- Author: John Madsen
The 17 western states have approximately 40 million square miles of irrigated farmland, supplied by an extensive network of irrigation canals. Without this system of irrigation, farming in most of the western states would not be possible. Irrigation systems in California were first authorized by the state legislature in the 1870's, but the statewide system was vastly expanded first in 1933, and then later in 1960 with the California Aqueduct. Without these irrigation systems, California agriculture would be vastly different.
Anytime you combine shallow water with sufficient clarity, you provide a habitat for plants to grow. Most irrigation systems in California have some level of weed infestation. Unlike the weed problems of the...
- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Invasive Pest Spotlight: Pampasgrass & Jubatagrass
The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue, we cover the invasive plants pampasgrass and jubatagrass.
Pampasgrass & jubatagrass facts
Pampasgrass (Figure 1, top) is a common ornamental flandscape plant that readily naturalizes throughout California's coastal areas and some interior regions. Historically, pampasgrass was planted for erosion control, but it has since escaped cultivation and spread along sandy, moist ditch banks throughout coastal regions of southern California. Pampagrass can also grow in the hot, dry...
/h2>- Author: Marie A. Jasieniuk
- Posted by: Gale Perez
I read an interesting paper* recently about the sale and spread of invasive ornamental plants in the U.S. The paper describes the results of a study that examined whether identifying a plant species as invasive influenced its availability for purchase from the plant trade industry.
The authors assembled a list of 1,285 species identified as invasive or noxious in the lower 48 states from federal and state noxious weed lists, state invasive plant lists, and the Invasive Plant Atlas. They then searched for places to purchase plants or seeds of the species using Google and a database of nursery catalogs. Two classes of sellers were searched: (1) commercial nurseries with a storefront or garden center and (2) the e-commerce trade...
- Author: Tong Zhen
- Author: Bradley Hanson
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Tong Zhen is a Ph.D. student in the Hanson Lab at UC Davis.
Non-chemical weed control usually is based on physical methods (e.g. tillage or mowing) or thermal methods such as propane flaming or steam. Electric Weed Control (EWC) is another thermal method that passes electrical current through target plants and the heat generated by electrical resistance damages plant cells. With funding from the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), we recently initiated new research with collaborators at Oregon State University and Cornell University to evaluate an electrical weed control device in orchard and berry crops.
- Author: Thomas Getts
What is your favorite condiment for a Memorial Day brat? My childhood friend, with family roots in Wisconsin, told me there is only one choice.... mustard! And mustard flowers certainly have painted the landscape the intermountain region this year. Yellow flowers of all shades blooming in pastures, rangelands and hayfields are making their presence felt!
Photo One:A few tumble mustard plants in the foreground, with a monoculture of flixweed in dryland pasture in the background.
Over the past six springs, I've lived in northeast California winter annual mustards grow consistently with some years being worse than others. Alfalfa fields often are infested with shepard's purse, flixweed, and tumble mustard. Dryland...