Pest Management & Plant Health

Me da mucho gusto darles la bienvenida a esta manera nica de llegar a aquellos cuya primera lengua no es el Ingls y que prefieren recibir comunicados en Espaol.

Postdoctoral scientist Antoine Brieux of the Joanna Chiu lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is gearing up for a seminar next week on his research on the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, involving photoperiodic time measurement (PPTM).

February is Pesticide Safety Education Month The second annual National Pesticide Safety Education Month gets underway February 1st, to 1) reinforce core principles of safe handling and use and 2) to raise awareness/support land-grant university Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEPs).

The foundation of an effective extension program is an understanding of needs.

Bugs rule, but other critters do, too, on UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day! You won't want to miss the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16. The free, family friendly event will feature 13 museums or collections.

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Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County Client's Request: Can I keep and/or reuse garden soil that once had grubs in it? I've been picking them out of the soil when I find them and leaving for the birds to eat them.

Weeds may grow more slowly this time of year, but they can still be a problem. Most of the weeds found in gardens and landscapes now are winter annuals. These weeds germinate in late summer or fall and grow during cool weather. Annual weeds flower and set seed in spring and die in summer.

We recently wrote the blog post Wait! Don't Prune Apricot and Cherry Trees Just Yet, to caution gardeners against pruning these trees in winter. Now we'd like to discuss when and how to prune avocado and citrus trees. Avocados Most avocado trees need little or no pruning.

Licensed pest management professionals: The Vertebrate Pest Council is hosting a seminar series this year in conjunction with new partner Target Specialty Products.