Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

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A monarch butterfly nectaring on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Monarchs 'n Milkweed

March 12, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Monarchs and milkweed are in the news again. As well they should be. The declining monarch population, coupled with the decreasing scarcity of their host plant, the milkweed, is disturbing. The larvae of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feed exclusively on milkweeds.
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IGIS: Article

Google Earth Demo at UCB

March 11, 2014
By Maggi Kelly
Thanks to Dave Thau, Karin Tuxen-Bettman, John Bailey, and Emily Henderson who came to visit the GIF and give a demo of the GEE toolbox. We went over the guts of GEE, Timelapse (very cool: make your own! Here is mine), the GEE GUI framework, and the GEE API.
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A honey bee heading for wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Going 'Rad'

March 11, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It may not be the farmer's friend, but it's the beekeeper's friend. Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, is considered a weed, but I consider it a flowering plant for bees when I see it along roadsides and parks and lining orchards and vineyards.
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spotted leaf blight

Watch Out in a Drought - Leaf Blight Can Become Severe

March 11, 2014
By Ben A Faber
I recently went out to an avocado orchard on sandy soil that had had sudden leaf drop after a Santa Ana condition. The problem is that the orchard had had an ongoing leaf blight problem that had been accentuated by two years of drought and with the Santa Ana more pressure had been put on the trees.
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UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Use of glyphosate (Roundup) to control field bindweed in blackberries

March 11, 2014
By Steven A Fennimore, Mark P Bolda
From the UC Strawberries and Caneberries blog :: Sept. 11, 2013 Field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, also known locally as morning glory, is a persistent weed pest in blackberries grown on the Central Coast of the California.
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A female butterfly, a painted lady, nectaring on Spanish lavender on March 8 in the Benicia Community Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Welcome Back, Painted Ladies

March 10, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The painted ladies are on move. Butterflies. Scores of painted ladies (Vanessa cardui) are now migrating north from their overwintering sites near the U.S. Mexico border.
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Colusa County: Article

Walnut Orchard Notes

March 10, 2014
In this issue: Understanding & Managing Botryosphaeria and Phomosis canker and blight in Walnuts Field Meeting Training Young Walnuts: No Pruning/Pruning Compared Save the Date! Irrigation Scheduling & Drought Mgmt Strategies Meeting...
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