A foul-smelling, voracious, wide-spread pest of fresh fruits and tree nuts could become even more ubiquitous with climate change. A recent modelling study found that changing weather could increase suitable habitat for the brown marmorated stink bug in the United States by 70%. The study, published in Pest Management Science, draws on data from a three-year stink bug monitoring effort in …
Darkling beetles girdle seedlings at or below soil line by chewing which can cause significant damage and plant death when beetles are in high numbers. Darkling beetles are not usually a problem once plants are big enough to withstand the chewing damage. They move in from field edges, including weedy areas or adjacent crops like grains or alfalfa. Conventional control …
Two newly developed, low-cost tests that use nanoparticles to detect chemicals can accurately measure tiny amounts of two potentially harmful herbicides in fruits, vegetables and their products. Reporting in the journal Food Chemistry, a Washington State University research team used two testing methods to measure the levels of two herbicides, namely atrazine and acetochlor, in samples of apples, strawberries, cabbage, corn and …
It’s that time of the year when orchards are being pulled and growers begin preparing their soil for future plans. For growers looking to replant their orchards, watch this brief interview with UC Riverside Nematologist Andreas Westphal as he shares some considerations to take for fumigation when it comes to nematode pressure. Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Thirteen UC Davis scientists or former affiliates are among authors from eight countries who contributed to research articles for the Journal of Economic Entomology’s Special Collection: Research Advances in Spotted-Wing Drosophila suzukii Management. The recently published Special Collection showcases 14 articles. Native to Asia, the agricultural pest is a worldwide threat to the berry production industry, which includes raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. The …
As citrus growers in the west dreadfully anticipate the arrival of the citrus killing disease Huanglongbing, researchers in the already severely impacted state of Florida are making significant strides in learning how to combat this disease. Early results from a groundbreaking, large-scale citrus trial looking for solutions to the devastating citrus greening disease have given early hope for growers in …
Strawberry farmers worldwide may get help from new University of Florida research that shows a way to battle one of the fruit’s fiercest foes. The key: combine genomic data with phenomics. The genome amounts to all the DNA in an organism. Phenomics is the study of plant growth, performance and composition. Through phenomics, scientists use DNA to measure plant traits. …
If you savor a juicy watermelon in the scorching summer heat, farmers toil to meet your tastes. But, like all farmers, those who produce watermelons seek ways to control diseases, so they don’t lose all or part of their crops. The needs of growers drive Yiannis Ampatzidis to use artificial intelligence to detect pathogens early and accurately. One such disease, …
Citrus growers may have a new tool to help them slow the presence of citrus greening in already diseased trees. While there is no cure for Huanglongbing (HLB), researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences found that injecting a benign Xylella fastidiosa EB92-1 bacteria biocontrol into infected citrus trees over a period of six years …
Through support from the USDA Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination Group (HLB-MAC) the Citrus Research Board (CRB) is initiating a California focused Citrus Research and Field Trials (CA-CRaFT) project. The overarching goal of CA-CRaFT is to demonstrate the effects of additional mitigations on Asian citrus psyllid control within commercial citrus groves across the various citrus growing regions in California. This project will …
