Santa Cruz County

Strawberry picking in Santa Cruz, CA
Article

Massive Bug Invasion: Time to Calm Down and Carry On

June 10, 2025
By Dylan J Beal, Mark P Bolda
A local grower was surprised yesterday morning by the huge bug infestation depicted in the photos below suddenly appearing in his berry field.             Photo 1: A mass of false chinch bugs crawling up a support post.          Photo…
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Article

Interesting Insect Find Close to Strawberry Determined Not to Be a Pest

May 30, 2025
By Dylan J Beal, Mark P Bolda
Mark was easing into some Sunday morning reading last week at a small park in Watsonville that is very close to a strawberry field when the unusual insect depicted below paid him a visit.  Given that he had never seen this insect (and doubts that many of you have either), he felt a surge of unease that…
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Drone spraying in agriculture
Article

California Agriculture Takes Flight: A Guide to Drone Spray Pilot Certification

May 29, 2025
By Paramveer Singh
Drone use in agriculture is rapidly expanding across the United States. While drones were initially adopted for imagery, vegetation indices, and hotspot detection for variable rate applications, their role is evolving. Increasingly, drones are being used for chemical applications in crop production, a trend…
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Phone with robot image in a farm field
Article

Survey on AI Chatbots in Farming

April 11, 2025
This short survey aims to gather your valuable insights on how a specialized agricultural chatbot could assist with your day-to-day farming operations. You can either test our prototype and compare it with ChatGPT, or simply share which features would be most beneficial for your specific farming context.The…
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Susceptible vs tolerant
Article

Tolerance of lettuce varieties to Fusarium wilt – 2024

February 6, 2025
By Yu-Chen Wang
Tolerance of lettuce varieties to Fusarium wilt 2024 Alex Putman, Yu-Chen Wang, and Chris Greer Summary Fusarium wilt of lettuce, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae (FOL), is an economically significant disease on the Central Coast of California.
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Article

2025 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Meeting and Cover Crop Field Day

January 17, 2025
By Mercy Olmstead
Join us for the 2025 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Workshop and Cover Crop Field Day! DAY/DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 TIME: 7:55 am to 3:00 pm LOCATION: Agriculture Conference Room, 1432 Abbott St Salinas CA 93901 Free Workshop + Pizza We are excited to invite you to our UCCE Annual Irri...
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CropManage Logo
Article

2025 CropManange Hands-on Workshop - Watsonville

January 10, 2025
By Mercy Olmstead
Bringing Irrigation and Nutrient Management Decision-Support to the Field CropManage Hands-On Workshop & Office Hours - Watsonville Date: January 23, 2025 Time: 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM Location: Watsonville Public Library, 275 Main St.
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Article

Introducing the Spiny Assassin Bug

November 18, 2024
By Mark P Bolda
Close readers of this blog will know that last year Mark noted toward the end of the season a very unusual looking insect in two of his strawberry research plots, which UCCE Entomologist on the Central Coast at the time Kirsten Pearson identified as the spiny assassin bug, an insect in the family Re...
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Welcome to UC Cooperative Extension County of Santa Cruz

For over a century, the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) has improved the natural resources of Santa Cruz County by providing knowledge based on sound science in various fields. The programs offered by UCCE encompass a wide range of areas, including agriculture, irrigation and water management, organic agriculture, youth development, forestry management and climate change.


 

4-H Santa Cruz County

Baby Goats

 

Climate Smart Agriculture

Vegetable Field
   

Santa Cruz Mountains Forests

Woodland

 

Strawberries and Caneberries

Strawberry Field

UC Master Gardeners of Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties

Garden Rake

Contribute for a Better Future

Make a Gift

Upcoming Events

Two boys, one aiming a water hose at wooden cutout of flames
October 11, 2025

Central Coast Good Fire Fair 2025

The Central Coast Good Fire Fair 2025 will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11. The fair is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton in Santa…
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Office Locations

UC Cooperative Extension County of Santa Cruz

500 Westridge Drive
Watsonville, CA 95076
United States

Personnel

Mark P Bolda

Mark P. Bolda
Farm Advisor, Strawberries & Caneberries
COOP EXT ADVISOR

Julie M Katawicz

Community Educational Specialist II
CMTY EDUC SPEC 2

Joji Muramoto

Joji Muramoto
CE Specialist
ASSOC SPECIALIST COOP EXT

Bailey Smith-Helman

Bailey Smith-Helman
Community Education Specialist III
CMTY EDUC SPEC 3

Brian Woodward

Brian Woodward, PhD Forest Advisor
Regional Forest Advisor for Santa Cruz Mountains
ASST COOP EXT ADVISOR

Mission Statement

The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) enhances the quality of life and the environmental and economic well-being of the citizens of California through research and education. Cooperative Extension farm, natural resources, 4-H, and nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisors extend knowledge and provide county research in more than 50 county offices in California.