The canopy is thinning. The leaves are small and yellow. There is dieback in the canopy, with leafless tips on the branches. You dig around under the canopy in the wetted area of the sprinkler and you can't find roots within 6 inches of the soil surface or if you do find them they are black.
The Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) is the kind of butterfly that combines steel with silk. It's a tough critter. Often you'll see it with its wings clipped by a predator--maybe a bird or a praying mantis.
Alfalfa is an excellent competitor with weeds. There is no better weed control method than a dense stand of alfalfa. However, even with a good stand, some weeds can get a foothold and infest the crop reducing its marketability.
Link to a recent (July 2014) research article in California Agriculture (link to table of contents for volume 68) Brad The article by E.D. Brusati, D.W. Johnson, and J.M.
Two members of IGIS - Shane and Robert, went to the the ESRI User Conference in San Diego this year. Here is their report: We were able to see the new offerings from ESRI that will be available in November of this year. ESRI will be releasing ArcGIS 10.
No, no, no, you got it all wrong! I said Please don't eat the pollinators! No butterflies and no bees. Eat the flies, gnats, mosquitoes, aphids and stink bugs. No butterflies or bees. Sadly, the praying mantis in our family bee garden does not listen to me.
The ESRI User Conference in San Diego was a great conference to attend this year. We were able to see the new offerings from ESRI that will be available in November of this year. ESRI will be releasing ArcGIS 10.
Every time I see a golden jar of honey, I'm reminded of the Cordovan bee (Italian subspecies) that visited the Garvey bee garden back in 2010. I managed to capture a photo of her and labeled the image "Golden Bee Nectaring on Lavender," because that's what she was doing. Nectaring on lavender.
Since the first publication of this article on vole damage in citrus, a recent field observation regarding vole activity is worth noting. Voles prefer a situation where there is cover and shelter generally from weed or grass.
