Pest Management & Plant Health

Although we can't see you at the local Farmers Market, our Harvest Hall location, or meet with you at the Stanislaus County Fair this year, we want you to know that we have an online presence and are still offering free classes! Spring Container Vegetable Gardening Class-available now! Thanks to tho...

"I love it when they say, You've taught me something new.' When Lisa Blecker hears these words from workshop participants, she says it is one of the greatest satisfactions in her role as a pesticide safety education coordinator with the UC Integrated Pest Management Program.

by Rainer Hoenicke Editor's note: Master Gardeners are keeping busy in their own gardens during Napa County's Shelter in Place directive.

Here's part 3 of our training videos: Weed Identification. We've broken it up into three smaller parts for easier viewing.

As you practice social distancing during COVID-19, you may find yourself spending more time in the garden. As we move into nice weather, we are sharing a few gardening tips for pest management. Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation, handweeding, or mowing.

Watch out, lygus bugs! Agricultural entomologist Emily Bick is targeting you. Lygus hesperus, a serious pest of strawberries--as well as cotton, and seed crops such as alfalfa--causes an estimated $40 million in annual losses to California's strawberry industry.

During this time sheltering in place, I've had more time to be in the garden weeding. This got me thinking, what exactly is a weed? The Master Garden handbook defines a weed as a plant growing where it is not wanted.

Agricultural entomologist Emily Bick, who received her doctorate in entomology last year from UC Davis and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen, is a newly selected recipient of an American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Publishing Grant.

As you practice social distancing during COVID-19, you may find yourself spending more time in the garden. As we move into nice weather, we are sharing a few gardening tips for pest management. Check for signs of powdery mildew on fruit trees, landscape ornamentals, and vegetables.

While most Californians are staying home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, California farmers, farmworkers and other agricultural professionals are out in the fields and packing houses working to produce food.