Agriculture

By Shawn Martin, organic grower and CA Avocado Society Board member It's never clear what winter will deliver to a coastal avocado grove on a steep slope, so the grower must be ready for whatever happens. And the main thing is rainfall. And Frost. And sometimes drought. And be ready for fire.

Today, on Presidents' Day, let's buzz back in history to our first President and his love of honey bees. Picture this: George Washington (Feb. 22, 1732-Dec. 14, 1799) is eating hoecakes with honey, and adding honey to his tea, something that historians say he did every day.

California rice growers will have a new herbicide available this year: Cliffhanger, manufactured by Gowan Company. The active ingredient is benzobicyclon, which is the same as one of the two active ingredients in the currently registered herbicide, Butte.

POM - Greek for "apples", but more generally "fruit" ology - the study of So pomology is the study of fruit trees. And how to describe them becomes important and pictures have been an important way of describing fruit. Worth a thousand words.

From the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) Graduate Student Organization newsletter (Feb. 2024) * * * * * * Graduate Student of the Month Deniz Inci, Ph.D. Candidate with the Al-Khatib Lab at UC Davis, is the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) graduate student of the month.

Many of you might know that the 2023 State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) has been placed on pause due to a deficit in the state budget. This pause will remain in effect until Governor Newsom releases his proposed budget later this summer.

Home Gardeners Are Important Keepers Of Biodiversity Growing Succulents is Easy and Fun Fruit Tree Pruning Add a Splash of Citrus to Your Yard by Hillie Salo Unlike larger agricultural production systems, home gardens have high levels of species diversity, and these species differ from those found i...

Please mark your calendars for April 18th for a field day at the UC Westside Research and Extension Center starting at 10AM. Topics will include deficit irrigation approaches to small grain management and small grain variety development.

That lady beetle, aka ladybug, that landed on the shoe of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk just before the NFL championship game, apparently didn't show up at the Super Bowl. The 49'ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, but what a great battle it was.

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024 Course 10:30 am 2 pm Drop-in office hours 2-3:30 pm Location: Watsonville Public Library 275 Main St., Suite 100, Watsonville, CA 95076 Learn how to use CropManage to support irrigation and nutrient management decisions and record-keeping for your crops.