On Friday, April 22 from 8 a.m. to noon Oleg Daugovish will host Fumigants and fumigant alternatives, an educational outreach event. Both regulatory and research updates will be featured.

Scheduled topics include:

• New permit and fumigation requirements
• Soil Fumigation Federal Labeling
• California Strawberry Commission update on regulatory issues pertaining to the industry
• Alternative fumigants and emission reduction technologies
• Anaerobic soil disinfestation in Ventura County
• Evaluation of sustainable strawberry production systems for California
• Combinations of steam with solarization or mustard meal in Macrophomina phaseolina infested buffer zone
• CSC-sponsored research on raised bed trough substrate

Continuing education credits (including laws and regulations) have been requested from DPR. Additional details can be found here. There is no cost to attend.

If you require special arrangements, translation into Spanish or have further questions, please contact Oleg Daugovish at (805) 645-1454 or by email.

UCCE’s Strawberry and Vegetable Advisor, Oleg Daugovish recently held a Strawberry Irrigation Field Day. The workshop was well attended. In fact it was so well attended we ran out of handout materials.

For those who attended but did not receive outreach materials, the new order has arrived. Please contact us to make arrangements to receive your materials.

We know have a great collection of links on our website to connect growers to electronic publications and resources for improving water quality. Compiled by UCCE Environmental Horticulture Advisor Julie Newman the list provides some links specific to strawberry production, while many of the links will be equally beneficial to growers of other commodities.

Please click on the appropriate link for your location.

Water Quality Resources for Strawberry Growers in Ventura County

Water Quality Resources for Strawberry Growers in Ventura County and the Central Coast

A free ACP workshop for conventional citrus growers, nursery stock operators and PCAs (pest control advisors) will take place on Monday, March 21 from 1-3:30 pm at the Santa Paula Community Center.

The workshop is intended to provide information about the pest, state quarantine regulations, the treatment protocol for commercial orchards and nurseries, and research into biocontrols and HLB resistance. The following speakers are scheduled to attend:

• Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, IPM specialist and research entomologist at UC Riverside’s Kearney Agricultural Center, and director of the Lindcove Research and Extension Center.

• Dr. Raju Pandey, an entomologist who has been spearheading research into biocontrol agents for ACP at UC Riverside and in Pakistan.

• Nawal Sharma, supervisor of the Quarantine Response Program for the California Department of Food & Agriculture.

• Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales.

• Ted Batkin, president, Citrus Research Board.

The workshop is free, but RSVPs are required. Please call (805) 289-0155 no later than March 14 to reserve your spot.

This year’s strawberry irrigation field day will be held at Sammis ranch on February 18 from 8:00 to 11 am. This program will be in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish. There is no cost to attend.

Scheduled topics include:

• Establishment of large scale reduced irrigation study
• Water use/application and salinity measurements and results
• Plant performance in drip-only and reduced sprinkler systems
• New conditional waiver for irrigated land
• Practices to reduce water, sediment and pesticide movement from the field
• Resources available for growers to comply with the new conditional waiver

Continuous education credits have been requested from DPR. Additional information can be found here.

To insure your participation, or if you have questions, please contact Oleg Daugovish at UCCE: (805) 645-1454 or at odaugovish@ucdavis.edu.