UC asks for citizens' help with research

UC Cooperative Extension has sent out pleas to farmers, farm advisors, pest control advisors and others for contributions to two current research projects.

Lynn Sosnoskie, assistant project scientist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, is asking for seed samples collected from mature junglerice plants to evaluate for glyphosate resistance, reported Todd Fitchette in Western Farm Press.

Resistance to glyphosate (best know by the brand name Roundup) in junglerice and other weeds is of particular importance to small-acreage, specialty crop farmers due to the limited availability of registered herbicides, the article said. Sosnoskie's study will determine the distribution of glyphosate-resistant junglerice, compare its resistance when grown in various environments, and evaluate alternative control strategies.

Details about collecting and sending the junglerice seed samples to Sosnoskie are found in the Western Farm Press article.

Neil O'Connell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Tulare County, is asking citrus farmers to complete a brief survey about the impact of the drought on their farming operations, reported Vicky Boyd in The Grower.

The survey, which does not require a name or address, queries farmers about their normal surface water allocation, this year's allocation, groundwater usage plans and irrigation plans.

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