- Author: Bradley Hanson
The USDA Agricultural Research Service's Invasive Species and Pollinator Health research unit recently shared their annual activities report. There are several interesting updates on biological control of weeds and management of aquatic invasive weeds that are highly relevant to California weed managers and land management folks.
The full report is attached at the bottom of this post, but here are a few of the topics that grabbed my attention and might be of interest to the readers of this blog:
- Invasiveness of yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus L.) with climate change
- Biological control of yellow...
- Author: Bradley Hanson
Last week, I had a chance to visit research cooperators in Chile and tour some of their processing tomato fields with serious infestations of the parasitic weed, branched broomrape and it was really eye opening for me.
We've had collaborative projects with researchers at the UC Davis Chile Life Sciences Innovation Center for the past several years. It's been really helpful to have a northern-southern hemisphere research rotation so they can do a field trial in our off season and vice-versa. Also, branched broomrape is a quarantine pest and is not...
- Author: Emily Dooley
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Non-native species can wait decades or centuries before spreading
Invasive plants can stay dormant for decades or even centuries after they have been introduced into an environment before rapidly expanding and wreaking ecological havoc, according to a new study led by the University of California, Davis.
The research, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, looked at more than 5,700 species of invasive plants in nine regions around the globe. It represents the most comprehensive analysis of plant invasions conducted to date, said senior author
- Author: Giuliano Carneiro Galdi
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Roundup Ready technology incorporates genetic resistance to glyphosate into crops and it's an excellent tool for weed control. Initial screening in the early 2000s found good alfalfa crop safety, and many growers currently rely on glyphosate as the only herbicide. Although using the same herbicide over and over is not a good idea because it may accelerate herbicide resistance in weeds, Roundup Ready alfalfa has been successfully used with few to no concerns regarding crop safety. However, the combination of glyphosate and cold weather may cause crop injury, especially in certain regions.
The problem was first observed in 2014 by Steve Orloff, former UCCE farm advisor in Siskiyou County. A Roundup Ready alfalfa field showed...
- Editor: Bradley Hanson
- Contributor: James E Hill
- Posted by: Gale Perez
David E. Bayer, Emeritus Professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Biology, passed away on January 20, 2024 in Davis, CA.
Dr. Bayer earned his B.S and M.S. degrees from Oregon State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and was a pillar of weed science and weed control research in California for nearly 30 years. Dr. Bayer started his career as a University of California weed extension specialist in 1958 and, in 1962 accepted a position as a Professor in the UC Davis Department of Botany which later became part of the Department of Plant Biology. Dr. Bayer retired from UC Davis in the mid-1990s and remained active as an emeritus faculty member for many years continuing some of his research on...
