardeners, I turned to the folks at the UC Davis Weed Science Program. Housed in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, the “weeders” are experts at helping growers and gardeners improve plant production by controlling weeds.
What are the most effective organic tools for controlling weeds? That’s what I, and thousands of others, want to know. You don’t have to be an organic grower to seek organic tools for fighting weeds. Synthetic herbicides come with...