Ongoing research

This summer my husband and I have been busy traveling across the country with destinations in the state of North Carolina and Florida. This blog will focus on NC, which I have to say, I am enthralled with.

Congratulations to community ecologist Rachel Vannette of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, recipient of two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants involving flower microbes.

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a new invasive pest that has recently arrived in the United States. This planthopper has a wide host range of 70+ plant species including grapevines, apple, cherries, stone fruits, ornamentals, etc with its preferred host being the tree of heaven.

A few getaway days found us in Fort Bragg. Our first destination was the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. This garden is on 47 acres that has a forest of coastal pines, some wetlands and as you walk on the path that takes you to the ocean you can hear the waves.

Swanton Pacific Ranch is hiring an apprentice to work with their livestock program. Swanton Pacific Ranch is working towards a regenerative approach to managing their rangelands using the decision making that considers ecological, economic, and social dimensions.

I am in DC for a few days this week to meet with Extension Directors and partners, including the new NIFA National Science Liaisons. These are the NIFA employees who stayed behind in DC while the rest of NIFA headquarters relocated to Kansas City a few months ago.

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, I have a certain affinity for cover crops. Mostly it is because I see enormous potential to increase the soil health and climate resiliency in Ventura County agriculture by incorporating cover crops.

Come to the 2019 orchard IPM meeting. Hear talks on hull rot in almonds, navel orangeworm control, orchard weed management, and updates from the Madera County Agricultural Commissioner's office. Location and times in the atttached PDF.

For gardeners the coming of winter means, among many other things, the beginning of the bare root planting season. Local nurseries will soon receive good supplies of bare root fruit and ornamental trees, roses, grapes, berries, and vegetables such as asparagus and rhubarb.

When you think of traditional plants that represent the Christmas season, the poinsettia automatically comes to mind. Other plants also can be used indoors to provide seasonal color, including the cyclamen.