Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

Western agricultural concerns about weed cost increases center on the growing problem of herbicide resistance. At the recent California Weed Science Society annual meeting in Santa Barbara, Calif.

When people think of mosquitoes, they probably never think of Aedes japonicus. It's an Asian species "generally found in Japan, Korea, the Ryukyu Archipelago (Okinawa and associated islands), Taiwan, South China, and Hong Kong," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Very cool video from the USA Rice Federation...

Abstract: Agricultural weed management has become entrenched in a single tacticherbicideresistant cropsand needs greater emphasis on integrated practices that are sustainable over the long term.

"Almonds are one of the first crops of the season that need bee pollination," tweeted the Almond Board of California yesterday. Valentine's Day traditionally marks the beginning of almond pollination season, but it's an early spring. The almonds are blooming and the bees are buzzing.

Biodiversity--that's what it's at on Sunday, Feb. 12 at the University of California, Davis. That's when four museums or centers that engage in education and research involving insects, vertebrates or plants will host open houses. And folks will be amazed, officials promise.

The three things which seem to be unavoidable during life in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley are death, taxes, and a considerable price premium in the marketplace for having the earliest of the early citrus for sale.

A sure sign that winter is nearly over: when the flowering quince bursts into bloom, attracting a flotilla of foraging honey bees. Actually, the bees began "inspecting" the flowering quince in the bud stage. "Hurry, open up!" the bees seemed to urge. "We have to start feeding our colonies.

Congratulations to Joy Hollingsworth, a first-year graduate student working with Dr. Anil Shrestha in the Department of Plant Science at CSU Fresno, for having been awarded the 2012 Student Paper and Poster Contest Award from the California Weed Science Society at their recent annual meeting.

The University of California Cooperative Extension is conducting a survey of pest management practices of stored rice in California. The objective of the survey is to improve our understanding of the kind of pest problems growers, dryers and mills encounter while storing rough rice.