Pest Management & Plant Health

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A lady beetle, aka ladybug, gets ready to devour an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Lady Beetle Lovers, Unite!

April 11, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Luck be a lady! Little kids love selecting lady beetles, aka ladybugs, at the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) booth at Briggs Hall during the annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day. The excitement, the capture, the I-get-to-take-these-home-and-put-them-in-my-garden look.
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UC IPM staff Belinda Messenger-Sikes interacting with public. Photo credit: Chinh Lam.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Visit UC IPM at Picnic Day 2023

April 10, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
This Saturday, April 15th, is the annual UC Davis Picnic Day event! Stop by the UC Statewide IPM Program's booth from 9am to 3pm in the entomology building, Briggs Hall.
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A sick bee crawling on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

USDA-ARS Researcher Targeting Honey Bee Health Decline

April 7, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're interested in the honey bee health decline--and you should be--then you'll want to listen to what research associate Christopher Mayack of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Davis, says about "Chemical Biomarkers and the Physiological Underpinnings of Honey Bee Health Decline"...
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Worker bees performing tasks inside a colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

USDA-ARS Honey Bee Scientist to Discuss Bee Health Decline

April 7, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Research associate Christopher Mayack of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Davis, will speak on "Chemical Biomarkers and the Physiological Underpinnings of Honey Bee Health Decline" at the next seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
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Eggs of Culex sp. mosquitoes are laid in floating rafts. Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Easter Egg Hunt Answers!

April 6, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Below are answers to the 2023 Easter Egg Hunt! How did you do? Some mosquitoes lay single eggs on water surfaces, while others, like Culex species, lay batches of 100 or more eggs, called rafts, pictured above.
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Figure 1. Dose–responses curves of branched broomrape and Egyptian broomrape seed germination in response to doses of three different ammonium products under three exposure durations of 10 minutes, one hour, and 24 hours. A three-parameter logistic model (Eq.1) was fitted to germination data. Lines are fitted values, and solid circles indicate observed germination averaged across two experimental runs with three replicates each (i.e., n =6). Error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals. Model parameter esti
UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Farm machinery sanitation: a way to reduce broomrape seed spread among fields

April 3, 2023
By Brad Hanson
California is the largest producer of processing tomato in the US (Winans et al. 2020). However, the profitability of the tomato industry in California is seriously threatened due to the presence of the parasitic weed branched and Egyptian broomrape (https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.
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Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Easter Egg Hunt 2023!

April 3, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
It's time for UC IPM's 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 Friday, April 7th. A. B. C. D.
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Figure 2. Visual rating of phytotoxicity to grasses (A) and broadleaves (B) from herbicides used in the Sacramento trial. Arrows indicate second and third repeat applications after the initial treatment.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Organic Herbicides for Weed Control in Urban Landscapes

March 30, 2023
By Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Weed management in landscaped areas can be challenging. Weeds may need to be controlled for public safety, fire reduction, aesthetics, and elimination of harborage for other pests.
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