Test PB Collection: FTE

Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) is pleased to sponsor interactive conferences on conservation agriculture and controlled traffic farming at four locations in the Central Valley on Aug. 28, 29 and 30.

A brief update here on recent progress and implementation activities related to our 2012 overhead / drip cotton and tomato fields. 2012 Tomatoes The processing tomato variety N6397 was transplanted on April 30. Virtually daily crop growth and development. Sampling is now being done.

It was a pomegranate kind of day. Red, bright and wonderful. The papery-thin reddish blossoms in our yard draw both beneficial and pestiferous insects. Honey bees are there for the pollen and nectar; ladybugs are there for the pesky aphids.

The honor is so well deserved.

Dry root rot has been a problem in citrus orchards for many years. Although generally a problem in coastal and northern California counties it has been reported in other citrus producing areas of the state.

If you're looking for a good bee plant that offers a little bit of an obstacle, try the violet trumpet vine (Clytostoma calystegioides). It's one of the UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars.

Our yard is filled with such bee friendly plants as salvia, lavender, catmint and rock purslane. Lately, however, the honey bees have taken a liking to the sugar-water mixture from our hummingbird feeder.

If you head over to the 137th annual Dixon May Fair, the state's oldest continuous fair, you'll see a flurry of butterflies. The fair, located at 655 S. First St., Dixon, opened Thursday, May 10 and continues through Sunday, May 13.

Once again we may be facing a difficult planting season. Stand establishment, weed control, and nitrogen management are particularly problematic in wet springs. Below are a few points that you might want to keep in mind. As always, if I can be of assistance don't hesitate to give me call.

In past newsletters and extension meetings the topics of N and P fertility have been covered recurrently. This year, Bruce Linquist, UC Davis Research Scientist, will begin a project to evaluate the status of K in rice soils in several locations across the Valley.