- Author: Chris McDonald
With the rainfall we've been having every month in Southern California, there are a lot of weeds out there. For those who work in wildland management where rain is the only source of irrigation, in Southern California the growing season started in October. With the continued rains in November, December and January our hills and valleys are green with a bouquet of weeds. Last year the season began in mid-January.
As I write this, there are grasses and mustards that are in well into flower and immature fruits are starting to appear on these...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Daniel H Putnam
- Re-posted by: Gale Perez
In a period when we've had high rains, it's very difficult to manage excessive winter growth in a Mediterranean climate.
We're familiar with the term 'sheeping-off' for describing the use of sheep to graze alfalfa fields during the wintertime to remove thatch, weeds, and help with weevil control (see ‘Sheeping off' alfalfa is a win-win for all!).
But how about 'goating-off'? Doesn't sound quite right, but close winter grazing by goats is likewise an effective pest management practice, just like sheep. When grazing with sheep or goats, timing is important. Watch for excessive soil compaction when rainy and wet and do not...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
Glyphosate was commercialized in 1974. Since then, it has become one of the most widely used (and studied) herbicides. According to Duke (2018b), almost 20,000 scientific publications and patents have included glyphosate as a focus; only 2,4-D surpasses it with respect to citations. The articles in the 5th issue of the 74th volume of Pest Management Science all focus on glyphosate and arose from a day long symposium (which was also dedicated to the molecule) that was held at the 252nd annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (Duke 2018a).
Figure 1. The...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
A drive around parts of the San Joaquin Valley revealed some fields with Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) rising above the crop canopy (See image below).
A male Palmer amaranth in a corn field in Merced County
Palmer amaranth is a tall (growing up to 10 feet in height), dioecious (male and female flowers develop on separate plants), summer annual that grows rapidly and produces significant amounts of seed (upwards of 400,000-1,000,000 per female plant). The species is extremely competitive with many crops, including corn and cotton. In the United States, Palmer...
- Author: John A Roncoroni
- Posted by: Gale Perez
[From the Spring issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News and the Pests in the Urban Landscape blog]
“I hate crabgrass!” is a common lament I've heard from residents during my 35 years in UC Weed Science. However, four out of five times, the weed people are actually referring to is not crabgrass, but bermudagrass or dallisgrass. So why does knowing the name of the weed matter? It...
