Pest Management & Plant Health

What this scientist discovered in an insect and why it matters... Naoki Yamanaka, an assistant professor at UC Riverside (UCR), is known for his innovative and creative research. In fact, the National Institute of Health (NIH) just awarded him a $2.

From the Topics in Subtropics blog (Oct. 15, 2018) ****************** Although the main objective of herbicide use in avocado orchards (and all crops) is to manage weed populations, sometimes unintentional injury of the crop itself can occur when herbicides are incorrectly applied.

They're everywhere. But they're not welcome. Agriculturists who commercially grow cabbage and other cucurbits aren't fond of the cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, because its larvae are pests that ravish their crops. No welcome mat for them.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of the Contra Costa County MGCC HD Client's Request: I live in West County along the Bay. There is a very large patch of bamboo that I would like to identify so I can take the appropriate measure to eradicate it.

Controlling weeds can be challenging, but UC IPM provides many resources to help home gardeners and landscape professionals.

[From the Fall 2018 issue of UC IPM's Green Bulletin newsletter] The dark rover ant (Brachymyrmex patagonicus) is an invasive species which is increasingly being noticed in Southern California. It is a nuisance species that invades structures as both workers and winged (alate) individuals.

He targets the tsetse fly. Tsetse flies, large biting flies that inhabit much of Africa, feed on the blood of humans and other vertebrates and transmit such parasitic diseases as African trypanosomiasis. In humans, this disease is better known as sleeping sickness.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County Help Desk Request: While I'm not a new gardener, I'm trying to grow a cold-season vegetable garden this year for the first time. One veggie I've also planted for the first time is Bok Choy.

Controlling weeds can be challenging to landscape professionals or home gardeners since landscapes often include a mix of turfgrass, annual plants, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees.

The katydid, as green as the leaves around it, is feeding on a yellow rose. It is paying no attention to the circling honey bees. The bees want nectar, not an encounter with a critter far bigger than they are. The katydid slowly moves from one devastated blossom to a bud.