Ongoing research

What do you know about neonicotinoids, aka neonics? An educational opportunity to learn more about them--the truths and the myths--will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the University of Caifornia, Davis, and you're invited. It's open to the public.

Date posted: August 6, 2015 Title: Extension Specialist in Weed Science for Turfgrass, Landscapes, Pastures and Forages Appointment: Faculty position; Extension Specialist in Weed Science for Turfgrass, Landscapes, Pastures and Forages at the assistant or associate professor level.

Title: Extension Specialist in Weed Science for Specialty Crops Appointment: 50% Extension, 30% Research, and 20% Teaching Location: Dept.

Rita LeRoy, the self-described "Farm Keeper" at the Loma Vista Farm, Vallejo, takes amazing photos. We recently wrote about the farm, part of the Vallejo City Unified School District, when we visited it during the annual spring festival.

Just got this from the UC weed scientists in southern California--looks like a good event. ******************* All, Please forward this message to any person or crew leader who will be using herbicides to treat weeds this fall.

Transpiration is essentially a function of the amount of leaves present. With no leaves, there is no transpiration and no water use. The extreme case is tree removal. If canopies are pruned there is reduced water use. The more canopy reduction, the more transpiration reduction.

Oleander aphids, those cartoonish-looking yellow insects with black legs and cornicles, are commonly found on oleanders. Hence their name. But they also are partial to milkweeds, the host plant of the monarch butterfly. It's a daily challenge to rid those Draculalike pests from our milkweed plants.

Twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch is a major pest of strawberries in California. Spider mite damage reduces plant vigor and contributes to yield loss. Twospotted spider mites are typically found on the lower side of the leaf and form webbing at higher population levels.

If you plant it, they will come. Western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) can't get enough of our butterfly bush. For the first time ever, we saw two of them and managed to get both in the same image.

Water moves in a wetting front. When irrigation water hits the soil it moves down with the pull of gravity and to the side according to the pull of soil particles (more lateral with more clay).