"A" is for almonds and "Z" is for Zamora.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 15 for a two-hour workshop, "Almond Pollination and Orchard Pollinator Planters" in Zamora, Yolo County. It's free and open to the public.

UC Davis pollination ecologists and other experts will be among those speaking at the event, to take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 8304 County Road 91B, Zamora. No reservations are required.

“This field day will provide an overview of integrated crop pollination and on-farm wildflower plantings for almonds in the Sacramento Valley,” said organizer Katharina Ullmann, who received her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis last year with major professor and pollination ecologist Neal Williams. She is now a pollination specialist for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

“We will hear the latest research from a UC Davis lab studying almond pollination and wildflower plantings, learn about almond pollinators and how to support those pollinators using wildflowers," Ullmann said. "We will also discuss establishment and maintenance practices for planting habitat on field crop edges and provide an overview of plant species appropriate for plantings in the Sacramento Valley and beyond. Two growers will share their perspectives."

Among the speakers is Ula Lundin of Sweden, a postdoctoral researcher in Williams laboratory, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. "I am interested in how functionally important insects in agriculture like pollinators, pests and natural enemies are affected by agricultural management and environmental drivers at the field, landscape and regional scale," he says on the lab website. "In my PhD project I explored these questions in Swedish clover seed production, studying pollination and pest control provided by bumble bees and parasitoids attacking economically important seed predators." In his postdoc project, Lundin is working with "the enhancement of pollination and pest control services with wildflower plantings as a part of the Integrated Crop Pollination Project." 

The March 15 lineup:

9 a.m.: Welcome by Kat Pope, orchard advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties; and Rachael Long, owner of the DH Long Farm and Yolo County farm advisor

9:10: Integrated crop pollination, almond pollination and research update by  Kimiora Ward, research associate, Neal Williams lab, UC Davis;  Ola Lundin, postdoctoral researcher, Williams lab, and Katharina Ullmann, crop pollination specialist, Xerces Society 


9:40: Almond wildflower plantings 101 (DH Long Farm) by Kimiora Ward, research associate, Williams lab; Kitty Bolte, junior research specialist, Williams lab; and  Tom Barrios, Barrios Farms 


10:25: Solarization for wildflower planting success (Tadlock Farm) by Jessa Kay Cruz, pollinator conservation specialist, Xerces Society; orchard manager, Tadlock Farm


10:45: Technical and financial support, Ha Troung, Yolo County, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

The sponsors include UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Davis, Xercies Society, Integrated Crop Pollination Project Colusa County Resource Conservation District, and the Yolo County Resource Conservation District.

Continuing education credits will be given. Participants are asked to bring a hat, sunscreen and good walking shoes. For more information contact Katharina Ullmann at katharina@xerces.org or at (530) 302-5504. 

If you're a California commercial citrus grower or a homeowner with a citrus tree on your property, be sure to check for signs of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP).

Think ACP. Think HLB. Think ASAP.

ACP spreads the killer huanglongbing (HLB) disease, also called "citrus greening," which is threatening California's citrus industry and residential landscapes. Some 60 percent of California homeowners have at least one citrus tree.

The brown-mottled, aphid-sized pest (Diaphorina citri), a native of Pakistan, was first detected in California in 2008.  It earlier wreaked havoc in Florida's citrus industry. Due to HLB and citrus canker, the Florida citrus industry has lost nearly 50 percent of its citrus production in the past 10 years, according to the national Citrus Research Board.

California has more to lose. The Golden State is the No. 1 economic citrus state in the nation, ranking first in the U.S. in terms of economic value and second (after Florida) in terms of production, says the national Citrus Research Board.  "California produces approximately 80 percent of the nation's fresh fruit citrus and is the country's main source (80 percent) of fresh-market oranges (Florida grows oranges mainly for juice)." 

It's crucial to check for signs of this pest now--right now--because of the new leaf growth (flush).  The young, tender leaves are perfect for psyllids. Tell-tale signs of psyllid presence include distorted new leaves and stems, waxy deposits, honeydew and sooty molds.

Checking for psyllids is our first line of defense.

“We encourage home citrus growers and farmers to go out with a magnifying glass or hand lens and look closely at the new growth,” said Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) citrus entomologist. “Look for the various stages of the psyllid – small yellow eggs, sesame-seed sized yellow ACP young with curly white tubules, or aphid-like adults that perch with their hind quarters angled up.”

Photos of the Asian citrus psyllids and the life stages are posted on the UC ANR website at http://ucanr.edu/acp. If you find signs of this insect, you're urged to telephone the California Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Exotic Pest Hotline at (800) 491-1899.

Yellow mottling on the leaves may be the first sign your citrus tree is infected with the HLB. Other indications are  sour misshapen fruit. If your tree has HLB, that's a death sentence. It will die. You cannot save it.

CDFA officials recently removed a  few HLB-infected trees in urban Los Angeles County. 

“In California, we are working hard to keep the population of ACP as low as possible until researchers can find a cure for the disease,” Grafton-Cardwell said. “We need the help of citrus farmers and home gardeners.”

A new UC ANR ACP website for citrus growers and homeowners provides help in finding the pest and what to do next. The site, spearheaded by Grafton-Cardwell, includes an interactive map so viewers can  locate where the psyllid is established, and areas being targeted.

The website outlines biological control efforts that are underway, and directions for insecticidal control, if it is needed. An online calculator allows farmers and homeowners to determine their potential costs for using insecticides.

Additional measures and precautions are advised:

• When planting new citrus trees, purchase the trees only from reputable nurseries. Do not accept tree cuttings or budwood from neighbors, friends or relatives. HLB can be spread by grafting.
• After pruning or cutting down a citrus tree, dry out the green waste or double bag it to ensure that live psyllids won't hitch a ride to another region and spread HLB from tree to tree.
• Control ants in and near citrus trees with bait stations. Scientists have released natural enemies of ACP in Southern California to help keep the pest in check. However, ants will protect the psyllids from the natural enemies. Ants feed on honeydew.
• Learn more about the Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease on UC ANR's Statewide Integrated Pest Management website.
• Assist in the control of ACP by supporting CDFA insecticide treatments on your citrus or treating the citrus yourself when psyllids are present.
• Support the removal of HLB-infected trees.

 HLB has seriously impacted citrus production in Brazil, India, Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, Africa and now Florida. We don't want California added to that list. 

So you want to become a Master Beekeeper.

You don't want to just keep bees, you want to devote your life to learning more about them and understanding them. And you want to engage in public service.

“Any universal and immutable scale with which to measure mastery of a human pursuit is at best elusive,” says Master Beekeeper Mea McNeil of San Anselmo, who doubles as a journalist, writing for beekeeping journals and other publications. “For those whose lives are devoted to understanding the wonders that are bees, every research answer begets a new question. So it is that an array of Master Beekeeper programs have been developed to bring dedicated beekeepers to a sophisticated level of knowledge that is defined by each course.”

McNeill, who is also an organic farmer, wrote those words for an article published 10 years ago in The American Bee Journal.  Roger Morris of Cornell University taught the first known Master Beekeeping course, she related, and the first Master Beekeeping certificate went to beekeeper Peter Bizzosa in 1972.

The good news is that the University of California, Davis, is now planning its first-ever Master Beekeeping course. There are no times and dates. Not yet. It's all in the beginning stages, says Extension apiculturist Elina Niño of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

If you want to get on the Master Beekeeper list, send an email to sympa@ucdavis.edu from your email address or the address you want subscribed. In the subject line of your message, type in: subscribe camasterbee Firstname Lastname.

“I completed the Master Beekeeping Program at the University of Nebraska under Dr. Marion Ellis,” McNeil said, adding that it was quite comprehensive.  “I learned enough about bees and beekeeping to become humbled at the vastness of the subject. An important component of that program is service, so, as a working journalist, I began writing about the bee world as a result.”

In her journal article, McNeil described several programs, but pointed out that “No two programs may be alike, but they spring from a common philosophy: the bees are precious and necessary, and those who know them well will serve to help them thrive. Most intend to create ambassadors for the bees, a mission to bring the public into greater awareness of their importance.”

These are university-level courses--extensive, detailed and challenging--with written, lab, oral and field exams. You have to know the material and be comfortable in explaining it. You may have to, for example, identify “a blob of unidentifiable substance” and “describe the cause and how to prevent it,” as McNeil wrote. One blob turned out to be “chewed up bees from skunks sucking the juices from bees, then spitting out bee parts.”

Take the Master Beekeeping Program at the University of Florida. It's an ongoing program that spans a minimum of five years. Participants work toward “advancing to the next level by reading books, demonstrating public service credits, participating in research projects, or extension programs, etc.," the website says. "In order to enter the program, you must begin by taking the written and practical examination for the Apprentice Beekeeper level." Master Beekeepers serve as an arm of the Extension services.

Meanwhile, in addition to the pending Master Beekeeper course, UC Davis offers beekeeping and queen-rearing courses for novices, intermediates and advanced beekeepers.  If you're interested in joining the beekeeping course list,  send an email to sympa@ucdavis.edu from the address you want to subscribed to the list. In the subject line, type: subscribe elninobeelabclasses Firstname Lastname.

If you want to learn more about the UC Davis honey bee program, access the E. L. Niño lab website at http://elninobeelab.ucdavis.edu/ or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/elninolab.

Nathaniel Haddon of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, is only nine years old, but he already knows more about honey bees than many adults do.

He readily names the three castes: queen bee, worker bee and drone. He explains that the workers are all females, and that drones are males and they can't sting because they have no stingers. He knows how to tend a hive and he knows the importance of bee pollination.

His father, beekeeper Garry Haddon Jr., of GLH Honey Bees, Fairfield, has kept bees for four years. 

Nathaniel talked about bees at the recent Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held at Willis Jepson Middle School, Vacaville. The annual event is an opportunity for 4-H'ers to share what they've learned in their projects, and to gain presentation experience.

Nathaniel illustrated his hand-crafted poster, “Honey Bees,” with drawings of the queen bee, worker bee and drone; a drawing of the life cycle of a bee; and photos of him working the hives and holding a frame.

Nathaniel's display table included his bee suit, a bottle of honey, and honey sticks, which he shared with the adult evaluators Cara Kent and Brenda Torres.

“Thank you for telling us about the bees,” one of the evaluators told him. “We learned a lot about bees. We didn't know that all the workers are female.”

Following the presentation,  we asked Nathaniel what he likes best about bees. “How drones can't sting,” he said.

His father volunteers as the 4-H beekeeping project leader. “We have 12 in our group,” Garry Haddon Jr. said. “We've already built eight hives. We're getting our packages of bees from Koehnens (C.F. Koehnen & Sons of Glenn County) in March.”

Learning about bees is lifelong. “I pass on the information I've learned to the kids,” Haddon said. One of his mentors is beekeeper John Foster of John Foster Bz Bee Pollination Esparto. Garry hopes to take a course from the University of California, Davis soon. “The courses (taught by Extension apiculturist Elina Niño and her group) were already filled when I tried to sign up," he said. "I was on the waiting list. I'm looking forward to the next course offered."

Earlier this year Garry trucked some of his bees to Turlock to pollinate the almonds. He bottles his honey and also produces honey sticks.

He has not always been enamored with bees. “When I was in high school, I thought bees were pests,” Garry acknowledged.

Not any more. He considers bees a treasure.

Lately the 4-H beekeeping leader has been showing his project members how to build hives, and he encourages them to decorate their own hive, "to make it their own." Three 4-H'ers, Ashlyn Haddon, Adrianna Haddon and Hallee Winchell, displayed their decorated hives at the Solano County 4-H Presentation Day.

4-H Youth Development Program
The 4-H Youth Development Program is a non-profit youth educational program administered through the UC Cooperative Extension. In 4-H, youths from ages 5 to 19 learn skills through hands-on learning and have fun doing it, said Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H program representative.  The international organization draws youth from all ethnic, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds who live in rural, suburban, and urban communities. The four H's in 4-H stand for head, heart, hands, and health. The motto: "To make the best better."

Age-appropriate projects within each club are the heart of 4-H's hands-on learning. Each project focuses on a topic, anything from A (art)  to Z (zoology). Among the many projects: animal sciences, bicycling, camping, computers, drama, entomology, leadership, music, photography, quilting, rocketry, textile arts, and woodworking. 

For information on the Solano County 4-H Program, access http://cesolano.ucanr.edu or contact Valerie Williams at vawilliams@ucanr.edu or (707) 784-1319.

UC Davis Beekeeping Courses

• Beekeeping Courses. To get on the list for UC Davis-offered beekeeping courses, send an email to sympa@ucdavis.edu from the address you want to subscribe to the list and in the subject line of your message, type in: subscribe elninobeelabclasses Firstname Lastname 
• Master Beekeeping Courses. To get on the list for the newly created UC Davis Master Beekeeper Program, send an email to sympa@ucdavis.edu from the address you want to subscribe to the list and in the subject line of your message, type in: subscribe camasterbee Firstname Lastname

For more information on UC Davis beekeeping courses, contact the E.L. Nino lab at 530-380-BUZZ (2899) or access the website at http://elninobeelab.ucdavis.edu/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/elninolab.