Agriculture

If growers sprayed for Italian ryegrass earlier this year, it might still be worth keeping an eye out for it in fields and field margins. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is an annual grass that can sometimes behave as a biennial or short-lived perennial in California.

Remember receiving valentine cards that read "Bee My Valentine?" Well, every day can be Valentine's Day when there are bees in your garden.

You just KNOW that some plants are considered weeds. Their common names give them away. They sound awful. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus). Devil's claw (Proboscidea lutea). Smellmelon (Cucumis melo). Itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis).

You just KNOW that some plants are considered weeds. Their common names give them away. They sound awful. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus). Devil's claw (Proboscidea lutea). Smellmelon (Cucumis melo). Itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis).

It's going to be a long weekend, but it's a short one when you consider all the things you can do and see at the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 16. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your camera.

Postdoctoral scientist Antoine Brieux of the Joanna Chiu lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will speak on "Understanding the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Photoperiodic Time Measurement in Drosophila melanogaster" at the next departmental seminar.

Registration is underway for the seventh annual International Pollinator Conference, set Wednesday, July 17 through Saturday, July 20 in the ARC Ballroom.

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Part of my role as a University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor is extending knowledge to my clientele and the public at large. One tool for accomplishing this task is the bi-annual publication of a the Agronomy and Weed Science Newsletter.

Are you considering introducing cover crops into your production system? Are you wanting to plant hedgerows or wind breaks? Are you interested in prescribed grazing? Are you implementing reduced or no-tillage practices?