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Pollinator Conservation Survey

September 16, 2022
By Ben A Faber
Pollinators are essential to many of California's agricultural crops and to the vast biodiversity of California's natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors including habitat destruction, pesticides, disease, and climate change pollinators are in decline.
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Kern County: Article

Green Scene September 2022

September 16, 2022
Meetings & Announcements A New and Free Publication on Principles of Xeriscape Pruning Shade Trees Tree Care Accidents...
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Fitting sheet mulching around existing plants, Eve Werner
The Real Dirt: Article

Lawn Removal: Do It Right

September 16, 2022
We have endured multiple years of drought, and are probably in store for more. For many of us, it makes sense to replace all or part of our lawn area with less water-intensive plantings.
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Chaste Tree Flower. photos by Karen Metz
Under the Solano Sun: Article

Survivor, On Autopilot

September 16, 2022
This spring I was reading an article about drought-tolerant gardens and the authors were singing the praises of the Chaste Tree, Vitex agnus-castus. They were extolling its virtues, particularly its flowers, which can range from white to light blue to lavender.
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Find the monarch! A monarch stopped to nectar in a Mexican petunia patch Sept. 15 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Why the Petunia Patch Reigned Supreme Today

September 15, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
All year long, we've been waiting for those majestic monarchs to visit our pollinator garden in Vacaville, as they have in the past 10 years or so. One year (2020), they deposited more than 300 eggs on our milkweed. But this year? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Where are you? Dawn. Noon. Dusk.
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Cornroot worms (Diabrotica) are a persistent pest in corn fields. (Photo by Lars Plougmann, Wikipedia)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Nicholas Miller: Targeting the Corn Rootworm

September 15, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Assistant professor Nicholas "Nick" Miller of the Department of Biology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, will present the first-of-the-fall seminars hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, on Wednesday, Sept.
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UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County: Article

Editorial Notes

September 15, 2022
Seasonal Editorial Notes...
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Department of Plant Sciences weed expert Kassim Al-Khatib discusses results of field trials involving new herbicides during Rice Field Day on Aug. 31 at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, CA. (Photo by Trina Kleist/UC Davis Plant Sciences.)
UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Drought and herbicides: Rice Field Day showcases research

September 15, 2022
By Michael Hsu
New varieties of rice that offer more effective weed control with less herbicide were showcased by UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences researchers at the recent Rice Field Day north of Yuba City in California's Central Valley.
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A male European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, rests on an African blue basil leaf in the early morning. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

European Wool Carder Bees: 'The End Is Near'

September 14, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's almost the end of the season for the European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum. A few still hang around the foxgloves, the catmint and the African blue basil in our pollinator garden.
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