Ongoing research

Dear Colleagues, The Research Grants Program Office (RGPO)* at the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP) is making available up to $2 Million to immediately support urgent research to mitigate the pandemic.

Sure our area is hot and dry for much of the year, but the silver lining is that we have very few fungal diseases to deal with in the garden. I swear in Arkansas you cold hear fungi growing on tomatoes from the heat and humidity. (And on roses, too, but that's a different topic.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" holds true in entomology as well! The activity of natural enemies of pests (beneficial insects) is a key component of Integrated Pest Management in alfalfa to prevent pest resurgence and secondary pest outbreaks.

By Faith Kearns. Climate variability and the mismatch between where water is and where people need it to be are two defining forces of life in California.

Revised date for UC ANR telecommute and limited on-site operations status Governor Newsom's statewide stay-at-home order remains in effect with no defined end date; however, many California counties have extended their stay-at-home orders through May 3, 2020.

I have been doing my own gardening. I am, however, getting to the age when I can imagine not wanting to do it or actually not feeling/being able to do it. Pruning 75 roses, fertilizing, checking irrigation regularly, taking out the old and putting in the new.

Deadhead (remove spent flowers) to keep your garden fresh and clean. April is the month to start watching for caterpillars and worms and keep them in check. They can wreak havoc if left to go uncontrolled. However, care must be made to safeguard the beneficial birds and such that feed on them.

On Wednesday, April 8, UC Ag Experts Talk will be hosting a webinar titled From Integrated Pest Management to Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management: An Update on Current Research on Pollinator Health. This is a 2.5 hrs in-person meeting converted into a webinar.

With all the uncertainty in the air, now is a great time to reduce the stress and add to your food supply.

Sometimes you just have to display your sense of humor. Take the case of a huge praying mantis sculpture that anchors the Davis, Calif., front yard of entomologists Robert and Lynn Kimsey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.