Posts Tagged: Oleg Daugovish
13th Annual Strawberry Production Meeting in August
Join Ventura County strawberry growers at the 13th Annual Strawberry Production Meeting!
Strawberries are the largest crop grown in Ventura County and represent millions in revenues to the area. UC Ventura County Cooperative Extension advisor Dr. Oleg Daugovish sponsors this event every year to update the public and county growers on the latest in strawberry research. The meeting will feature agricultural experts who will speak on topics relevant to strawberry production in Ventura County. Several presentations will focus on irrigation, an important issue for growers in drought-susceptible southern California.
Time: 7:30 (registration); 8:00 am to 12:30 pm
Location:
Freedom Center
516 Eubanks Rd.
Camarillo, CA
Event is free, no cost to public and includes lunch and refreshments.
In English and in Spanish
Contact Oleg Daugovish at 805-645-1454 or odaugovish@ucdavis.edu for registration or to make special arrangements.
See here to view flyer/agenda for this event!
Continuous education credits have been approved from the Department of Pesticide Regulation and VCAILG credits have been requested from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Researchers Join Forces on a New Project
UCCE-Ventura farm advisors, Oleg Daugovish and Andre Biscaro are partnering with Joji Muramoto-UC...
Preparing the field for ASD project
Bed preparation and incorporation of bran with mixer shaper
Joji Muramoto UC Santa Cruz
New UCCE Ventura Published Article - Management of Lewis Spider Mite in Strawberry
The article focuses on experiments performed in the laboratory and the field on the Lewis spider mite and the two-spotted spider mite. Tests were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of four types of predatory mites in controlling both kinds of spider mite. Miticide efficacy was also tested on the Lewis spider mite in bioassays.
These mites can cause serious damage to strawberry and other agricultural crops with subsequent financial loss to growers. Spider mite research is particularly relevant to Ventura County where strawberry production is the top crop grown and spider mite infestations have been on the rise.
Anna Howell is an experienced entomologist who has contributed her efforts to many research projects here at UCCE Ventura. Dr. Daugovish is UCCE's strawberry and vegetable crop adviser whose applied research benefits county growers and is an active contributor to "Strawberry Disorders: Identification and Management" website, a resource for assisting in diagnosing problems in strawberry.
You can view the entire article here.
Drought rekindles farmers' interest in drip irrigation
The use of plastic emitters in drip irrigation began in 1956 on a Kibbutz in Israel, where, like California, water demand is perennially greater than supply. Drip was introduced into the United States in the early 1960s.
Sun-Star reporter Marina Gaytan spoke to Scott Stoddard, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Merced County, to get his thoughts about the trend toward drip.
“You can get water savings by using drip, but often times what you're really getting is improved water use efficiency,” Stoddard said. “You've improved your yield for the same amount of water.”
According to a farmer quoted in the story, installing a one-year surface drip system costs about $400 per acre. Some farmers are installing buried drip irrigation, which runs about $1,500 per acre but will last for many years.
Farmers welcome recent rainfall
Ventura County Star
Even though springtime rainfall can cause molds to grow in strawberries, and splashing raindrops can spread fungal and bacterial pathogens, farmers are delighted with the wet weather.
"We're going to lose some fruit, but that's a small price to pay," said Oleg Daugovish, UCCE advisor in Ventura County.
Before the rain began to fall, Daugovish advised growers to apply protective fungicides and open up plant canopies to expose the inside of the plants.
Many agricultural issues can be resolved with UC Cooperative Extension
At the event, UCCE advisors talked about the status of ag industry in Ventura County, where total farm production is nearly $2 billion annually. Strawberries, the county's leading crop since the early 2000s, are valued at $690 million. However, production is threatened by dwindling water supplies.
"We can't avoid this topic," said Oleg Daugovish, UCCE advisor.
UCCE advisor Ben Faber also discussed the water situation. The average annual rainfall in Oxnard was 17 inches between 2003 and 2008.
"We're living in an environment that rarely sees the average rainfall," Faber said.
Faber's work includes showing growers how using too much or too little water is more likely to cause plant disease and demonstrating new ways of measuring the water content in soil, the article said. One solution to water woes is using recycled water in nurseries. The practice saves 14 to 42 percent of water.
UCCE advisor Jim Downer talked about the movement of exotic pests that are a potential challenge to agriculture. California is particularly vulnerable to these pests because of its vast and varying geography and climate, he said.
Ventura County's top 10 ag commodities were on dispaly in a Model T truck at the UC Cooperative Extension Celebration of Science and Service.