Ongoing research

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corn roots

Plants and Soil Microbes

April 6, 2020
By Ben A Faber
While domestication of plants has yielded bigger crops, the process has often had a negative effect on plant microbiomes, making domesticated plants more dependent on fertilizer and other soil amendments than their wild relatives.
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Principles of weed control training videos
UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Weed science training videos

April 5, 2020
By Gale Perez
Several years ago, the UC Weed Science group produced a series of training videos. In the next few days, I'm going to share links to the videos. The first topic is principles of weed control. The videos are broken up into smaller parts, so they are easier to view.
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ANR Adventures: Article

Stuck at home, and indoors

April 5, 2020
By Wendy Powers
This past weekend was much like the weekend before, with more rain. The rain kept me inside most of the weekend. If I had ever wanted to be a recluse, now would be a good time to try it out. While indoors, I improved my face mask process considerably and managed to complete 45 over the 2-day period.
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Merlot grapes
Spill the Beans: Article

Planting a Home Vineyard

April 4, 2020
Editor's note: Master Gardeners are keeping busy in their own gardens during Napa County's Shelter in Place directive.
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Blog, wisteria in bloom (Free-Images.com)
Napa Master Gardener Column: Article

Wisteria.

April 3, 2020
by Penny Pawl , U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County As I sit down to write this article, my wisteria is in full stunning bloom. No leaves are present yet, but as the blooms fade, the leaves will appear. This plant and cuttings from it have been in my family for many years.
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A pterophorid plume moth (family Pterophoridae) in Vacaville, Calif. on April 2, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ever Seen a Plume Moth?

April 3, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you ever seen a plume moth? Or has a plume moth ever seen you? We spotted a pterophorid plume moth (family Pterophoridae) yesterday on our back door in Vacaville, Calif.
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Matteo Garbelotto examines bay laurel for sudden oak death symptoms at the UC Berkeley campus.
Green Blog: Article

Citizen science SOD Blitz starts April 11 with new COVID-19 safety measures

April 3, 2020
By Pamela S Kan-Rice
With Californians sheltering in place to stop the spread of new coronavirus COVID-19, the annual citizen science project to map sudden oak death disease has been redesigned to ensure the safety of participants. The first in a series of SOD blitzes of 2020 will be April 11 in Napa.
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Stanislaus County: Article

Evapotranspiration Report - 4/2/2020

April 3, 2020
Hello all, Please find the attached document to provide the previous weeks estimated water use report in terms of evapotranspiration for almonds, peaches, walnuts, established vineyard, alfalfa, and pasture in Stanislaus County.
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