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Directors
Loren Oki
Department of Plant Sciences
UC Davis
David Fujino
California Center for Urban Horticulture
UC Davis
UCNFA Partners
Directors
Loren Oki
Department of Plant Sciences
UC Davis
David Fujino
California Center for Urban Horticulture
UC Davis
UCNFA Partners
From the UC Blogosphere...
It's All About the Bees
It's all about the bees. And the other pollinators. And the plants. We were glad to see that Melissa "Missy" Borel,...
UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi (left) with Melissa "Missy" Borel. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is what the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven looked like before it was fully developed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The haven changes not only seasonally, but weekly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Less Thirsty.. Turf Alternatives Sep 17
Turf’s up By Ann Dozier Q: At the end of summer are you unhappy about the amount of work and water your lawn requires? Or,...
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New sustainable ag major is a return to UCD’s roots
A new bachelor’s degree program at UC Davis is meant to gives students an understanding of the social, economic and environmental aspects of farming and food systems, reported Cory Golden in the Davis Enterprise. Some of the lessons taught in the program will harken back to the interdisciplinary courses that have been taught at UCD’s Student Farm for more than three decades.
Effective pest control for indoor citrus nursery production
Cary Blake, Western Farm Press
California and Arizona citrus nursery growers are shifting production of critical plants from the outdoors to ‘indoor protective structures’ to gain protection from the Asian citrus psyllid insect and its primary vectored disease Huanglongbing. The change will require growers to adjust to new pest control techniques. “You’ll likely find extra pests indoors that you haven’t dealt with outside including mites and thrips,” said Jim Bethke, UC Cooperative Extension floriculture farm advisor in San Diego County. “It’s very hard to exclude mites with screening material. The screen can exclude the Asian citrus psyllid, but will not keep out thrips.”
Mark Van Horn, director of the Student Farm, gives a UC Davis class a tour of the farm's market garden.
'Tiger' in the Tithonia
Sometimes you can't get within 20 feet of a Western tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papillo rutulus). Sometimes it's a matter...
Western tiger swallowtail nectaring Mexican sunflowers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western tiger swallowtail atop a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Report shows more U.S. farmers relying on Internet
The number of farmers with Internet access on a variety of digital gadgets has dramatically increased, changing the way farms do business, reports Gosia Wozniacka of the Associated Press. Despite the enormous benefits to using the new technology, barriers remain for many farmers, said Richard Molinar, a small farm advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Fresno. Older farmers and immigrant farmers tend not to use the Internet or digital devices. And while the cost of computers, phones and Internet connections has fallen, for small farmers the expense can be prohibitive.
Other news:
Researchers closing in on nematodes
Tim Hearden, Capital Press
University of California researchers are trying to perfect a treatment for nematodes, a ubiquitous pest that can damage walnut trees and other crops. UC Cooperative Extension scientists have been working with a foliar applied systemic nematicide called Movento, a new product from Bayer CropScience that replaced the abandoned Nemacur. A team led by Michael McKenry, a specialist at the UC's Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, achieved a 50 percent reduction in lesion nematode populations in walnut orchards over about a six-month period using variations in applications and timing.
At a UC field day, farmers could get more information on specific varieties with their smart phones.
