- Author: Brad Hanson
Although somewhat self serving (isn't that part of what a blog is?), I thought I'd post a link to an article about the the Weed Science group at UC Davis.
Staff writer for the Department of Plant Sciences, Diane Nelson put together a nice overview of many of the weed science faculty and specialists in the Department. While not absolutely inclusive of everyone in the department working on various aspects of invasion biology, weed ecology, and restoration ecology, I thought this was a good intro to many of the "Weeders".
The article entitled "War on Weeds: UC Davis Weed Science Program Fights to Tame Invasive Plants" can currently be read here:
- Author: Brad Hanson
FYI - Symposium announcement:
Current Issues in Vineyard Health
Date: November 30, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Contact: Student Services staff is available M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Phone: (800)752-0881 From Davis or Woodland (530)757-8777
Sponsor: UC Davis Extension
Location: Da Vinci Building
Address: 1632 Da Vinci Ct. Davis, CA
Web site:
- Author: Brad Hanson
Over the last few years, several of my UC Davis, CSU-Fresno, and USDA-ARS collaborators and I have been involved in research related to using steam heat to thermally disinfest soil as an alternative to methyl bromide fumigation. The basic premise of the work is to heat soil to 70C (158F) for about 30 minutes to kill many soil borne pathogens including parasitic nematodes, fungal and bacterial pathogens, and weed propagules (seed and vegetative parts).
It is pretty clear that heat is effective for pest control; however, efficiency (time and fuel) is the biggest sticking point for this to be a viable alternative for a substantial number of growers. Below is a brief...
- Author: Brad Hanson
Recently I was reminded that there is no more important fundamental to weed control than being able to identify your weed problem.
This summer, I moved to a different house and have slowly been working on little projects that arise. One of these has been figuring out what weed problems I bought along with the house – in my case, this has (so far) turned out to be creeping woodsorell (Oxalis corniculata) in my lawn areas and Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) almost everywhere else (beds, garden, potted plants)! I’ll save my trials and tribulations with Oxalis management for another day; however, UC-IPM has a nice pest management guideline on Oxalis authored by LeStrange, Elmore, and Cudney here:
- Author: Brad Hanson
If you’ve ever taken target practice, you probably know that accuracy and precision are not necessarily the same things – a rifle that always shoots low and to the left of the bull’s-eye is precise but is not accurate. The same idea holds true for herbicide applications. Because the winter/spring weed control season is upon us, it’s time to think about ensuring that spray rigs and operators are set up to make precise and accurate applications. We want to make sure that we are applying pesticides on target and at the right rate (accuracy) and that our application in every pass or field is the same as the last (precision) in order to get good weed control and minimize off-target movement.
The most common causes of poor herbicide...
