Ongoing research

Fair schedule and information, Enrollment Nights announced, welcome the 2014-15 All Stars and much more...

The California Climate Commons (http://climate.calcommons.org/) will be hosting a new version of the California Basin Characterization Model, sometimes called the BCM or Flint data (after the modelers, Lorraine and Alan Flint).

Field Day Announcement: Strawberry field day to demonstrate research on fumigants and herbicides June 12, 2014 9 am to 11:00 am Karen Stahlman, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner's Office Steve Koike, UC Cooperative Extension, Monterey County Husein Ajwa and Steve Fennimore, University of Cal...

By now almost everyone growing tree crops in California is undergoing some amount of mandatory water cutbacks, especially if they are buying water from water districts. Some districts in the San Joaquin Valley have had really severe cuts, up to 80%.

If you have a patch of salvia (sage) growing in your yard, watch for the nectar robbers. Carpenter bees are among the insects that engage in nectar robbing. They drill a hole in the corolla of the flower, circumventing the usual plant-pollinator relationship.

You don't have to be a citizen to be a "citizen scientist," and you don't have to be a scientist to be a citizen. But "citizen scientist" is a catchy term, all the same. Basically, it's the public engagement in scientific research activities.

For years, the diagnostic program for weeds of the western United States was only available on CD format. With many computers moving away from CD drives, fewer people were able to use the identification tool.

Citrus is a messy botany. It loves to cross with anything and in so doing creates very complex ancestry. C-35 rootstock is a citrange and was created for its tolerance to cold, but is also good in Phytophthora situations and creates a slightly smaller tree.

It's all about knowing the biodiversity in Knowland Park. And trying to save it from development. Scientists and citizen-scientists will gather Sunday, June 1 in the western highlands of the Oakland park to conduct a "bioblitz"--or a tally of the biodiversity of animals and plants living there.

Natural enemies play an important role in managing pest populations. Using predatory mites in strawberries against spider mites is a good example where growers take advantage of the potential of the natural enemies.