- Author: Michael Cahn
- Author: Ali Montazar
Bringing Irrigation and Nutrient Management Decision-Support Tool to the Field
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Farm Credit West, 485 Business Parkway, Imperial, CA 92251
• Learn how to use CropManage to support irrigation and nutrient management decisions and record-keeping for your crops
• Learn about the latest updates to CropManage
CropManage is a free online decision-support tool for water and nutrient management of vegetables, berry, agronomic, and tree crops. Based on in-depth research and field studies conducted by the University of California Cooperative Extension, CropManage provides real-time recommendations for efficient and timely irrigation and fertilization applications while maintaining or improving overall yield.
At this free workshop, we will provide hands-on training so that you can learn to use the newest version of CropManage. Crops currently supported include many vegetables (carrots, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, tomato, etc.), berry crops (raspberry and strawberry), tree crops (almond, walnut, and pistachio), and agronomic crops (alfalfa and corn). CropManage is now also available in Spanish.
Who should participate? Growers, farm managers, other farm staff, crop advisors, consultants, and technical service providers are welcome. The workshop is for both new and current CropManage users.
What to bring? This is a participatory workshop. Please bring a tablet or laptop computer so that you can follow along and participate in the exercises. Each participant will need a user account for CropManage. Please set up a free user account at https://cropmanage.ucanr.edu/ before the workshop.
Registration: Please register at https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=36443 by February 8, 2022. Seats are limited to the first 25 registrants.
Agenda
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
8:00 – 8:20 Registration and computer set-up
8:20 – 8:40 Introduction
8:40 – 9:50 Getting started with CropManage
9:50 – 10:00 BREAK
10:00 – 11:00 Using CropManage for decision support and record-keeping
11:00 – 11:10 BREAK
11:10 – 11:40 Advanced features and interfacing sensors with CropManage
11:40 – 12:00 Discussion of new features and Q&A
For additional information on the workshop, please contact Dr. Ali Montazar at amontazar@ucanr.edu or (442) 265-7707.
PENDING CEU APPROVALS: CCA (2.5 hrs.)
NOTE: The following COVID-19 guidelines will be applied to this training workshop.
1. Wearing a face covering during the workshop is required.
2. Stay at home if you have COVID-19 symptoms, tested for positive, and/or close
contacts with or exposure to others who have been tested for COVID-19.
3. Face masks and sanitation items will be provided at the workshop
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Farmers growing vegetables in Southern California and Arizona deserts had to contend with a new pest this fall. The Bagrada bug - a native of East and Southern Africa, Egypt, Zaire and Senegal - made its first appearance in the area, posing especially significant problems to organic farmers, according to an article in Capital Press.
Bagrada bugs were introduced to California last year in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. This past August, farmers began seeing the pest in broccoli, cauliflower, and other cole crops in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, and in southwestern Arizona.“Bagrada bugs were everywhere; it’s not like we’ve had to look for them,” the story quoted John Palumbo, an extension specialist at the University of Arizona Yuma Agricultural Center.
According to UC Riverside’s Center for Invasive Species Research, adult Bagrada bugs are 5 to 7 millimeters long with black, shield-shaped bodies and distinctive white and orange markings. The adult female is larger than the male.
Bagrada bugs suck sap from young leaves causing small white patches on leaf edges. The damage can prevent the plant from producing edible vegetable heads or can cause double heads that are too small for market. Severe Bagrada feeding can kill the plant.
Capital Press reporter Cary Blake spoke to UC Cooperative Extension Imperial County farm advisor Eric Natwick about the Bagrada bug situation for California desert farmers. Natwick said he saw major Bagrada bug damage in an organically grown red cabbage field in Holtville in late October.
“I’d estimate about 30 percent of the early September-planted transplants developed single heads,” Natwick was quoted. “The other plants (about 70 percent) had no head or two smaller, unmarketable heads.”
Natwick found higher single-head numbers in mid-to-late September-planted cabbage. The field contained adults, nymphs, and eggs.