Pest Management & Plant Health

Ever seen a green metallic sweat bee? The colors are exquisite. This is a female Agapostemon on a purple coneflower at UC Davis. They are called "sweat bees" because they are attracted to human perspiration. The genders are easy to distinguish. The males have a striped abdomen.

The California Rice Field Day is back! The annual event, sponsored by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation and the California Rice Board, returned to in-person status on August 25, 2021 after being held virtually in 2020.

One of the most troublesome and difficult to control insect pests of ripe peaches, nectarines and figs is the dried fruit beetle, sometimes called the sap beetle. The pest is common this time of the year, feeding at the stem end of peaches and nectarines, causing the fruit to drop to the ground.

Est preocupado por un sntoma de enfermedad en su campo pero no sabe cul es? Necesita ayuda para diagnosticar un sntoma? Por qu es importante tener una identificacin adecuada de las enfermedades de las plantas?

Are you concerned with a disease symptom in your field but do not know what it is? Do you need assistance diagnosing a symptom? Why is it Important to have Proper Identification of Plant Diseases?

Richard Smith is the University of California Cooperative Extension Monterey County Vegetable Crop Production and Weed Science Farm Advisor. He also covers Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. Oakleaf goosefoot (Chenopodium glaucum) is a new weed to the Salinas Valley that has become more prevalent.

In the 5 years I've been with UCCE, I have received a few recurring weed-related questions. I've certainly had some unique requests, like how to deal with fig trees invading a livestock water pipeline, or whether filaree might be harmful to guinea pigs (it isn't).

If you're an entomologist, an agriculturist, a gardener or an insect enthusiast, you've probably seen the life cycle of a lady beetle, aka ladybug: from the egg to the larva to the pupa to the adult.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Advisory recently in response to increased reports of illness associated with products containing the pesticide ivermectin.

Prominent integrated pest management (IPM) entomologist Charles "Charlie" Geddes Summers of Clinton, Utah, whose University of California career in crop pest management spanned 42 years, died Aug. 12, 2021 at age 79 of acute respiratory failure at a hospital in Layton, Utah. Dr.