Ongoing research

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Bee hives nestled in a field of green and yellow (mustard) along Highway 12, Napa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wearing of the Green--and the Yellow

March 17, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
St. Patrick's Day is the "wearing of the green," but it's also the "wearing of the yellow." Wild mustard, that is. If you drive through the hills of Napa, around St.
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18th annual winter conference of No-Till on the Plains in Salina, Kan.
Conservation Agriculture: Article

CASI participation in national conferences in 2014

March 17, 2014
By Jeffrey P Mitchell
Members of Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation center participated in four national conferences in January and February, 2014. Following are summaries of the events and take-home messages most relevant to improving California farming systems. 2014 Empire State Producers Expo Syracuse, N.Y.
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A honey bee and a yellow-faced bumble bee sharing a purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Do Honey Bees Impact the Native Bees?

March 14, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The European honey bee, also known as the Western honey bee, has been in the United States for s-o-o-o long that we think it's a native. It's not. European colonists brought the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to the Jamestown colony (Virginia) in 1622.
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irrigATING CITRUS
Topics in Subtropics: Article

Strategizing for Water Cutbacks - Avocado and Citrus

March 14, 2014
By Ben A Faber
Return to Cultivating Solutions in Ventura County OK! Let's Strategize. There are four steps for everybody to consider, it doesn't matter if you have a backyard lawn and landscape or if you have 700 acres of avocados. 1. Maintenance: Irrigation System and Cultural Practices 2.
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workers
Topics in Subtropics: Article

California Agricultural Production Statistics

March 14, 2014
By Ben A Faber
California agriculture experienced a nearly three percent increase in the sales value of its products in 2012. The state's 80,500 farms and ranches received a record $44.7 billion for their output last year, up from $43.3 billion in 2011 and $37.9 billion during 2010.
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Male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, is blond with green eyes. This is on a germander bush, azure bush germander Teucrium fruitcans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

'Teddy Bear' Bees

March 13, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Along about this time of year, the calls come pouring into the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "I just saw a golden bumble bee.
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A monarch butterfly nectaring on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs 'n Milkweed

March 12, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Monarchs and milkweed are in the news again. As well they should be. The declining monarch population, coupled with the decreasing scarcity of their host plant, the milkweed, is disturbing. The larvae of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feed exclusively on milkweeds.
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