Pest Management & Plant Health

"Yecch! What's that ugly bug? Kill it!" Have you ever heard anyone say that when they see the larva of a lady beetle (aka ladybug, family Coccinellidae)? Unfortunately, it's quite common among non-gardeners and non-insect enthusiasts.

Soil solarization is a method home gardeners and farmers can use to manage soilborne pests such as weeds, disease pathogens, nematodes and insects. Solarization can reduce help reduce pesticides used to control these pests.

As many readers know, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Stanislaus County recently launched a Master Gardener Program.

Subject: End of the Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Sacramento and Yolo Counties Effective May 28, 2019 the Department is removing the Oriental Fruit Fly quarantine located in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Maps of any remaining Oriental Fruit Fly quarantine boundaries can be found at: www.cdfa.ca.

Forest health promises to take a turn for the better, thanks to forest entomologists like Jackson Audley, a doctoral student at the University of California, Davis.

When insects, weeds, animals and diseases enter California from elsewhere in the nation or world, they can cause economic losses to agricultural crops and ecological damage to the state's natural areas. Ultimately, invasive species affect every resident of California.

The UC Integrated Pest Management Program and the Center for Invasive Species Research are two UC Agriculture and Natural Resources programs that monitor invasive species and coordinate responses when they become established in the state.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating bacterial disease of citrus that is starting to spread rapidly in urban areas of Southern California. The disease is spread by the invasive insect Asian citrus psyllid.

UC Davis doctoral student and forest entomologist Jackson Audley has received the 2019 Western Forest Insect Work Conference (WFIWC) Memorial Scholarship Award for his research on the chemical ecology of an invasive bark beetle, the walnut twig beetle.

The recent rain events in California have complicated crop production activities for many growers including delayed planting or harvesting and altered pest management activities (including weed control).