- (Focus Area) Yard & Garden
- Author: Ryan Daugherty
I was dealing with a gopher problem in a lawn awhile back and I came across another turfgrass pest that you may or may not be familiar with; a chafer beetle.
These white grubs are the immature larval form of a chafer beetle.
Here in California we deal mainly with the masked chafer (Cyclocephala spp.). Mature grubs have white or cream colored, C-shaped bodies, six legs on their upper half, and a chestnut brown head. They can be confused with the somewhat smaller black turfgrass ataenius larvae (Ataenius spretulus). To identify the difference between the two, look at the tip of the abdomen (the opposite end from the head) for the arrangement of bristles and overall anatomy, we call this the raster pattern. A chafer's raster will have a transverse anal slit with an indistinct pattern of bristles all over. An ataenius will have two distinct pad-like structures on the tip of the anal slit.
The chafer grubs feed on turf roots in early spring then stop around May to pupate with adults emerging around June to mate. Adults actually have non-functional mouthparts and so do not cause feeding damage, in fact they die of starvation shortly after laying eggs. Adults are about 3/4 inches long with golden brown bodies and they emerge during the night with a strong attraction to light. If you see adults during the summer, eggs are likely being laid in your grass. Eggs hatch around August and the grubs do most of their damage in September and October before moving deeper into the soil to overwinter until the spring.
Damage looks like drought symptoms in turf: brown, blueish, or gray spots, brittle straw colored grass, thinning stands, and footprinting. These symptoms are from the extensive root feeding of the grubs as the grass loses much of its ability to take up water. You may also see vertebrate feeding from birds or skunks that can cause further damage digging for the grubs. Spots of affected turf may be small, only being a foot or two across but may combine with other spots to form large sections of damaged turf. A hallmark of grub damage is that damaged turf can be peeled back from the soil like a carpet, due to the turf having no roots.
Insect damage in home lawns is rarer than you might think, with abiotic problems like poor irrigation, mowing, or fertility practices being a more likely culprit for a struggling lawn. If there is an insect pest make sure you correctly identify the insect before intervening with any control measures. Also remember that the presence of a pest doesn't always necessitate control. A healthy lawn can withstand damage from a few grubs and a robust lawn is always the best defense against pest damage.
Damaged turf can be helped by irrigating more frequently to keep soil moist around the lawns now shallow roots. Lawn aeration can also kill segments of grub populations. Reserve any kind of chemical intervention until you see 6 or more grubs per square foot. Several insecticides are available on the market for chafers or white grub control just look at the label. UC IPM has a page dedicated to masked chafers, but keep in mind the pesticides recommended there are for professionals.
Always read and understand the label of any pesticide you intend to use. Be careful to refrain from applying insecticides (especially broad spectrum) if there are flowering plants in and around the lawn; this includes weeds like clover or dandelions as it can harm beneficial insects like pollinators that may come into contact with them.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you visited the horticulture building during the Dixon May Fair (the four-day fair traditionally ends on Mother's Day), you probably saw a team of UC Master Gardeners answering questions from fairgoers and handing out literature.
The UC Master Gardener Program, founded in 1980 and part of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), is directed by Missy Gable. The members share a passion for gardening and environmental stewardship, as noted on their website. "UC Master Gardeners are rooted in education and grown in-service! In exchange for training from the University, UC Master Gardeners offer volunteer services and outreach to the general public in more than 1,286 demonstration, community and school gardens across 53 California counties. Last year 6,154 active UC Master Gardener volunteers donated 446,237 hours, and 6.8+ million hours have been donated since the program's inception."
"Our mission is simple: To extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California. We stand guided by our core values and strategic initiatives, aiming to inspire, educate, and build communities of eco-conscious gardeners."
The team at the Dixon May Fair mostly fielded questions about vegetable crops--tomatoes proved to be a popular topic. They distributed information from the UC Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Program.
If you missed them, the enthusiastic team of Master Gardeners will be back next year. Same fair, same building, same booth...and with some of the same questions asked by fairgoers--"I have a question about planting tomatoes..." You can also contact the UC Solano Master Gardeners via their website. Jennifer Baumbach serves as the program coordinator for both Solano and Yolo counties.
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Indoor food waste bins (also known as kitchen bins or compost bins) have become a popular addition to Californian homes. They are a great way to collect food scraps and divert food waste from landfills, but they can sometimes attract pest insects like maggots, ants, and fruit flies. Below are some tips for keeping a pest-free food waste bin:
- Empty and clean indoor food waste bins frequently. Dump the food waste into your outdoor compost pile, drop it off at a composting facility, or place it into your municipal green waste bin. Emptying your indoor bin frequently (even if it's not full) can make it less attractive to pests and prevent flies from developing inside. Once empty, rinse the bin and clean it with soap and water before putting it back on the counter. Be sure to check the bin for any fly maggots or pupae stuck to the sides; scrape them off if found.
- Keep your bin or food scraps in the freezer. Putting your food waste in the freezer prevents it from breaking down and smelling. It can also kill any pest insects and prevents them from infesting your food waste bin.
- Place food scraps in a paper bag, wrap in newspaper, or use a compostable bag before placing in your organics or green waste bin for collection. Don't use a regular plastic bag since these are not biodegradable. This can keep the inside of your bins cleaner, but also reduce moisture which maggots need to survive. Excess moisture can also make your bin smell.
- Choose a bin with a tight-fitting lid. Prevent pests from being able to get into the bin by choosing a food waste bin with a secure lid. If your bin has ventilation holes at the top, choose an appropriately sized charcoal filter to cover the openings. Inspect the filter frequently for any fly maggots or pupae.
For more information about controlling indoor pests, visit the UC IPM household pests page.
Check with your local composting program for more tips on maintaining a food waste bin or visit CalRecycle's Organic Materials Management website at https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/.
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- Author: Ryan Daugherty
I recently helped one of our local student gardens install a drip irrigation system in some raised beds. During the installation, I had to explain why we were using ½” tubing for most of our system instead of ¼”. Some believed that using the smaller tubing would give us better pressure, like putting your thumb over the mouth of a garden hose. I explained why this would actually result in less pressure and worse water distribution throughout our system. This misconception is common, so I thought I'd discuss it here.
If you think there's no way I'm about to talk physics in a garden blog, prepare to be amazed!
First, a review. Friction is the force that opposes the sliding or rolling of one solid object over another. There are a few different types of friction, but the one most relevant to our irrigation lines is kinetic friction.
Kinetic friction is the force that opposes the movement of two objects in contact while in motion. Think of it like using the brakes on a bicycle: when you pull on the brake lever, the brake pads contact the wheel, and the kinetic friction between the pads and the wheel opposes the wheel's forward motion, eventually stopping the bike. As water moves through our irrigation lines, it is in contact with the inside of the tubing. The kinetic friction between the water and the tubing surface opposes the water's forward motion, resulting in a loss of pressure. In irrigation lingo, we call this "pressure loss from friction" or just "friction loss."
If you could see a cross-section of your tubing while water was running through it, you wouldn't see a solid cylinder of water. Instead, it's more turbulent, with empty space, bubbles, and vortices. If the amount of water moving through the line remains constant and we decrease our tubing diameter, that empty space shrinks, and more water comes into contact with the sides of the tubing. More surface area of the water in contact with more surface area of the tubing generates more friction, resulting in more pressure loss.
Like tapping the brakes on a bicycle, there isn't much friction generated when it's just your thumb at the end of a garden hose. The real pressure loss comes from consistent friction over distance, like holding the brakes down until the bike stops. Multiply even a small amount of friction over any real distance, and you're looking at significant pressure loss.
In response to this, drip irrigation experts developed “rules” or guidelines for drip irrigation. For ¼” tubing, we call it the 30/30 rule: no more than 30 feet in any given run of ¼” line, drawing no more than 30 gallons per hour (GPH). More than 30 feet generates too much friction loss, and hydraulically only so much water can move through any given volume of tubing, hence 30 GPH. For ½” tubing, it's the 200/200 rule, for ¾” it's 480/480, and so on. As our system grows in length and demand, our tubing diameter has to increase accordingly.
If we don't match our system to the length and demand, we risk poor distribution uniformity. We might have to overwater or underwater one part of our garden to properly water another, leading to water waste and poor plant health. For most home landscapes, 1/2" tubing works well since we seldom run more than 200 feet on a single line.
These principles are simple but powerful, and by understanding them, you can make more thoughtful decisions in the design of your drip systems to get the most out of them.
- Author: Belinda Messenger-Sikes
The emerald ash borer (EAB) may be beautiful, but it is the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America. Hundreds of millions of ash trees across 36 states and 5 Canadian provinces have been killed by this invasive insect. Fortunately, EAB has not been found in California, but it was discovered in Oregon in 2022, the first time this insect has been detected on the West Coast.
Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week is May 20-26th of 2024. During this week, the Don't Move Firewood campaign is offering SIX webinars over the first three days (May 20, 21, 22). Webinar topics include exciting new developments in ash tree breeding and resistance, research findings on best management strategies, and important updates on management responses to EAB. Register for any or all of these free webinars at https://www.dontmovefirewood.org/eabweek2024/.
If you think you've seen the pest or ash tree damage caused by an EAB infestation, report it to your local County Agricultural Commissioner's Office or the California Department of Food and Agriculture at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/reportapest/.
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