Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

Imagine having an insect named for you. How awesome is that? It's especially an honor when a duo--a husband-and-wife nature conservation team--is singled out for that recognition.

In recent years, the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources has augmented research efforts on growing grain and silage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in California.

This is from past experience, and is still relevant. Availability of replant trees is a major issue to consider at this point. The wildfires in San Diego and Ventura Counties during the fall of 2003 were certainly devastating to many avocado groves adjacent to burning native chaparral.

On the path to pain, a little pleasure can unfold.

I'm just a little ol' honey bee foraging on lavender. I left my warm colony in Vacaville, Calif. to see if there's any nectar out there. My sisters are hungry. I'm not sure if we have enough honey to tide us over until spring.

We were sampling plots in the Delta in July 2016, and found a small clump of this plant pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata).

The destruction after a fire can be pretty gruesome and sad. Many times, though the fire moves through the orchard so fast that, even though the canopy has turned brown, there is a good chance the trees can come back. It all depends on how much damage has been done to the trunk.

Sonia Rios, Area Subtropical Horticulture Advisor, Riverside & San Diego Counties Henry Herrera, Forester, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Gary Bender, Subtropical Horticulture Advisor, San Diego County This is a reposting of a blog from 2015 that is still pertinent...

When plant and insect enthusiast Ria de Grassi discovered caterpillars on her firecracker plant, Russelia equisetiformis, last July 10 in her yard in Davis, Calif., she asked noted butterfly authority Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, to identify them.

A third day for applying for USDA - Farm Service Agency/Natural Resources Conservation Service Disaster Relief has been added.