The mating disruption twist ties are now being sold through private vendors since the USDA supply has now officially run out.  Prospective customers can contact the vendors below:

Wilbur-Ellis- Salinas (831-422-6473)

Crop Protection Services- Watsonville office (831-763-4533)

Troy Miller- Simplot       (831-809-9211) 

Again the rate of use of these ties from Pacific Biocontrol should be 300 per acre and it is understood that they should be effective for six months.

Users of predatory mites in berries really should take a look at this link, which covers the feeding habits of the various predatory mites in use:

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=14065

Here's an interview I gave to the Spanish language arm of UCCE concerning the current drought situation in berries:

http://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Noticias/?uid=5860&ds=199

I look at a lot of soil reports these days, and the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is one number that is very informative to me.

Simply put, SAR of a soil extract takes into account how much the adverse effect of sodium (Na⁺) is moderated by the other cations calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺). As you all know, calcium and magnesium can replace sodium on soil particles, subsequently permitting this toxin to be washed away from the plant roots.   So the more free calcium and magnesium we have around in the soil, the better odds we have of mitigating sodium.

SAR levels below 6 are OK, levels which run above 10 mean trouble.

Although most soil reports will give you a calculated value for SAR, you can calculate SAR yourself.   It's simple: SAR = Na⁺/((1/2(Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺))^1/2 ), where Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ are all measured in meq/L (milliequivalents per liter).