Agriculture

Berkeley With a body the size of a fist and wings that span more than a foot, the big brown bat must gorge on 6,000 to 8,000 bugs a night to maintain its stature. This mighty appetite can be a boon to farmers battling crop-eating pests. But few types of bats live on American farms.

From the Topics in Subtropics blog (Oct. 15, 2018) ****************** Although the main objective of herbicide use in avocado orchards (and all crops) is to manage weed populations, sometimes unintentional injury of the crop itself can occur when herbicides are incorrectly applied.

Preparing a farm for wildfire is more complicated when it involves protecting live animals. To assess the impact of wildfire on livestock production, University of California researchers are asking livestock producers to participate in a Fire Impact and Risk Evaluation (FIRE) survey.

Several new University of California forage oat varieties have been developed by Dr. Cal Qualset, Small Grains program, UC Davis recently. These are generally grown together in hay mixtures (e.g. a mix of oats, barley, and wheat), or as a sole-crop.

My friend Ryan Mahoney, who manages Emigh Livestock near Dixon, California, has embraced a variety of new ranching technologies.

They're everywhere. But they're not welcome. Agriculturists who commercially grow cabbage and other cucurbits aren't fond of the cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, because its larvae are pests that ravish their crops. No welcome mat for them.

The humming sound of busy honeybees filled the fall air, darting back and forth as I followed long-time beekeeper Randy Oliver around his bee yard. I was there to learn about a new issue for local beekeepers.

On Thursday October 4th, Sierra Foothill REC hosted its 5th Annual Beef & Range Field Day for high school students enrolled in FFA & 4-H.

Images by three UC Davis-affiliated photographers will be among those displayed at the international Insect Salon photography competition at the Entomological Society of America's meeting, Nov. 11-14 in Vancouver, B.C.

Do butterflies dream of genetic tattoos? That's part of the creative title of a seminar that Arnaud Martin, assistant professor of biology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, will deliver next week to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.