Ongoing research

The University of California Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI) has named Darrell and Trevor Cordova of Denair recipients of the 2014 Conservation Tillage Farmer Innovator Award.

What did you do on Black Friday? Did you spend the night camped out in front of a store? Or did you join the throngs of people who left home in the wee hours of the morning for the doorbuster deals or stayed on your computer for the online onslaughts?

Irrigation is crucial for the production of melons in California. It facilitates seed germination, it is essential for crop growth and fruit production, and, for growers that apply pre-emergence herbicides, it is necessary for product activation.

Today is Thanksgiving. As we give thanks and reflect on a day set aside to be grateful, we realize that not all is great in the world of haves and have-nots, the generous and the greedy, and troublemakers and peacemakers. Miscommunications turn into misunderstandings.

This blog was originally supposed to be an interesting article on Thanksgiving foods; specifically, a discussion about crops (i.e. squashes, onion, corn, carrots, parsnips, etc...) that traditionally accompany our Thursday turkey, as well as their weedy relatives.

Apiculturists and beekeepers will love this T-shirt. So will anyone else who has an avid interest in honey bees, or even a passing interest. It's all the buzz.

The drone fly, aka European hover fly, aka syrphid fly, doesn't get as much press as the other drone, the unmanned aircraft. But the drone fly (Eristalis tenax), about the size of a honey bee and often mistaken for a honey bee, makes for great in-flight photos.

Oh, the myths about insects and spiders! It was a fun and educational afternoon when the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology hosted an open house last Sunday. Visitors checked out the displays, asked the entomologists and staff questions, and looked over the list of myths.

It's that time of the year when we're planning preemergence (aka "residual") herbicide programs for orchard and vineyard crops in California.

Myths and gifts... When the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts its open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, the theme will be "Insect Myths.