Pest Management & Plant Health

Research molecular biologist Dana Nayduch of the Agricultural Research Service, U. S.

It's not every day that an undergraduate thesis makes the cover story of a professional journal. But that's the case with UC Davis doctoral student Grace Horne.

If you love tomatoes, you hate any and all pests that attack them. That would include the larvae of Tuta absoluta, a South American tomato leafminer. In its adult stage, it's a moth in the family Gelechilidae. In its larval stage, it's a major agricultural pest.

Kyle Lewald, doctoral candidate in the laboratory of UC Davis molecular geneticist/physiologist Joanna Chiu, will present his exit seminar at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 22 in 122 Briggs and also on Zoom. The link is: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Branched broomrape is a parasitic plant that is an A-listed noxious weed in California, requiring crop destruction and a hold order to be placed on reported fields.

(Editor's Note: Her exit seminar is here) Remember the spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii? Native to Southeast Asia, it infests soft-skinned fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches and grapes.

UC IPM's online courses for 2023 are now available! All of UC IPM's courses can be accessed for free. However, if you need Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and a certificate of completion, most courses require payment.

UC Davis faculty and friends are remembering internationally recognized medical entomologist Mir Mulla, a UC Riverside distinguished emeritus professor of entomology whose university career spanned 50 years of teaching, research and public service. He died Jan. 29 at his home in Riverside at age 97.

A stormy winter could portend another devastating year for the lettuce industry in the Salinas Valley, which saw approximately $150 million in lost gross revenue in 2022 due to INSV (impatiens necrotic spot virus) and associated diseases.

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources continued bringing scientists and their practical knowledge to counties across the state throughout the fall and winter. With increased funding from Gov.