From the UC Blogosphere...

Update for Members of Ag Waiver & Irrigated Lands Monitoring Groups

As members of the Ag Waiver and any of the Irrigated Lands Monitoring Groups in the San Diego area, you need to complete two...

Fuller Rose Beetles are emerging

Fuller rose beetles are a primarily a problem because they lay eggs under the calyx of fruit and those fruit can be rejected when exported, because some export countries don't want this pest to establish in their region.  Fuller rose beetle can also cause significant leaf damage to newly topworked orchards.  We have been sampling an orchard near Lindcove and, while a few beetles emerge year round, we are seeing heavier numbers emerging as of the first week of August.  You can find Fuller rose beetles first by looking for notched leaves (edges chewed) and frass (insect feces), then look for the adult beetles inside curled leaves.  They love new flush and leaves rolled by leafminer damage.  They tend to be on the lowest branches of the tree.  You can also survey for them by putting a beating sheet or tray under the trees and shaking the adults out onto the tray. 

Fuller rose beetle on notched leaf

LA Times reports on state ag schools' budget woes

College agriculture programs will likely rely increasingly on public and private partnerships, UC ANR vice president Dan Dooley told the Los Angeles Times for an article on funding cuts to the state's preeminent agricultural education programs.

The article, which appears on the front page of the Times' website today, focused on Cal Poly Pomona, Fresno State and UC ag programs. State support for agricultural and natural resources at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UC Riverside has dropped 15 to 20 percent in the last three years. At UC ANR, Dooley said, dozens of administrative and support positions have been eliminated, research has been cut, and some departments within colleges have been eliminated or consolidated.

Dooley expressed concern about the repercussions of reduced public investment in agricultural research and education.

"There's an enormous relationship between public investment in agricultural research and farm productivity," Dooley was quoted. "If we're going to play a significant role in meeting worldwide demand, including adjusting to climate change, we're going to have to enhance productivity.... California has always been the leader."

Times reporter Carla Rivera wrote that some of the state's ag schools are looking for creative ways to boost their budgets. At Fresno State and Cal Poly, ag departments are expanding beef, pork and wine sales to the public.

Fresno State is looking into growing its own animal feed to cut costs. The Pomona campus hosts a pumpkin festival, sells produce at local farmers markets and in the school's farm store, and is investing in higher quality horses, which are auctioned online for as much as $25,000. Cal Poly is also considering opening a petting zoo.

State funding cuts are striking deep at college agriculture programs in California.

Nothin' Like a Cone

There's nothing quite like a cone--no, not an ice cream cone. A purple coneflower.The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea,...

Honey bee on purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee on purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-bee: A honey bee peers through the head of a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-bee: A honey bee peers through the head of a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollen-laden honey bee climbs over the head of a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollen-laden honey bee climbs over the head of a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Americans now less likely to pick up turkey burgers

The salmonella outbreak that prompted the recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey is making consumers wary of a meat that many turned to as a safer, healthier alternative to ground beef, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee. Cargill Meats' decision last Wednesday to call back the product is one of the largest meat recalls in history.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a press briefing Aug. 4 reporting that they are aware of 78 cases of salmonella illness associated with ground turkey between March 1 and Aug. 3, 2011, in 26 states. There has been one related death - a 65-year-old Sacramento County woman.

Of the 78 victims reported to the CDC, 22 have been hospitalized, a rate higher than is typical with salmonella infections, said Dr. Chris Braden, director of the CDC Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, during the briefing.

"We’re working to explore why this may be," Braden said. "One possible reason is that the outbreak strain is resistant to several antibiotics, including ampicillin, tetracycline and streptomycin. This antibiotic resistance may increase the risk of hospitalization and can sometimes lead to treatment failure."

UC Cooperative Extension food science specialist Christine Bruhn told the Sacramento Bee  that, compared with dangerous strains of E. coli, salmonella "is a pathogen to be feared even more."

"There are more deaths every year from this organism than the E. coli that came to everyone's attention in the 1990s with the Jack in the Box outbreak," Bruhn was quoted.

Bruhn suggested that consumers check the temperature of cooked turkey before serving it.

"If you don't have a (meat) thermometer, go to the grocery store and get one and stick it in at an angle," Bruhn said.

Washing hands and anything else that might have touched uncooked meat is also critical.

"Wash your hands, wash the faucet, the top of the soap dispenser, the fridge handle," Bruhn said.

Even if turkey is contaminated, cooking to 160 degrees through and through ensures the meat is safe.

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