Agriculture

Elizabeth Mosqueda is an Assistant Professor at the California State University, Monterey Bay. Richard Smith is a Vegetable Crop Production and Weed Science Farm Advisor with UC Cooperative Extension. Steve Fennimore is a Cooperative Extension Weed Specialist at UC Davis.

If you have roses blooming in your yard in the winter--or trying to bloom--check to see if there's a lady beetle, aka ladybug prowling around. Any aphids? A lady beetle can eat as many as 5000 aphids in its lifetime, so they're the good guys and gals in the garden.

Organic farming continues to expand in California and now includes more than 360 commodities, according to a new University of California report.

Growers considering producing avocados in San Diego County with high-density plantings now have help to determine the economic feasibility.

In 2017, I started getting reports of a watergrass biotype/species (Echinochloa spp.) that was difficult to control using our suite of herbicides registered in rice.

Guacamole from Mexico Fuels Surge of Avocado Imports This new article from the Giannini Foundation looks at factors associated with recent rapid growth in demand for processed avocados, including adaptation and adoption of High-Pressure Processing (HPP) technology.

In 2017, I started getting reports of a watergrass biotype/species (Echinochloa spp.) that was difficult to control using our suite of herbicides registered in rice.

Scott Stoddard, University of California Cooperative Extension (Merced County) Farm Advisor, takes a look at weeds in a corn field, cotton field and a ditch in the Dos Palos area. He discusses cultural management, biological management and possible benefits of weeds. https://youtu.

Researchers from Sacramento State and the University of California, Riverside are requesting input from citrus industry members to help examine the economics of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and huanglongbing (HLB) management in California citrus groves.

When the Detwiler Fire broke out near his family's ranch in 2017, Tony Toso was home to take defensive action to protect his family and animals. The Mariposa County rancher feels fortunate that he was on site. We were on the front end of the fire damage and it started on a Sunday, recalled Toso.