- Author: Sarah Marsh
- Editor: Taiyu Guan
- Editor: Consuelo B Baez Vega
Globally, approximately 570 million small and medium-sized farms need training in various agricultural fields. However, the delivery of agriculture training faces significant challenges. In some areas, the difficulty in obtaining this training has led to people turning to generative artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT to ask questions relating to their agricultural production.
The way that ChatGPT and other models work is that the models are trained on vast amounts of data to learn patterns and relationships between words. This enables the models both to understand language in nuanced ways and to generate answers to a wide range of prompts, which means that ChatGPT can become adapted to specific uses and theoretically provide a comprehensive answer to any question. Researchers supported by the CGIAR's Excellence in Agronomy Initiative and the Digital Innovation Initiative studied the accuracy of Chat GPT-provided information and professional advice in response to queries from African farmers. Tzachor et al (2023) found significant inaccuracies that could potentially lead to poor management and crop losses. The problems with the answers ranged from vagueness to inaccuracy.
I became curious as to how accurate ChatGPT was with regards to questions relating to California rice and so conducted an informal test of my own. I asked ChatGPT questions relating to California water-seeded rice management to see how accurate the model was.
When queried about the insecticides that are registered for use in California water-seeded rice to control armyworms, ChatGPT responded with 6 insecticides – only one of which (lambda-cy) is used in CA rice systems. The remaining insecticides “recommended” were not used in California, not used for armyworms, or no longer commercially available.
I also asked ChatGPT “How to manage weedy rice in California water-seeded rice fields.” The model returned several paragraphs, with one problematic paragraph reproduced below:
Apply herbicides labeled for controlling weedy rice in water-seeded rice fields. Herbicide options may include products containing penoxsulam, propanil, or other active ingredients specifically targeting weedy rice. It's crucial to follow label instructions carefully and use herbicides at the appropriate timing and application rates to maximize effectiveness and minimize off-target effects.
As evidenced by these examples, ChatGPT is responding with answers that are not accurate and should not be taken as recommendations.
- Author: Ann Edahl
What do pollinators do?
Pollinators pollinate flowers by moving pollen from the anther (male part of a flower) to the stigma (female part of the flower), either on the same flower or a different flower. The pollinators are there to collect nectar or pollen from the flower for food. While they browse they disperse the pollen grains among the flowers, allowing the plant to reproduce.
Stone fruit, almonds, apples, squash, watermelon, and many other fruits and vegetables rely on bees for pollination. And pollinators can help self-pollinating vegetables such as tomatoes. Native bees pollinate a variety of native and non-native plants.
What can we do to help?
- Edging your vegetable bed with flowering annuals is both pleasing and beneficial. They look lovely and attract pollinators to your vegetables. (Allow your herbs to flower, rather than pinching back for increased production, to make them attractive to pollinators.)
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Create a dedicated pollinator garden. You might focus on a garden that attracts butterflies, or one that attracts native bees.
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While mulching provides many benefits, try to include areas of bare soil. This creates a more hospitable habitat for our ground-dwelling bees.
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Think about replacing an ornamental plant or even a section of your lawn with plants that attract pollinators.
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Plan for succession of blooms to provide food for the pollinators throughout the growing season. Annuals such as zinnias can be particularly useful because of their long bloom time.
Selection of pollinator magnets for Fresno County
Consider including some of the following plants in your landscape. This list is by no means exhaustive, but they have all worked in Fresno-area gardens.
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California native annuals, perennials and trees that are easy to incorporate into the urban garden include California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii), yarrow (Achillea spp. – there are both native and non-native yarrow), California lilac (Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman' does particularly well in the garden), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp. which come in all sorts of sizes), and Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis)
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Perennial herbs, such as thyme (Thymus ssp.), oregano (Origanum vulgare), lavender (Lavandula spp.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), winter savory (Satureja montana), dill (Anethum graveolens, an annual that reseeds), rue (Ruta graveolens), and scented geranium (Pelargonium) make a great addition, planted throughout the landscape or in a dedicated herb garden,
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Perennials: sages (Salvia spp.), lantana (Lantana camara), and butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) are just three of many non-native perennials that attract a variety of pollinators.
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Annuals: try easy-to-grow marigold, zinnia (Zinnia) and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima),
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Trees: Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) is a bee magnet in the spring.
Read more:
Ponder, Frankie, Elkins, et al. 2013. How to Attract and Maintain Pollinators in Your Garden. ANR Publication 8498. University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources.
University of California Davis Arboretum and Public Gardens. 2018. Support Native Bees with These 10 Plants.
- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Dear Colleagues,
We are excited to begin recruiting for the new academic positions announced by Vice President Humiston in May. As communicated, the new UCCE recruitments will be released in small batches over the next several months. To begin the process, we are asking academics to sign up for service on search committees for recruitments managed by UC ANR, which include 29 UCCE advisor positions and 13 UCCE specialist positions.
Please use this Qualtrics link to sign up for committee service. Please note that the survey also allows you to sign up as search committee chairs.
For information on the search committee process and committee duties, please review UC ANR search committee instructions.
We thank you for your consideration and service during these important upcoming recruitments.
Daniel Obrist
Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Development
California became the first state in the nation to enact a universal school meal policy in 2022. A new study published in Nutrients explores the benefits and challenges California schools experienced during the first year of implementing the new policy, sharing results from surveys completed by 430 California school foodservice professionals in March 2023. Benefits included increased meal participation and revenues, reduced meal debt and stigma, and improved meal quality and staff salaries. Schools experienced challenges related to product and ingredient availability, staffing shortages, logistical issues with vendors and distributors, and increased administrative burden due to the end of federal waivers and return of families needing to complete school meal applications for federal reimbursement. Schools reported that state funding and increased federal school meal reimbursement rates were key factors that supported policy implementation. Findings can be used to inform other states and jurisdictions considering similar policies. The study was published online in June 2024 by lead author Monica Zuercher from the Nutrition Policy Institute, additional NPI researchers Dania Orta-Aleman, Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht, Lorrene Ritchie and Wendi Gosliner, and collaborators Juliana Cohen, Michele Polacsek and Anisha Patel. The research was funded by California General Fund Senate Bill 170, Senate Bill 154 and Senate Bill 101. Learn more about NPI's research on universal school meal programs in California and across the nation.