- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
University of California Small Grains - Alfalfa/Forages Field Day
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences Field Headquarters
2400 Hutchison Dr., Davis, CA 95616, Davis, CA
8:00-4:30 Includes Lunch
CEUs: TBD
The annual UC Small Grains/Alfalfa-Forages Field Day will be held on May 15th at the University of California, Davis Department of Plant Sciences Field Headquarters on Hutchinson Road (west of Highway 113) from 8AM – 4:30PM.
The event showcases UC efforts in breeding and agronomic research related to small grains, alfalfa and forage crops and is one of the longest running field days in the state. The small grains portion will take place from 8 to noon and the alfalfa/forages section will take place between 12:40 and 4:30. A barbecue lunch will be provided.
Agenda:
7:30 Registration (no charge)
8:00 Start of Small Grains Program
8:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:35 Malting Barley & Oat Breeding: Alicia del Blanco, UC Davis
8:45 Barley Breeding for Food, Feed and Forage: Allison Krill-Brown, UC Davis
9:00 New Wheat Varieties: Oswaldo Chicaiza, UC Davis
9:15 Breeding Triticales for Bread and Forage: Josh Hegarty, UC Davis
9:25 Increasing Grain Size and Number: Alejandra Alvarez, UC Davis
9:35 A New Gene Controlling Number of Grains Per Spike: Saarah Kuzay, UC Davis
9:40 Balancing Source and Sink to Increase Yield: Jorge Dubcovsky, UC Davis
10:00 Herbicide Programs for Barley and Wheat: small grain herbicides and maximizing efficacy for control: Lynn Sosnoski, UC Cooperative Extension
10:20 Italian Ryegrass: Updates on Cultivation vs Herbicide Trials: resistance and methods for control: Konrad Mathesius, UC Cooperative Extension
10:30 Warm-season legume cover crop between winter small grains: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UC Cooperative Extension (This project was supported by the California Climate Investments program.)
10:45 Using Nitrogen Rich Reference Zones to Guide Wheat Topdress Decisions in the Sacramento Valley: Sarah Light, UC Cooperative Extension
10:55 Yield and Protein Stability for Wheat and Triticale Varieties Grown under N and Terminal Drought Stress: Mark Lundy, UC Cooperative Extension
11:05 Updates on UC Statewide Small Grain Trials: Seasonal conditions, pests and diseases, nitrogen management, and extension efforts: Mark Lundy, UC Cooperative Extension
11:15 Comments from breeders with entries in UC Statewide Small Grain Trials
11:30 UC Statewide Small Grain Trial Observations
11:50 Return for lunch
12:00 BARBEQUE LUNCH – Sponsored by CCIA – Many thanks to the staff at CCIA!
12:40 Start of Alfalfa and Forage Portion
12:40 Welcome and Introductions—Dan Putnam, UCCE/UCD Alfalfa Specialist
12:50 Managing Alfalfa in a Wet Year- What are the Diseases?-How to Help your Fields Recover? Rachael Long, UCCE Farm Advisor, Yolo County, Woodland, CA
1:05 IPM and Managing for Weevil Resistance in Alfalfa – Ian Grettenberger, Entomology Specialist, UC Davis, CA
1:20 Evaluation of N Stabilizers in Corn –Michelle Leinfelder Miles, UCCE Farm Advisor, Delta Region.
1:35 Forage Sorghum as a Summer Option: Controlling Sugarcane Aphid in Sorghum/ Sudangrass—Nick Clark, UCCE Farm Advisor, Kings/Fresno/Tulare Counties
1:50 Innovations in Overhead Irrigation – How that might improve Water Use Efficiency—Isaya Kisseka, UC Davis Professor, Irrigation Technology
2:10 Fun with Drones –Detecting Pest and Diagnosing Problems with Aerial Photography—Umair Gull, UC Davis Graduate Student, Plant Sciences.
2:25 Controlling Difficult Weeds in Alfalfa—Lynn Sosnoskie, UCCE Farm Advisor, Merced County.
2:50 Alternative Crops Research—Kura Clover, Switchgrass, Hemp—Dan Putnam, UC Davis
3:05 Reduced Lignin Alfalfa Varieties and Interactions with Harvest Scheduling—Brenda Perez, Graduate Student UC Davis
3:20 Analyzing Alfalfa Varieties for Pest Resistance (Nematodes, Insects, Diseases) and other characteristics—Dan Putnam, UC Davis
3:35 Alfalfa and Tall Fescue Breeding Programs at UC Davis –Charlie Brummer and students, UC Davis.
3:50 Test your Weed ID IQ: Weed Identification—Brad Hanson, UC Davis
4:15 Return to Headquarters
UCDavisFieldDay 5 15 19
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Help Desk Response: As I said in our conversation today, your insect is not a bed bug, but rather a mite of some kind. From its appearance, I believe it is a rat mite. There are also bird mites that can invade homes and bite people, but its appearance is closer to the rat mite.
These mites need rodents to survive, but will come into homes when their preferred hosts die or decrease in number. They cannot survive for too long without their hosts, even though they feed on humans. If there is a large population of rodents (rats or mice) in your attic or crawlspace, you might see a continued presence of these mites.
Here is a link to information from Contra Costa Vector Control District: https://www.contracostamosquito.com/mites.htm and from
Alameda County Vector Control about biting mites:
http://acvcsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Mites.pdf.
I didn't ask if you had rodent problems in your home, but I would be surprised if you did not (rat infestations are very common in our area). These links below are to information about controlling rats and mice: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74106.html;
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/QT/housemousecard.html.
More information can also be found on the Vector Control districts.
I hope this information is helpful and you're able to get rid of these pesky biting creatures. Please let us know if you have more questions.
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SEH)
Note: UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
2018 Alfalfa and Forage Field Day
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center
9240 S. Riverbend Ave., Parlier, CA 93648
7:30 AM Registration
8:00 AM TRAM LEAVES FOR FIELD TOUR
Alfalfa Varieties for Pest and Disease Management – Shannon Mueller, Agronomy Advisor and County Director, UCCE Fresno
Low-Lignin Alfalfa Testing – Daniel Putnam, CE Agronomy & Forage Specialist, UC Davis
Sorghum Drought Stress – Jeffery Dahlberg, KAREC Director and Bob Hutmacher, WSREC Director & CE Extension Specialist
Weed ID Mobile App: Hands-On – Lynn Sosnoskie, Agronomy & Weed Science Advisor, UCCE Merced & Madera
9:50 AM TRAM RETURNS
10:00 AM Weed ID: Tools and Tricks of the Trade – Lynn Sosnoskie
10:15 AM Insect Pest Management in Alfalfa: State of IPM Address – Tim Hays, PCA, Buttonwillow Warehouse, Lancaster, CA
10:30 AM Discussion
10:45 AM Break
11:00 AM Introduction of Soil Quality Advisors – NRCS and Nutrient Mgmt./Soil Quality Advisors Anthony Fulford, UCCE Stanislaus, Merced, & San Joaquin, and Daniela Carrijo, UCCE Fresno, Madera, Kings, & Tulare
11:15 AM Salinity Management: Soil and Cropping Systems Strategies – Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Delta Crops & Agronomy Advisor, UCCE San Joaquin
11:30 AM Sub-Surface Drip Irrigation and Deficit Irrigation in Alfalfa – Daniel Putnam
11:45 AM Manured Corn-Wheat N, P, & K Budgeting – Nick Clark, Agronomy & Nutrient Mgmt. Advisor, UCCE Kings, Tulare, & Fresno
12:00 PM Discussion
12:15 PM Lunch
DPR & CCA CEU hours have been applied for.
2018 Alfalfa Day - Kearney Agenda
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
There are several meetings featuring the research of UC ANR Staff coming up this month (August 2018). Directions to sites can be obtained through the UCCE Merced Agronomy and Weed Science Upcoming Events web page: http://ucanr.edu/sites/agronomyweedscience/Upcoming_Events/
1. West Side Pest Management Update
This meeting will cover a variety of topics including vegetable insect and disease management, the biology and ecology of field bindweed, and the management of field bindweed in agronomic and specialty crops.
Date: August 15, 2018
Time: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: UC Westside Research and Extension Center
Event Schedule:
8:30 Welcome and introduction Tom Turini, UCCE Advisor Fresno
8:35 Recent research on vegetable insect and disease management Tom Turini
8:55 Field bindweed biology and ecology Lynn Sosnoskie, UCCE Advisor Merced/Madera
9:15 Bindweed management in annual systems Scott Stoddard, UCCE Advisor Merced/Madera
9:35 Bindweed management in perennial crops Kurt Hembree, UCCE Advisor Fresno
9:55 Bindweed control discussion
10:25 Break
10:40 Recent research on Fusarium diseases of tomato Cassandra Swett, UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology
11:10 Resistance breaking strains of TSWV and Beet curly top virus research Robert Gilbertson, UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology
11:45 Adjourn
2. Warm Season Cover Crops Field Day
Warm season cover crops are an underused tool in California agriculture. Their use can “add value” during a fallow “window” within a production cropping system.Field Day participants will get a close look at a replicated warm season cover crop trial at the PMC with 11 species and four cowpea cultivars after 60 days of growth.
Date: August 22, 2018
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Lockeford Plant Materials Center
Tentative Agenda
10:00 - Margaret Smither-Kopperl, PMC Manager - Welcome
10:05 - Scott Park - A Producers Experience with Warm Season Cover Crops
10:25 - Valerie Bullard, PMC Agronomist - Warm Season Cover Crops
10:50 - Gill Costa, Sentek Technologies - Moisture Sensors for Irrigation Water Monitoring
11:10 - Michelle Leinefelder-Miles and Brenna Aegerter, UC Extension - Cover crops, Soil Health and Greenhouse Gas Study
11:30 - Z. Kabir, NRCS Regional Soil Health Specialist - Timing of Warm Season Cover Crops
11:45 - Wendy Rash, District Conservationist - NRCS Programs and Cover Crops
11:55 - Margaret Smither-Kopperl - Conclusions and Questions
3. Annual California Rice Field Day
The purpose of the Rice Field Day is to give rice growers and opportunity to observe and discuss research in progress at the RES. Program highlights will include information about variety improvement, disease resistance, and insect and weed control.
Date: August 29, 2018
Time: 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: California Rice Experiment Station
Agenda:
7:30-8:30 a.m. Registration, posters and demonstrations
8:30-9:15 a.m. General session: CCRRF membership report, rice research trust report, California rice industry award
9:30-12:00 p.m. Field tours of rice research: variety improvement, disease resistance, insect control, weed control
12:00 p.m. Lunch
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- Author: Riva Flexer
I’ve been walking past this Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ for at least five years now. It’s in my ‘kitchen’ raised bed, which should have become a vegetable bed, but, lacking enough sun and requiring major soil amendment, became a place to put plants that I could see from the kitchen. The pittosporum made its way there under false pretences. It’s supposed to produce sweet-smelling white flowers, but its attractive branch structure and variegated leaves are more interesting.
I’ve been pruning it back periodically, because it is really too big for the space, but my husband likes its location (hence the pruning). A few weeks ago, in a vain search for possible flower buds, I noticed that the new growth had aphids. Not only aphids, but a full complement of ants. It didn’t surprise me, but it means I will have to take some action.
Usually when there are aphids on my roses (which, in Quebec only happens in the spring), I wipe them off or remove them with a blast of water from the hose. If I feel it’s necessary, I’ll use some insecticidal soap solution, but that is rare. Of course, in California it seems as though it’s always spring, and pruning stimulates new growth. If you prune and fertilize, you’ll get lots of fresh, leggy, sweet-tasting new shoots.
So, the ants followed the honeydew trail, and they are "farming" the aphids for their that substance. They protect aphids from predators, like any good farmer, ants protect a food source, and they eat the aphid excrement. Now I have a dual problem. I’ll let you know what I do to solve it!