Ongoing research

One of my major areas of research the past few years has been related to alternatives to methyl bromide fumigation in perennial crop nurseries. A list of recent posts on soil fumigation research and issues is available.

Light brown apple moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) was recently found in Santa Barbara County for the sixth time. LBAM is a quarantine pest on the United States mainland and can cause serious damage to various crops, nurseries, fruit trees, landscapes, and native plants.

As we start the winter season today, many locals and tourist to our area look forward to the end of winter when the Napa Valley comes alive with the beauty of yellow mustard flower that has been celebrated for many years in the Napa Valley Mustard Festival.

Introduction In numerous publications world-wide, planting hole recommendations for avocado and other subtropical crops are made for large holes from 2 feet by 2 by 2 to as much as a cubic yard.

University of California (UC) researchers and private industry consultants have invested much effort in correlating optimal citrus tree growth, fruit quality and yield to concentrations of necessary plant nutrients in citrus (especially orange) leaf tissue.

Beer for a butterfly. Now that's an interesting concept. Thats what youll getor the cash equivalentif you collect the first cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) of 2012 in an area encompassing Yolo, Solano or Sacramento counties.

Call it a case of royalty plus. UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, has just received a double honor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and he received a coveted award from his native Brazil.

University of California scientists have for the first time achieved the same yields in cotton and tomato research plots managed under conservation tillage strategies as they did on adjacent plots using conventional tillage practices.

We usually see praying mantids, aka praying mantises, camouflaged in foliage and lying in wait to ambush prey. But have you ever seen them frying flies over a kitchen stove? You will when you take a look at an Oklahoma photographer's work.

Californias Conservation Agriculture Systems Institute (CASI) has prepared its survey of tillage management acreage for 2010.