Ongoing research

The first step in researching and developing strategies for mitigating alternate bearing (AB) in 'Manzanillo' table olive is to model the tree phenology with respect to the alternating 'ON' (high yield) and 'OFF' (low yield) cycles.

I was recently in an orchard looking at what appeared to be avocado root rot. I was checking on the symptoms and quizzing the grower on the other cultural practices. The grower was prepared with soil, leaf and water reports.

Take one honey bee and one Japanese anemone. Then add one jumping spider. The results don't always turn out so well. But today in the East Asian Collection Garden of the UC Davis Arboretum, everything turned out well--for the honey bee.

The American fire is burning into our SNAMP study areas as of yesterday. Here is a snapshot of our study site and the fire perimeter (red) as of yesterday. SNAMP control (yellow) and treatment (purple) watersheds are shown.

Cover crops have been/are being used as organic mulches in crop production systems in order to increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure, conserve water and reduce erosion.

What Emmet Brady describes as "the wonderful world of pollination" will come to life on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Brady, a cultural entomologist, hosts the Insect News Network on KDRT 97.4 FM Radio, Davis, and every year he hosts a "Bee-a-Thon" to spotlight honey bees.

Horseweed and hairy fleabane are closely related annual weeds that are widespread in Central Valley orchards and vineyards where many populations have evolved resistance to glyphosate.

Saturday, Aug. 17 is National Honey Bee Day and it's time for a tribute, a salute and a cheer, all combined into one: Go, bees! We're glad to see concerned citizens, organizations and businesses contributing to bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

Amazing. I was out with the contractor who has been doing the California Avocado Commission's annual acreage report. In the past, aerial photography was used and with painstaking accuracy the acreage was visually evaluated by hand.

Shirley Polykoff (1909-1998), the advertising legend who coined the words "Is it true blondes have more fun?" for a Clairol jingle, raised awareness of blondes, insinuating that "gentlemen prefer blondes.