Pest Management & Plant Health

Here are some pictures from UCR Fumigation School 2019 (Nov5-6, 2019; UCR Extension).

When UC Davis agricultural entomologist Christian Nansen wanted to develop a free smart phone application to help strawberry growers predict spray coverage to combat pests, he knew just where to go. The UC Davis Computer Science Club. And, now the three-year collaborative project is a reality.

From the Western IPM Center November 2019 newsletter... Kochia is a tumbling weed plaguing growers and ranchers from Central Canada to West Texas. It's salt tolerant, heat tolerant, cold tolerant, said Kent Davis, a crop consultant with Crop Quest in Colorado.

Strawberry growers now have a free smart phone application tool to predict spray coverage to combat such pests as two-spotted spider mites, lygus bugs and leafrollers, thanks to a three-year collaborative project involving UC Davis agricultural entomologist Christian Nansen and several UC Davis comp...

Many factors make weed management on federal public lands an interesting challenge. In September I was invited to join one of the Sierra National Forest Rangeland Management Specialists to explore a medusahead infestation in one of the grazing allotments she manages.

Nematodes (microscopic, eel-like roundworms) aren't usually a household word but they're featured prominently in the current edition of The Plant Journal. And UC Davis plant nematologist Shahid Siddique, formerly with the University of Bonn, is at the heart of it.

Weeds in the landscape can be tough to manage. But there are many options for weed management using an integrated approach that combines nonchemical and chemical methods. Start by identifying the weeds you want to manage.

Newly published nematode research led by plant nematologist Shahid Siddique of UC Davis, formerly with the University of Bonn, is featured as the research highlight in the October 14th edition of The Plant Journal.

So here are all these milkweed bugs clustered on a showy milkweed leaf, Asclepias speciosa. It's early morning and the red bugs are a real eye opener.

Its not too late to register for the San Joaquin Valley Spray Application Short Course (November 12-14). Here's a link to the webpage: https://ucanr.edu/sites/SJVSprayApplication/Home/ Here's a link to the full agenda: https://ucanr.