Pest Management & Plant Health

The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue we are covering West Nile virus. West Nile virus disease was first reported in California in 2003 and has become the most common and serious vector-borne disease in California.

After all the winter rains you may find yourself dealing with weeds and struggling to control them. The first step in successfully controlling weeds is knowing what weed you have.

After years of drought, we welcome rain in California. But we also recognize that rain can help spread a number of plant diseases. Rain and wind can splash bacteria and fungi from infected leaves, branches, and blossoms to uninfected parts of the tree.

Ants are one of the major seasonal pests around structures in California's urban environments. Pest management companies throughout the state report that ants are responsible for a significant proportion of their pest control services.

Pocket gophers can cause significant damage to valuable turf, girdle trees, and chew irrigation lines. Their mounds can create tripping hazards and lead to erosion concerns when found on slopes.

It's time for UC IPM's annual insect Easter egg hunt! Can you guess which insects laid the eggs pictured below? Some may be pests, while others may be beneficial. Leave a comment on this blog post with your guesses, or on our Facebook and Instagram posts. Answers will be posted on Monday, April 1st.

Congratulations again to the recipients of the 2024 UC Davis Academic Senate and Academic Federation awards.

Each year on March 17th, the death of Saint Patrick, known as the Apostle of Ireland is observed in Ireland and throughout the world wherever there are Irish people.

Spring is just around the corner and many types of fruit trees are starting to develop their leaves. If you are growing peaches or nectarines and are now seeing symptoms of peach leaf curl on new leaves, unfortunately it's too late to manage the disease.

Roundup Ready technology incorporates genetic resistance to glyphosate into crops and it's an excellent tool for weed control. Initial screening in the early 2000s found good alfalfa crop safety, and many growers currently rely on glyphosate as the only herbicide.