Pest Management & Plant Health

Summer is here, and so is the Stanislaus County Fair! Our local University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Master Gardener Program volunteers are excited to have a presence at the fair this year.

Insecticide resistance in alfalfa weevils is spreading across California Insecticide resistance is alive and well in alfalfa. Growers in Scott Valley, Palo Verde Valley, and the Los Banos area have reported issues with control failures for alfalfa weevil. In 2016, Dr. Steve Orloff and Dr.

E is for Earwigs - The Cringe-worthy Earwig For most people, there is something cringe-worthy about the ubiquitous earwig.

No assassinations today! But an "assassination attempt." There it was, a leafhopper assassin bug, Zelus renardii, waiting for prey atop a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola in a Vacaville pollinator garden. Yes, it's native to North America.

One of my favorite things about being a Master Gardener is that I never stop learning about gardens, plants, and insects. Talking to 2022 Stanislaus County Master Gardener program students, who were wrapping up their 18-week course, caused me to reflect on what I have learned.

(Editor's Note: The public can sign up for the free- access webinar, sponsored by Bedoukian Research, Inc., here: https://bit.ly/3PeXJhu) If you're a postdoctoral researcher, it's not every day you get to present your work at an international symposium.

The 17 western states have approximately 40 million square miles of irrigated farmland, supplied by an extensive network of irrigation canals. Without this system of irrigation, farming in most of the western states would not be possible.

Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus L.) is an increasingly problematic weed in irrigated pastures in the Sierra foothills. We've grazed several pastures with fairly significant infestations - and we're seeing it spread.

Where is rodenticide exposure in wildlife coming from? Is it from use by residents or farmers? Applications by marijuana growers? Or from applications by qualified and trained structural pest control professionals?

The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue, we cover the invasive plants pampasgrass and jubatagrass.