Pest Management & Plant Health

No assassinations today! But an "assassination attempt." There it was, a leafhopper assassin bug, Zelus renardii, waiting for prey atop a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola in a Vacaville pollinator garden. Yes, it's native to North America.

One of my favorite things about being a Master Gardener is that I never stop learning about gardens, plants, and insects. Talking to 2022 Stanislaus County Master Gardener program students, who were wrapping up their 18-week course, caused me to reflect on what I have learned.

(Editor's Note: The public can sign up for the free- access webinar, sponsored by Bedoukian Research, Inc., here: https://bit.ly/3PeXJhu) If you're a postdoctoral researcher, it's not every day you get to present your work at an international symposium.

The 17 western states have approximately 40 million square miles of irrigated farmland, supplied by an extensive network of irrigation canals. Without this system of irrigation, farming in most of the western states would not be possible.

Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus L.) is an increasingly problematic weed in irrigated pastures in the Sierra foothills. We've grazed several pastures with fairly significant infestations - and we're seeing it spread.

Where is rodenticide exposure in wildlife coming from? Is it from use by residents or farmers? Applications by marijuana growers? Or from applications by qualified and trained structural pest control professionals?

The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue, we cover the invasive plants pampasgrass and jubatagrass.

I read an interesting paper* recently about the sale and spread of invasive ornamental plants in the U.S. The paper describes the results of a study that examined whether identifying a plant species as invasive influenced its availability for purchase from the plant trade industry.

Tong Zhen is a Ph.D. student in the Hanson Lab at UC Davis. Non-chemical weed control usually is based on physical methods (e.g. tillage or mowing) or thermal methods such as propane flaming or steam.

The University of California, Irvine campus is home to a vast urban forest consisting of approximately 30,000 trees located in a mix of landscape, riparian and open space settings.