Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

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Cedar Waxwing, Richard Brown.
The Stanislaus Sprout: Article

Cheerful Birds in Winter Gardens

January 21, 2025
By Anne E Schellman
We are now in the midst of winter with its often foggy and dreary days. Many trees are bare, most insects are dormant, and numerous bird species have flown south, so our gardens can seem gray, bare, and quiet. However, some birds spend winters here, so there are still some bright spots.
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Photo of apple blossoms
HOrT COCO-UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa: Article

What Are Chill Hours?

January 21, 2025
By Help Desk Team
Whether today's temperature is low enough might seem like a funny question to ask, but if you are growing fruit trees or berries, it's important to wonder if it's cold enough. Sufficient cold temperatures can mean the difference between an abundant fruit crop or little-to-no flowers or fruit.
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Nutrition Policy Institute News: Article

Study on Navajo Nation identifies community involvement and cultural traditions as crucial in promoting drinking water access and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in young children

January 21, 2025
By Jean Aquino
A 2024 paper describes ongoing community-based work to promote consumption of water in place of sugar-sweetened beverages, SSBs, on Navajo Nation. The Navajo community is disproportionately affected by water insecurity with 30% of households lacking reliable drinking water access.
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Jeff Smith (foreground), curator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology's global Lepidoptera, chats with guests. In back is Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

An Afternoon in the Lepidoptera Collection

January 20, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What's his number? 2,530. That's how many specimen drawers that Jeff Smith, volunteer curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology for the past 36 years, has crafted and donated to the "Lep" section. Smith brought another batch to the Bohart Museum at the Jan.
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What's good about composting. (UCANR)
Napa Master Gardener Column: Article

Compost Is Good for the Environment!

January 18, 2025
When I joined the University of California Master Gardeners of Napa County in 2016, I had planned to check out the MG committees and decide which one was best suited to my nascent talents. Jill Pahl had another idea: Cindy, we could use you on the compost committee, right now. I was taken aback.
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A male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on a purple coneflower in Salem, Ore. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Bumble Bee Contest Is Over!

January 17, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The 2025 bumble bee contest is over. Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis announced today that "we have a winner" in the fifth annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the Bohart Museum.
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Nutrition Policy Institute News: Article

New study reveals an association between diet in the first year of life with select nutrient and ultra-processed food consumption in later childhood

January 17, 2025
By Jean Aquino
A 2024 study analyzing the diets of over 4,300 infants in the United States using the Infant Diet Quality Index, also known as IDQI, revealed associations between diet quality from 0-12 months and select nutrient and ultra-processed food intake later when the children were 2-5 years old.
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