- Author: Kat Kerlin, UC Davis
Natural habitat maximizes the benefits of birds for farmers, food safety and conservation
A supportive environment can bring out the best in an individual — even for a bird.
After an E.coli outbreak in 2006 devastated the spinach industry, farmers were pressured to remove natural habitat to keep wildlife — and the foodborne pathogens they can sometimes carry — from visiting crops. A study published today from the University of California, Davis, shows that farms with surrounding natural habitat experience the most benefits from birds, including less crop damage and lower food-safety risks.
The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, was conducted at 21 strawberry fields along California's Central Coast. It found that birds were more likely to carry pathogens and eat berries without surrounding natural habitat.
The authors said a better understanding of the interplay of farming practices, the landscape, and the roles birds play in ecosystems can help growers make the most out of wild birds near their fields.
“Bird communities respond to changes in the landscape,” said lead author Elissa Olimpi, a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology at the time of the study. “As birds shift in response to management, so do the costs and benefits they provide.”
The single most important driver
The study looked at how different farming practices influenced the costs and benefits that wild birds provided on the strawberry farms. The scientists combined nearly 300 bird surveys and the molecular analyses of more than 1,000 fecal samples from 55 bird species to determine which birds ate pests, beneficial insects and crops, and carried foodborne pathogens.
They also ranked birds to see which were more likely to bring benefits or costs to farmlands. Barn swallows, for instance, got a “gold star” in the study, Olimpi said. Their mud nests are commonly seen clinging to the underside of barn eaves, from which they fly out to swoop over fields, foraging on insects.
But rather than resulting in a list of “good” and “bad” birds, the study found that most bird species brought both costs and benefits to farms, depending on how the landscape was managed.
The presence of natural habitat was the single most important driver differentiating a farm where wild birds brought more benefits than harm.
“Nature is messy, and birds are complex,” Olimpi said. “The best we can do is understand how to take advantage of the benefits while reducing the harms. Growers will tell you it's impossible to keep birds off your farm — you can't do that and don't want to from a conservation perspective. So how can we take advantage of the services birds provide?”
Win-wins for birds and farms
The study is one of several publications from UC Davis Professor Daniel Karp's lab highlighting the environmental, agricultural, and food safety impacts of conserving bird habitat around farms. A related study in 2020 found that farms with natural habitat attracted more insect-eating birds — and fewer strawberry-eating birds — so that farmers experience less berry damage on farms with more habitat nearby. Such habitats also bring greater numbers of bird species to the landscape.
“All together, these studies suggest that farming landscapes with natural habitat tend to be good for conservation, farmers, and public health,” said Karp.
Additional co-authors of this study include Karina Garcia and David Gonthier of University of Kentucky, Claire Kremen of UC Berkeley and the University of British Columbia, William E. Snyder of University of Georgia, and Erin Wilson-Rankin of UC Riverside.
The research was funded by the USDA and UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology.
- Author: Natalie Solares
¿Está preocupado por un síntoma de enfermedad en su campo pero no sabe cuál es?
¿Necesita ayuda para diagnosticar un síntoma?
¿Por qué es importante tener una identificación adecuada de las enfermedades de las plantas?
Sin una identificación adecuada, los esfuerzos de control de enfermedades pueden ser una pérdida de tiempo y dinero si se adopta un enfoque incorrecto. La implementación de medidas de control de enfermedades que no son adecuadas para manejar el agente causante de la enfermedad podría provocar más pérdidas de plantas. Las enfermedades de las plantas son causadas por parásitos infecciosos como nematodos, hongos, oomicetos, virus y bacterias. Varios síntomas pueden ser causados por una amplia variedad de organismos (Figura 1) debido a esto, la identificación adecuada de un patógeno es clave para desarrollar una estrategia de manejo.
Figura 1. Representación esquemática de las funciones básicas de una planta a la izquierda y la interferencia con estas funciones causada por tipos comunes de patógenos vegetales que se muestran a la derecha. Fuente: Agrios, G.N. 1997. Plant Pathology (4th ed.).
Herida vs Enfermedad
Es importante comprender la diferencia entre una herida y una enfermedad para las plantas. Una herida ocurre de repente como resultado de una fuerza externa durante un período corto de tiempo por daño mecánico, abiótico o artrópodo. La enfermedad es una desviación dañina del crecimiento normal que es continuo y normalmente progresivo. Ejemplos de heridas para una planta incluyen daños por heladas, daños por insectos o daños causados por equipos agrícolas. Mientras que un ejemplo de daño por enfermedad puede ser una planta colapsada que se ha estado marchitando lentamente debido a una enfermedad del suelo.
El triángulo de la enfermedad
La enfermedad de las plantas es un proceso dinámico y continuo y implica interacciones entre el huésped, el patógeno y el medio ambiente a lo largo del tiempo. El huésped se refiere a la planta, el cultivo o organism que hospeda un patógeno. La enfermedad ocurre cuando las tres interacciones principals del triángulo de la enfermedad ocurren al mismo tiempo: un huésped susceptible, un patógeno virulento y un ambiente favorable para el desarrollo de la enfermedad (Figura 2).
Figura 2. El triángulo de las enfermedades de las plantas con los tres factores causales necesarios de las enfermedades colocados en las esquinas. Fuente: American Phytopathological Society.
Contáctenos para diagnóstico de enfermedades
La identificación de patógenos es difícil de diagnosticar en el campo y requiere equipos, protocolos y capacitación especializados para un diagnóstico preciso.
Si sospecha que tiene enfermedades de las plantas en su granja, comuníquese con el equipo de UCCE Pequeñas Granjas Hung Doan (Asesor de Pequeñas Granjas) o Natalie Solares (Educadora de la Comunidad ) para obtener apoyo. Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Natalie Solares en nasolare@ucanr.edu.
Qué esperar: A través de un correo electrónico, una llamada de telefono o una visita a la granja, el equipo puede evaluar la situación para identificar los próximos pasos. Según sea necesario, tomaremos muestras de plantas del área sintomática y las enviaremos al laboratorio de fitopatología de vegetales y fresas dirigido por el Dr. Alexander Putman en UC Riverside. Tras el diagnóstico, nos pondremos en contacto contigo. Es útil y importante disponer de registros detallados del historial de cultivos, aplicaciones de agua, aplicaciones de fertilizantes y eventos meteorológicos importantes que pueden haber influido en el desarrollo de enfermedades.
La autora desea agradecer a Margaret G. Lloyd (Asesora de Pequeñas Granjas de UCCE para los condados de Yolo, Sacramento, y Solano) por sus sugerencias y corrección del artículo.
Fuentes:
Plant disease management for Organic Crops. UC ANR Publication 7252
Francl, L. J. The Disease Triangle: a plant pathological paradigm revisited. American Phytological Society Teaching Notes.
Agrios, G.N. 1997. Plant Pathology (4th ed.). Academic Press.
- Author: Natalie Solares
Are you concerned with a disease symptom in your field but do not know what it is?
Do you need assistance diagnosing a symptom?
Why is it Important to have Proper Identification of Plant Diseases?
Without proper identification, disease control efforts can be a waste of time and money if an incorrect approach is taken. Deploying disease control measures that are not suitable to manage the disease-causing agent could lead to further plant losses. Plant diseases are caused by infectious parasites such as nematodes, fungi, oomycetes, viruses, and bacteria. Various symptoms can be caused by a wide variety of organisms (Figure 1), because of this, proper identification of a pathogen is key to develop a management strategy.
Injury vs Disease
It is important to understand the difference between an injury and disease for plants. An injury occurs suddenly as a result of external force over a short period of time by mechanical, abiotic, or arthropod damage. Disease is harmful deviation from normal growth that is continuous and normally progressive. Examples of injury for a plant includes frost damage, insect damage, or damage caused by farm equipment. Whereas an example of disease damage can be a collapsed plant that has been slowly wilting due to a soil borne disease.
Figure 1. Schematic representation of basic functions of a plant on the left and interference with these functions caused by common types of plant pathogens shown on the right. Source: Agrios, G.N. 1997. Plant Pathology (4th ed.).
The Disease Triangle
Plant disease is a dynamic and continuous process and involves interactions among the host, pathogen, and the environment over time. The host refers to the plant, the crop, or organism that harbors a pathogen. Disease occurs when the three main interactions from the disease triangle occur at the same time: a susceptible host, a virulent pathogen, and an environment favorable for disease development (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The plant disease triangle with the three necessary causal factors of disease positioned at the corners. Source: American Phytopathological Society.
Contact us for Disease Diagnosis
Pathogen identification is difficult to diagnose in the field and requires specialized equipment, protocols, and training for an accurate diagnosis.
If you suspect to have plant disease on your farm, contact the Small Farms team UCCE Hung Doan (Farm Advisor) or Natalie Solares (Community Educator Specialist) for support. For further information, please contact Natalie Solares at nasolare@ucanr.edu.
What to expect: Through an email, phone call or farm visit, the team can assess the situation to identify the next steps. As necessary, we will take plant samples from the symptomatic area, and submit them to the Vegetable and Strawberry pathology laboratory led by Dr. Alexander Putman at UC Riverside. Upon diagnosis, we will follow up with you. Detailed records of crop history, water applications, fertilizer applications, and important weather events that may have influenced the development of disease are useful and important to have available.
The author would like to thank Margaret G. Lloyd (UCCE Small Farms Advisor for Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties) for suggestions and proofreading the article.
Sources:
Plant disease management for Organic Crops. UC ANR Publication 7252
Francl, L. J. The Disease Triangle: a plant pathological paradigm revisited. American Phytopathological Society Teaching Notes.
Agrios, G.N. 1997. Plant Pathology (4th ed.). Academic Press.
- Author: Laura R. Crothers
The economic shocks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed California's farmers and ranchers to quickly embrace new business practices — including creative new ways to sell directly to consumers. UC ANR and partners are offering an eight-part series of free virtual trainings to help producers build their businesses with agritourism and other direct-to-consumer sales.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge shock to California's food economy, forcing many of the state's growers to embrace new business practices and drop old ones as “shelter-in-place” directives rolled across the state.
But the pandemic's challenges bring new opportunities too. Consumers' interest in local food and local outdoor experiences has grown immensely, from community-supported agriculture (CSA) and other online ordering, delivery and on-farm pickup options, to visits to farm stands, U-pick operations and other family-friendly socially distanced outdoor activities.
Pivoting to these new marketing channels opens new revenue opportunities for farmers and ranchers across California and the nation. But each new marketing channel also demands new skills and connections.
To help build growers' skills to embrace these market channels, the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is partnering with the Community Alliance of Family Farmers (CAFF) and expert growers across California to offer the free webinar series Agritourism and Direct Sales: Best practices in COVID times and beyond.
Through eight one-hour virtual trainings held this spring, participants will learn about best practices for implementing a variety of direct-to-consumer sales approaches. These trainings are offered to anyone interested in learning more about direct-to-consumer sales and agritourism. Topics and dates are:
| Getting started with community supported agriculture |
Tuesday February 23, 11am–12pm PST |
| Best practices for U-pick operations | Monday March 8, 3-4pm PST |
| Operating a safe, healthy and successful farm stand | Monday March 22, 3-4pm PST |
| Best practices for visitor interaction with animals | Monday April 5, 3-4pm PST |
| Best practices for farm tours, workshops and farm-based education | Monday April 19, 3-4pm PST |
| Online sales options and methods | Monday May 3, 3-4pm PST |
| Creative marketing and staying connected with social media | Monday May 17, 3-4pm PST |
| Community collaboration – farm trails, tourism partners and more | Monday May 24, 3-4pm PST |
Register at sarep.ucdavis.edu/agritourism2021.
For more information:
Penny Leff, UC SAREP, paleff@ucanr.edu, 530.902.9763 (cell)
Funding for this webinar series was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant #AM200100XXXXG177. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
This piece appears elsewhere on the UC ANR website and was written by:
Lisa Blecker, coordinator for the UC Pesticide Safety Education Program and Office of Pesticide Information and Coordination
Whitney Brim-DeForest, UC Cooperative Extension rice advisor in Sutter and Yuba counties.
Katrina Hunter, UC Integrated Pest Management Program pesticide safety writer
Pam Kan-Rice, UC ANR Assistant Director, News and Information Outreach
With increased demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE, to protect against COVID-19, these essential workers are facing shortages. Agricultural commissioners in 28 counties are hearing from farmers who are having trouble getting PPE for their employees and farmers in another 11 counties who are worried about running out of PPE in the next month or twoaccording to a California Department of Pesticide Regulation survey.
Gloves, N95 respirators, coveralls and other gear that workers wear to protect themselves from COVID-19, pesticides, dust and other health hazards are in short supply as priority is given to health care workers during the pandemic.
To reduce the spread of COVID-19, workers may wear homemade face coverings, but for applying pesticides, they must wear respirators specified on the pesticide product label, said Whitney Brim-DeForest, UC Cooperative Extension rice advisor.
Pesticide applicators may use gear that is more protective than required by the product label and regulations.
“Although this could change in the days ahead, half-mask and full-mask respirators are more available than disposable N95 respirators for now,” said Lisa Blecker, coordinator for the UC Pesticide Safety Education Program.
Before the pandemic, 10% of N95 respirators from 3M went to health care, but that number is now 90%, the company said in a letter to distributors. This has led to significant backorders of PPE supplies for distributors.
Carl Atwell, president of Gempler's, an online distributor of worker supplies, said that before the crisis, normal lead times for PPE was up to 10 days. He estimated disposable respirators will become available in the fall and other PPE supplies in August.
In the meantime, there is alternative PPE that agricultural professionals can use during the shortage.
Atwell suggests looking for lesser known brands of PPE as opposed to the first tier of choice: “It's sort of like searching for Purell hand sanitizer. Purell brand might be out of stock, but can you find a different disinfectant?”
On Gempler's website, the more recognizable Tyvek coverall from Dupont is sold out, however disposable protective clothing is available from other brands. Reusable chemical-resistant clothing is also available as opposed to their disposable counterparts. Supplies in high demand are reusable and disposable nitrile gloves, protective clothing, disposable respirators and certain protective eyewear, such as goggles and face shields.
General PPE requirements: “Remember, the label is the law,” said Brim-DeForest. “PPE requirements for agriculture are not being loosened.” The UCCE advisor recommends purchasing only what you need for the season and choosing reusable PPE whenever possible. Growers who have excess supplies of PPE can coordinate with their county agricultural commissioner or UCCE advisor to help other producers in their area.
Respirators: If you can't find the respirator required on the label, Blecker said, “Use an alternative, more-protective respirator. For example, if an N95 is required, you can use a half-mask with N95 particulate filters; these can be stand-alone filters or ones that attach to an organic vapor cartridge. You could also use a different pesticide that doesn't require a respirator. Consult with your PCA (pest control adviser) for options.
”Gloves: Chemical-resistant gloves, usually 14 mil or more in thickness are required for most California pesticide applications and should be worn by mixers, handlers and applicators. If nitrile gloves are not available, viton and laminate gloves are universal chemical-resistant materials for most pesticide labels. If the glove material is specified on the label, that instruction must be followed.
“Disposable gloves less than 14 mil can be worn, but not for more than 15 minutes at a time, ”Blecker said. “Farmers should also note that thinner gloves cannot be layered on top of one another.”
Coveralls: Coveralls should be worn when required by the pesticide label or when the signal word is “WARNING” or “DANGER,” or when applying by backpack or airblast. “Coveralls can be made out of high-density polyethylene fibers (Tyvek and other brands), which are disposable, or cotton, which are reusable,” Brim-DeForest said. “If reusable coveralls are worn, the employer must ensure employees are provided clean coveralls.”
Goggles/face shields: Face shields are required for mixing and loading pesticides only if it's stated on the label. “If a face shield is unavailable, a full-face respirator can be used,” Blecker said. “Goggles or protective eyewear should always be worn in California when handling pesticides, regardless of what the label says. The face shield, goggles or safety glasses must provide front, side and brow protection and meet the American National Standards Institute Z87.1 standard for impact resistance.
For more information about PPE, contact your county agricultural commissioner or see the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's posters at:
https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/whs/pdf/gloves_for_pesticide_handling.pdf and
https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/whs/pdf/n95_alternatives_for_pesticide_handling.pdf.
UC IPM also covers these topics in their pesticide safety webinar series at:
