Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are widely used in California's agricultural systems to enhance efficiency and crop production, yet there is also growing concern around nitrogen losses from irrigated crop lands that have the potential to impact water quality.
"A bog is a wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant materialoften mosses, and in a majority of cases, sphagnum moss."--Wikipedia. Not so with the Biological Orchard and Gardens (BOG) on the University of California, Davis, campus.
A new UC Cooperative Extension podcast that focuses on growing orchard crops in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys is now available free at http://growingthevalleypodcast.com, Apple iTunes and Google Play Music.
Dear Colleagues, The California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and California Strategic Growth Council will be hosting regional public meetings on the development of California's...
Several garbanzo fields in the Sacramento Valley were infected with alfalfa mosaic virus, a disease that's vectored by aphids. Plant symptoms of viral infections include yellowing wilting, stunting, and dieback.
This spring, we found a garbanzo bean field in the Sacramento Valley with fusarium root rot, identified by our new UCCE Plant Pathologist, Cassandra Swett at UC Davis. Fusarium root rot, caused by the fungus, Fusarium solani f. sp. ciceris, attacks the underground stems and roots of plants.
So here's this Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) clinging to a lavender stem in our pollinator garden. It is all alone--for a little white. Then here come honey bees seeking to forage on the lavender, too. One bee buzzes next to the butterfly's wing. Then it soars up and over.
Sweeping acres of striking golden flowers may soon grace California's desert southwest. UC Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Khaled Bali believes sunflowers may be an ideal crop for the state's most punishing agricultural region.
We remember photographing a young beekeeper, Mikayla Hagan of the Rio Vista (Calif.) 4-H Club, when she delivered presentations at Solano County 4-H events. Yes, 4-H'ers can enroll in beekeeping projects--if a club offers them. And they should! Rewind to the 2012 Solano County Project Skills Day.
