- Author: Mike Hsu
John Karlik, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Kern County for environmental horticulture and environmental science, will retire July 1. Karlik began his work in Kern County in 1984 with an emphasis on the commercial rose plant industry and local horticulture outreach.
Karlik's teaching activities included five levels of 12- to 15-week horticulture education classes offered in three locations in Kern County, usually two or three classes held each year. For the past 25 years, he has collaborated with Darrell Feil, co-owner of Abate-a-Weed in Bakersfield, to hold landscape management seminars that connect community members with experts on a wide range of topics.
“What I love about John is a couple of things: first, his knowledge base is amazing – he's a treasure of Kern County, for what he's done education-wise,” Feil said. “And second, he has a very active mind – and so many people benefit from that in our community.”
Karlik expanded his teaching to include 10 horticulture study tours to gardens and landscapes of Europe and Asia, and the photographs from those visits enhanced his outreach and contributed to his chapters on landscape design in the Arizona and UC Master Gardener Handbooks.
He earned his B.S. in soil science from the University of Minnesota and M.S. in horticulture from Michigan State University.
Taking advantage of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' flexibility and sabbatical leave, he completed a doctorate at UCLA in Environmental Science and Engineering, and changed his research focus to air-quality-related projects. That led to a lecture series on atmospheric science and policy, including climate change, which Karlik offered annually for 15 years as a visiting professor at Central European University in Budapest, and resulting in a service award from that institution.
In recent years, he led four tours to study ecosystem response in the still-radioactive Exclusion Zone at Chernobyl, Ukraine, site of the world's worst nuclear accident.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karlik shifted from in-person classes and offered 75 hour-long Zoom presentations on horticulture, landscape design, climate change and environmental science topics, finding an audience in California and in other states.
Karlik also has held a variety of positions in ANR committees, including Academic Assembly Council and the Communications Advisory Board.
“I especially appreciate the many collegial relationships I have within UCCE, ANR, and on several campuses,” Karlik said. “Authorship on many publications reflects those relationships.”
In retirement, Karlik expects to offer assistance at the UCCE office in Kern County and as an editor for a forthcoming ANR book. He intends to pursue interests in instrumental music and the study of languages.
“We've been really blessed to have a guy like John around,” Feil said.
- Author: Mike Hsu
One doesn't need to be a seasoned farmer to know that growing conditions in Canada are completely different than those found in the low desert of California.
And yet, for many years, studies conducted in Canada were used to generate nitrogen uptake data for the California carrot production system, so growers managed their fields based on their own experiences – and that research conducted thousands of miles to the north.
Carrots had been among the crops grown in California that did not have site-specific data to suggest the best source, rate, timing and placement of nitrogen, in the highly variable cropping seasons and locations throughout the state. That's why new information – based on local research and published in August – is invaluable to farmers in Imperial and Kern counties, where the majority of the carrots in California are grown.
Two years of data from two experimental trials at UC Agriculture and Natural Resource's Desert Research and Extension Center – as well as from 10 commercial fields – produced key recommendations for farmers to make the most of their irrigation and nitrogen applications.
“The point is we developed information in your field, based on your practices, your climate, your production system – and this is what is really happening,” said Ali Montazar, UC Cooperative Extension irrigation and water management advisor for Imperial County. Montazar conducted the study alongside Daniel Geisseler, UCCE nutrient management specialist at UC Davis, and Michael Cahn, UCCE irrigation and water resources advisor for Monterey County.
With reliable data gathered under real-world conditions, Montazar said growers now have solid reference points for when – and at what rate – to irrigate and apply fertilizers in the low desert environment. One of the key findings, for example, was that the carrots' nitrogen uptake is generally low in the first 40 to 50 days, so growers are advised to limit their fertilizer application during that period.
Then, by tailoring those basic guidelines to their own site-specific situation and optimizing their practices, growers can maximize the amount of nitrogen taken up by the carrots – and minimize the amount that is leached out.
“Improving irrigation and nutrient management in the desert production system is what local growers are themselves trying to achieve. With improving efficiency and reducing nutrient leaching, we can improve the quality of water in the Salton Sea,” said Montazar, noting the longstanding challenges of reducing contaminants from irrigated lands to protect its unique ecosystem and wildlife.
While contamination of groundwater is not a critical issue in the desert, the best practices in this study can also help carrot growers in parts of California where nitrogen leaching into groundwater and drinking water supplies is a greater concern.
Montazar is currently leading a team in studying carrot-growing management practices under slightly different conditions in Kern County, with the hopes of publishing findings in late summer 2022.
The Imperial County study, “Spatial Variability of Nitrogen Uptake and Net Removal and Actual Evapotranspiration in the California Desert Carrot Production System,” is published in the journal Agriculture, and can be found at https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11080752. Findings and recommendations also appear in Progressive Crop Consultant: https://progressivecrop.com/2021/09/new-knowledge-based-information-developed-to-enhance-water-and-nitrogen-use-efficiency-in-desert-fresh-market-carrots/.
Funding for this study was provided by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Fertilizer Research and Education Program, as well as the California Fresh Carrots Advisory Board.
- Author: Shulamit Shroder
Can compost help me with my salt problems?
Increasing soil salinity poses an existential threat to agriculture in many parts of California. Due to decades of irrigation and low rainfall, areas like the Central Valley suffer from increasing salinity in both their soils and their groundwater, resulting in diminished crop yields and contaminated drinking water.
According to the nonprofit Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long Term Sustainability, the Central Valley has already lost 250,000 acres of farmland to salinity problems. Another 1.5 million acres remain in production but suffer decreased yields due to the negative effects of salinity (CV SALTS, 2017). Like us, plants do not appreciate salty drinking water. Most of them can't thrive if the sodium levels in the soil are too high.
However, this area still produces many of the agricultural products upon which we depend, like nuts, fruits, and vegetables. In order to continue farming, producers in these areas must continue to improve their farming practices. One possible way is by applying compost. This can help to mitigate the terrible effects of soil salinity on crop and soil health.
Scientists have studied the use of organic amendments like municipal solid waste as a means of combating soil salinity since the 1980s and ‘90s. In 1994, Israeli researchers reported that not only did applying municipal solid waste compost improve soil stability and plant growth, but also that amending saline soil withboth compost and gypsum increased yields to the level expected from a normal, non-saline field (Avnimelech et al, 1994).
In 2011, scientists in India published their results after 15 years of treating sodic water irrigation with gypsum, farmyard manure, green manure, and wheat straw. The high sodium water they applied caused the soil structure to disintegrate and the water infiltration rate to plummet. However, the organic amendments all mitigated those effects to varying extents. Farmers thus can add both organic amendments and gypsum in order to improve the yield of their salty soils (Choudhary et al, 2011).
So, if you've got salty soil or irrigation water and gypsum alone isn't enough, then applying compost could be another salt-fighting tool to add to your toolbox.
Plus, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will help pay for it through the Healthy Soils Program.
The most recent round of solicitations closed in March 2019, but keep an eye out for future announcements. In the meantime, check out the UCANR climate smart ag page.
Reach out to your closest Community Education Specialist II with any questions and for help applying for the program.
References
- Avnimelech, Y., Shkedy, D., Kochva, M., & Yotal, Y. (1994). The use of compost for the reclamation of saline and alkaline soils. Compost Science & Utilization, 2(3), 6-11.
- Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-term Sustainability. (2017). CV Salts [pdf]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cvsalinity.org/docs/committee-document/pubic-education-and-outreach-docs/3963-outreachbrochure-high-resolutionenglish-revised-82718/file.html
- Choudhary, O. P., Ghuman, B. S., Thuy, N., & Buresh, R. J. (2011). Effects of long-term use of sodic water irrigation, amendments and crop residues on soil properties and crop yields in rice–wheat cropping system in a calcareous soil. Field Crops Research, 121(3), 363-372.
- Diacono, M., & Montemurro, F. (2015). Effectiveness of organic wastes as fertilizers and amendments in salt-affected soils. Agriculture, 5(2), 221-230.
- Rao, D. L. N., & Pathak, H. (1996). Ameliorative influence of organic matter on biological activity of salt‐affected soils. Arid Land Research and Management, 10(4), 311-319.
- Author: Alli Rowe
- Author: Shulamit Shroder
What exactly is climate smart agriculture? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations coined the term climate smart agriculture as “an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate.” In short, climate smart agriculture addresses how to manage agricultural systems to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population while both building resiliency to climate change and using agriculture as a solution to our climate crisis.
To be effective, climate smart agriculture must meet three main objectives:
1) Increase agricultural productivity and incomes;
2) Adapt to and build resiliency to climate change; and
Climate smart agriculture addresses the risks that agricultural production faces under a changing climate, underscores agriculture's role in solving climate change, and focuses on the importance of intensification of agriculture required to feed a global population.
Agriculture and working lands play a significant role in climate change. According to the EPA's recent inventory, agricultural management practices contribute 8.4% of the United States' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Interestingly, and encouragingly, agriculture can also act as a greenhouse gas sink by removing atmospheric carbon and storing it in plant tissue and soils. Through effective management, agriculture provides a significant solution to climate change.
California's agricultural industry is at extreme risk to the impacts of climate change. Changes in temperatures, precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, and water availability all pose a threat to the viability of agricultural production. Warming temperatures throughout the state will result in a decline of winter chill hours, increased water demand by crops, and the promotion of various pests. Projections show an increased tendency of heat wave events and an increase in duration and intensity of drought. In addition, California expects to see earlier snowmelt, resulting in increased flooding and a decrease in year-round water availability. This is a doom and gloom scenario we can look forward to unless we decide to act today to plan for tomorrow.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture administers 3 programs to help farmers, ranchers, and dairy operators implement climate smart agriculture practices:
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The State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) encourages farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems that decrease their water consumption as well as their greenhouse gas emissions. You can apply for a SWEEP grant for up to $100,000.
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The Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) awards funds - up to $750,000 - to livestock producers who decrease their methane emissions by changing the way that they manage manure.
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The Healthy Soils Program takes a two-pronged approach. For the Incentives Program, there is $75,000 available per project. There is also the option to coordinate with your local resource conservation district or university on a Demonstration Project, which can award up to $250,000 for the research and demonstration of new healthy soils practices. The Healthy Soils Program encourages the implementation of conservation agriculture techniques that decrease erosion and greenhouse gas emissions, like cover cropping, compost, crop rotation, and mulching.
In October 2018, CDFA and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources agreed to work together to enhance access to information and technical assistance for the state's climate smart initiatives. The ten Community Education Specialists scattered throughout the state can help growers and producers with the grant application process, at no cost to the farmer.
Keep an eye out for future announcements about grant deadlines - they all passed in March and April 2019 but should reopen within the next year, pending further funding.
For more information about these programs and for help applying for these grants, contact your local Community Education Specialist:
County | Contact | Phone | |
Mendocino | Britta Baskerville | blbaskerville@ucanr.edu | (707) 463-4158 |
Caddie Bergren | cmbergren@ucanr.edu | (209) 385-7403 | |
Glenn | Dana Brady | dmbrady@ucanr.edu | (530) 517-8187 |
Yolo, Solano & Sacramento |
Emily Lovell | ejlovell@ucanr.edu | (530) 405-9777 |
Santa Cruz | Valerie Perez | valperez@ucanr.edu | (831) 763-8028 |
Kern | Shulamit Shroder | sashroder@ucanr.edu | (661) 868-2168 |
Alli Rowe | amrowe@ucanr.edu | (805) 645-1464 | |
Esther Mosase | enmosase@ucanr.edu | (605) 592-0275 | |
Imperial | Kristian Salgado | kmsalgado@ucanr.edu |
(442) 265-7700 |
Climate smart agriculture encompasses management practices that increase soil carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve yields and efficiencies, and promotes climate resilience. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) supports three funding opportunities in climate smart agriculture: the Healthy Soils Program, the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, and the Alternative Manure Management Program.
In a collaborative partnership, CDFA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have teamed up to support 10 community education specialists throughout the state to provide technical assistance and outreach for the climate smart agriculture programs.
/table>/span>- Author: Wendy Powers
It's hard to find enough time these days to keep up on the essential things so some of you might be wondering how I justify taking time and incurring the expense to visit our facilities around the state. It's because I consider it essential to my role and one of my key responsibilities to convey the work going on. Seeing the work, as opposed to just hearing it, gives me context. I learn far more through the conversations than what might result from a meeting sitting in Davis or Oakland.
On Monday, Mark Bell and I spent the day with the group in Kern County. The day went far too quickly and we didn't have time for one-on-one conversations with all of the academics, much less the staff. Things are so different from where they were a year ago. Despite what seems to have been a warmer winter, the trees didn't seem to be as far in bloom as they were last year. And, of course, it is much drier. At this time last year, I recall driving back from World Ag Expo knowing that there were evacuations of dairy farms underway.
I learned a bunch of things while visiting the group in Kern County, from high tech approaches to mating disruption, to creative approaches to averting fumigant use, to UC ANR's impact on developing evapotranspiration models. All was impressive and fascinating. And clearly the group works with colleagues across the state on all of these efforts, despite being tucked away far from just about everywhere. David's mating disruption work involves a cadre of Advisors all the way up to Butte and Mohammed readily referred to Brent's orchard recycling efforts are the driver behind his own research. Blake talked at length about his collaborations with Allan Fulton.
I was fascinated by the Giant cane plot we visited. While not your usual plot study, it's a crop that is really important to musicians that play woodwind reed instruments. Two of my sisters, including the fencer, played double reed instruments (oboe and bassoon) and another sister played clarinet and saxophone (single reed). I also played saxophone and I think the fencer played it as well. If you have played reed instruments you know how important a good reed is to sound quality. What I had managed to forget was how expensive reeds are - $12 and up for an oboe reed on Amazon! Brian shared that manufacturers employ the likes of Kenny G to test out reed quality. Imagine the opportunity we have to connect a new clientele group with importance of agriculture!
We ended our day at what David calls his happy place. It's a four corner intersection, still in the middle of nowhere, with a different crop on each corner. And each corner demonstrates the impact that the work of UC ANR has. One corner was a citrus orchard where glassy-winged sharpshooter control was deployed in order to spare the vineyard across the road from becoming infected with Pierce's Disease. Kiddy-corner to the vineyard were cherry trees demonstrating the gains made from all of the Spotted Wing Drosophila work that went on years ago. And opposite the cherry trees were high-bush blueberries, one of the highest value crops.
It made for a long night and I didn't catch up on emails until this evening but it was great to see just a small slice of what UCCE Kern County is up to. I can't wait to be invited back.