- Author: Mark P Bolda
The rain on Saturday (about 0.6" total by my gauge), did present a setback for area strawberry growers. Not too much, but still damage has been evident, it is worth noting that that for many varieties grown on the Central Coast water accumulation over 0.5" inches means damage for mature fruit.
I happened across the damage pictured below on my wanderings through the fields last week, and it occurred to me it might be interesting to investigate why we get this cracking of the mature fruit. I tended to think fruit would crack because, confronted with more water than necessary from the rain, the plant to which the fruit is attached is forced to pull up more water than usual, inflating it faster than it can bear and leading to cracks.
This former thinking of mine is totally wrong. As outlined in the super informative work published in the paper linked below, the story of fruit cracking in strawberry is rather all about osmosis, which as most of you know is the process by which water passes from a solution of a lower concentration of dissolved materials into one of a higher concentration of dissolved materials. Meaning that rain, being essentially pure water with almost nothing dissolved in it, landing on a mature strawberry fruit loaded with solutes (mostly sugars), is going to get pulled pretty effectively by osmosis into the fruit, swelling the areas under the raindrops beyond the capacity to stretch and form cracks. Carrying this logic of osmotic potential forward also explains why less mature fruit, with their lower concentrations of solute (sugars), tend to avoid damage in rainstorms.
Very nice thing to learn about today. Full article here:
Water Soaking in Berries: Triggers, Factors and Mechanisms
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
In the human world, we recognize Mother's Day as a special day to celebrate all mothers. It's a day that Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Va., established on May 10, 1909 with a worship service at St. Andrew's Methodist Church, Grafton.
Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, are mothers, too. The female lays a batch of eggs, from 10 to 50, at one time, and can lay about 1000 eggs in her lifetime, scientists say.
Beneficial insects! Yes, but in their larval form they eat even more.
Mature lady beetles will feed on 20 to 25 aphids per day, but their late-stage larvae will consume 10 times that number, making them far more effective predators, according to Whitney Cranshaw, a professor and Extension entomologist with Colorado State University (now emeritus), in a July 2018 article in Phys.Org.
A salute to lady beetles and their larvae on Mother's Day!
Nutrition Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Cultiva La Salud, and Stanford Pediatrics, released three infographics with information on school meal programs. The cartoon-style one-pagers were developed after a PhotoVoice project suggested the need for culturally and linguistically relevant materials about school nutrition programs for Spanish-speaking families in California's San Joaquin Valley. The infographics emphasize federal nutrition requirements for school meals, factors influencing school meal offerings, and the role families and youth can play in advocating for changes.
- “What's on the menu?” promotes the benefits to student health and learning from school meals, including an overview of their nutritional components. It is available in Spanish, “¿Qué hay en el Menú de la?”, and complementary English and Spanish videos.
- “What goes into making school meals?” highlights the logistics and other factors that influence how schools provide meals. It is available in Spanish, “¿Qué se Necesita para Preparar las Comidas Escolares?” and complementary English and Spanish videos.
- “Make Your Voice Heard!” highlights avenues for parent and community involvement in advocating for policies and practices related to school meals at local, state, and federal levels. It is available in Spanish, “¡Alza tu Voz!
Parents, youth, school district officials, food service directors in the San Joaquin Valley, and other partners helped to co-create the infographics with designers at Tremendousness. The project partnership includes NPI's senior policy advisor Christina Hecht and policy director Ken Hecht. Initial investigation and infographic content development were funded by the Stanford University Office of Community Engagement, with video development and extended dissemination funded by the Thompson Family Foundation.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UCCE advisors will present webinars on May 21 and 28
Late spring rains have delayed California's fire season this year, which provides farmers and ranchers an opportunity to improve their wildfire preparedness. Barns, wood fencing, hay and other property commonly found on farms have inherent vulnerabilities to wildfire.
Fortunately, buildings and infrastructure can be hardened and maintained to reduce their vulnerability to fire and fire-related damage to agricultural resources. Having a plan in place to keep livestock safe and healthy is essential to maintaining animal health and resume operations as quickly as possible post-wildfire. Join the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network team to learn about wildfire preparedness strategies for farms and ranches.
The two-part webinar series will cover hardening structures and managing livestock during wildfire.
Part 1: Ranch Hardening and Wildfire Preparedness Strategies for Agricultural Structures
- May 21 at 6-7 p.m.
- Join UC Cooperative Extension fire advisor Luca Carmignani and UCCE forest advisor Yana Valachovic to discuss best practices for incorporating principles of structure hardening and defensible space into agricultural structures and operations.
- Register by May 20 at https://bit.ly/3y1MbuP. Link to webinar will be emailed to registrants.
Part 2: The Realities of Managing Livestock Health During Wildfire
- May 28 at 6-7:30 p.m.
- Join UCCE livestock and natural resource advisors and our partners for a set of presentations about managing livestock health during wildfire events and what to do if you find yourself trapped by an approaching wildfire.
- Register by May 20 at https://bit.ly/3y1MbuP. Link to webinar will be emailed to registrants.
- Prepared by: Terry Lewis
Tasks
- Water and mow lawn. Set mower higher to shade out weeds and keep roots cool.
- Be cautious when applying sulfur to grapevines for mildew control. Damage occurs above 100°F.
- Trap, hand-pick or bait snails, slugs and earwigs. (See UC IPM pest note on snail and slug management.)
- Deeply water fruit and nut trees. Ideally, mature fruit trees should be irrigated to a depth of 3 feet.
Pruning
- Remove any unwanted sprouts on trunks of trees.
- Thin fruit trees allowing 4 to 6 inches between fruit.
- Deadhead roses to encourage repeat blooming.
- Remove dead branches from shrubs and trees.
Fertilizing
- Feed bedding plants with all-purpose fertilizer high in phosphorus.
- Feed vegetables and lawns with all-purpose fertilizer.
Planting
- Spring planting season is over. Anything planted this month will need careful watering.
- Fill in bare spots from earlier plantings of perennials and annuals.
- This is the last opportunity to transplant young plants.
Enjoy now
- Annuals and perennials: California poppy (Eschscholzia), Lantana.
- Bulbs, corms, tubers: squill (Seilla), Iris, amaryllis (Hippeastrum).
- Trees, shrubs, vines: oleander (Nerium), violet trump vine (Clytostoma).
- Fruits and vegetables: melon, asparagus, cucumber.
Things to ponder
- A garden of native flowering plants requires less water, fertilizer and energy than a traditional landscape.
- Weed seeds may survive for many years; many common weed seeds will germinate after 20 years.