- (Focus Area) Agriculture
- Author: Ali Montazar
Soil moisture sensor selection. An extensive range of soil moisture sensors/probes have already been commercialized and are available to use in avocado and other orchards. They determine the real-time soil water potential (tension) or volumetric water content and are dominated by a small number of technologies including granular matrix or gypsum block sensors, tensiometers, time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors, and Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) or capacitance sensors (Table 1 and Fig. 2). Some commonly used soil moisture sensors can be combined with various telemetry devices to access the data through cloud-based data storage applications. Data is automatically uploaded by radio or cell phone communications to cloud-based computer servers and is accessible through apps on smartphones and tablets. These communication advancements greatly improve the convenience of accessing data and can be configured to provide timely alerts when trees require irrigation.
Read more about their use in avocado and other orchard tree cropsl, as well as other tasty topics at:
https://ceventura.ucanr.edu/newsletters/Topics_in_Subtropics102527.pdf
- Author: Michael Cohen
Our site at Martial Cottle Park for demonstrating small-scale composting and vermicomposting was the focus of this recent feature article and video by UCANR Strategic Communications:
News & Events - Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Associate professor Kyle Wickings of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, will speak on “Composition and Function of Soil Invertebrate Communities in Residential Greenspaces” at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Sept. 30 in 122 Briggs Hall.
This is the first in a series of fall seminars hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and coordinated by nematologist Amanda Hodson, assistant professor.
“Turfgrasses cover a significant portion of U.S. land area and are used for a variety of cultural and other ecosystem services," he says in his abstract. "However, this service provisioning capacity varies tremendously by geographic location and management context. In this seminar, I will present research from my program on the potential or turfgrasses to serve as reservoirs for belowground biodiversity and soil organic matter in residential laws and public parks o the northwestern United States. I will also discuss the consequences of turfgrass cultural and pest management practices or soil biological communities and processes.”
His seminar will be broadcast on Zoom and archived. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.
On his website, Wickings relates: "My research strives to understand the interactions between arthropods, microbes, and soil organic matter, and how these interactions may be modified to improve plant protection in the rhizosphere. One of my research goals is to identify underlying characteristics of soil organic matter (quantity, quality, and composition) which influence root herbivore populations. This knowledge could improve our ability to predict pest outbreaks and may ultimately be used to develop soil amendments which suppress root-feeding pests. I am also interested in understanding the role that soil microbes play in the nutritional ecology of root-feeding arthropods. My previous research demonstrates that soil arthropods interact closely with microbes during feeding, and it is well known that soil arthropods form diverse external and internal associations with microbes. My research at Cornell will continue in this area to improve our understanding of the role of microbes in root herbivore nutrition and the potential for managing root-feeding pests by influencing the soil microbial community."
Wickings, who joined the Cornell University faculty in 2013, holds a bachelor of science degree in environmental studies, summa cum laude (2001), and a doctorate in 2007 in ecology from the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology. His dissertation: “Arthropod Biodiversity in a Georgia Cotton Agroecosysem: Cotton, Tillage, Cover Crops and Red Imported Fire Ants."
He did postdoctoral research from 2010-2013 for the Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, where he conducted research on the effects of management intensity on soil biota and their role in long-term decomposition; performed advanced chemical analysis of soil and plant residue for collaborative research projects; and advised graduate students studying symbiotic microbes of soil invertebrates and patterns of microarthropod distribution in soils.
He earlier served as a postdoctoral associate (2006-2010) for the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Wickings has authored or co-authored research published in PloS One, Ecology Letters, Peobiologia, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, and Annals of the Entomological Society of America, among others.
Wickings received Cornell's 2017 Early Achievement Award for his work researching the effects of soil arthropods and microbes on plant health and chemistry.
The full list of the department's fall seminars is here. For more information or for technical issues, contact Hodson at akhodson@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Michael Hsu
UC Cooperative Extension advisors, educators join growers in showcasing rice production
When Tracy Schohr volunteered in her son's pre-K class a couple years ago, she was stunned to find out that only two of the 20 children had ever been around a tractor. And this was in the rural Butte County community of Gridley, in the heart of California's rice-growing region.
Seeking to introduce more young children to agriculture, Schohr – the University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for the area – and her friend Lisa Donati created an event to showcase rice farming.
After the debut of “Ricetastic Day” last year with about 140 students from Gridley in attendance, this year's event on Sept. 19 attracted more than 240 schoolchildren – this time from across south Butte County.
First graders from McKinley Primary School in Gridley, Manzanita Elementary School, Biggs Elementary School and Richvale Elementary School – along with their teachers and many family members – enjoyed hands-on experiences at Schohr's rice and cattle ranch.
“There's a dwindling population that produces the food that we eat across America, so how can we have more people know, appreciate and love agriculture if we don't give them that opportunity?” said Schohr. “That's what this day is really about – to teach them about rice, to teach them about their community, how healthy rice can be, and how the farming and ranching can also create habitat for wildlife. It's all-encompassing.”
Event stations share different aspects of rice
Schohr, who grew up on the family ranch in Gridley, remembers coming with her McKinley schoolmates for a visit. But those field trips had comprised only lunch and a quick “drive-through” tour of the historic farming operation.
For Ricetastic Day, however, Schohr organized – with generous help from local growers and community partners – a more comprehensive half-day of activities. After her brother, Ryan Schohr, welcomed the participants to the family farm, the students formed groups that were led by Gridley FFA youth on a rotation through a variety of stations.
At the milling station, Luis Espino, UCCE rice farming systems advisor, demonstrated how his mini mill machines remove the husks from rough rice to make brown rice, and then polish away the bran layer to make white rice. He had the children see and feel the difference as the rice moved through processing.
“I didn't even know brown rice existed!” exclaimed Elsie, a first grader at McKinley.
A native of Peru, Espino came to study agriculture through his lifelong fascination with biology and living things – and he said events like Ricetastic Day can inspire a similar passion in young people.
“It might spark their curiosity so that they might go into these areas of work in the future or have a career in agriculture, when they see that people do this for a living,” Espino said.
Ray Stogsdill, another McKinley school alumnus, returned to Gridley after college to pursue just such a career. A staff research associate in the lab of UC Davis professor Bruce Linquist, Stogsdill manages on-farm rice variety testing across the region. He volunteered to help Schohr with Ricetastic Day by talking about some of the heavy equipment and providing his perspective for the kids.
“They drive by the fields and they don't know what's out there,” he said. “This gives them a chance to know what they're driving by, so they can say, ‘We have rice here and this is how it works; this is how it grows.' It gives them an idea of what's going on around them.”
Where rice fits within a healthy diet was the focus for the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension team, comprising nutrition educators Sunshine Hawjj, Joanna Aguilar and Kenia Estrada, as well as community nutrition, health and food security advisor Veronica VanCleave-Hunt. They talked about how rice – like other grains in that vital food group – gives people energy, and then taught the students an energetic “ricetastic” movement activity.
“Because our program is part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, it's important to make the connection between where our food comes from and how it gets on our plate – especially with young kids, so that we can promote value for our local agriculture and our food systems,” VanCleave-Hunt explained.
Activities spark further conversations, learning about agriculture
With rice harvest late due to late planting in the spring, Eric Waterbury of Waterbury Farms was able to take some time to attend the event. Although his family has been growing rice for three generations, he said he appreciates opportunities for the broader community to see all aspects of his work – from the equipment to the processing.
“If the kids walk away from this with one thing, I hope it's that they realize every time they have a meal, somebody was out there working hard to provide that meal,” he said. “It wasn't just the person at the grocery store that provided it for them.”
Schohr added that Ricetastic Day was only possible through the support of the community. Butte County Farm Bureau and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff helped kids make art with colorful dyed rice; neighboring farmer Tinker Storm described how the harvester and “bankout” wagon work; and rice farmers Shelley Beck and Sue Orme read aloud “Daddy's Got Dirt: A California Rice Story,” a children's book written by a local rice grower.
With rice at the center of physical activities, arts and crafts, and science lessons for the day, the students learned a lot to take home.
“It's nice that the kids got these hands-on learning experiences,” said Ryan Schohr, “so they can go home tonight and, at the dinner table, talk about it with their parents or brothers and sisters, over dinner or over homework – and share what they learned here on the farm and about their community.”
Rebecca Christy, a first- and second-grade teacher at Biggs Elementary, said she is excited to return to the classroom and hear from her students about all that they learned during the day.
“Every morning right now I'm seeing the big trucks going by our school, and so I'll be able to point that out to them, ‘Where are they going? What are they doing?'” she said. “I can't wait to get back to school and let them tell me about all of this.”
One of her students, Ximena, was finishing her brownbag lunch as the group watched one of the Schohr Ranch harvesters rumble over the field. Despite enjoying a rice cake and a rice cracker earlier, she said her meal was missing one thing.
“Where is my rice, Miss Christy?” she said. “I want rice!”
/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Kristen Farrar
UC ANR Small Farms Network supports small-scale and underserved farmers impacted by extreme heat
Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, interim director for the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, joined more than 100 participants from across the country at the first-ever White House Summit on Extreme Heat. Community representatives and practitioners met with federal agency representatives and Biden Administration officials to discuss successful locally tailored, community-driven practices to adapt to extreme heat as well as available federal resources.
In the agricultural sector, extreme heat events can cause heat illness in farmworkers, crop losses and changes in pest pressure. California crop losses due to drought, wildfire and heat were estimated at $239 million in 2023.
Disaster relief funds are available to help growers recover from lost production due to extreme heat. Since 2021, the UC ANR Small Farms Network has connected small-scale farmers with over $5.8 million in direct-to-producer relief funds for losses related to drought, flooding and other extreme weather events.
To further support small-scale farmers in adapting to the changing climate, Dahlquist-Willard and the Small Farms Network are evaluating how the extreme heat of summer 2024 impacted farmers. Farmers reported anecdotal observations that included:
- Shifting work hours to cooler parts of the day
- Closing farm stands and farmers markets due to extreme heat
- Crops ripening more quickly than expected, impacting harvesting and packing schedules
- Poor fruit set due to extremely high temperatures
The team is working to determine what damage symptoms on small-acreage California specialty crops can be attributed to extreme heat based on scientific literature and assessments from UC ANR colleagues. Understanding the impact of extreme heat on the farming community can help inform research and policy, ultimately equipping farmers with strategies to adapt to extreme heat events.
“It was inspiring to meet with leaders from around the nation who are working to support communities impacted by extreme heat and learn about the creative solutions they are implementing,” said Dahlquist-Willard. “The challenges faced by these communities make it all the more important to continue to work against climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to develop new methods and resources to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and other climate impacts.”
The Extreme Heat Summit highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration's investments in climate reliance and put forth an Extreme Heat Call to Action calling upon public and private sectors to prepare for future extreme heat events. Communities and governments interested in participating are asked to use all available tools to protect people from extreme heat. Approaches and tools which could be used to protect people and resources from extreme heat are highlighted in the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit and the National Heat Strategy. Submissions for the Call to Action will be accepted through Nov. 1, 2024.
Further reading:
Heat Illness Prevention, UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
Pathak et al., 2018. Climate Change Trends and Impacts on California Agriculture: A Detailed Review