Kern

Bagrada bug [Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister)] is an invasive hemipteran insect (Family: Pentatomidae) that was first reported in Los Angeles County, California in 2008. It has now spread to several counties in California and is moving northwards.

If the current temperature trend continues then plant maturity may be accelerated as compared to the last couple of years. The National Weather Service predicts warmer than normal August temperatures in the Sacramento Valley (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/).

In the past few weeks I received several calls asking a version of the following question: how are stand, tillering and panicle size related to yield? A way to understand how these things interact is by discussing rice yield components and the factors that affect them.

Bagrada bug adults on grass (Photos by Bryan Jones, San Francisco) Invasive Bagrada bug continues to spread to various counties in California. Compared to previous years, reports of Bagrada bug infestations came in quite late in 2013. They also seemed to survive cold winters.

In the last post I described some experiments I was conducting to determine if the redshouldered stink bug could be the cause of some "mysterious" cases of pecky rice. The result is clear: when caged on heading rice plants, this stink bug can definitively feed on developing kernels and cause peck.

AGRITOURISM INTENSIVE: A class for Ventura region farmers and ranchers offered by UC Cooperative Extension Ventura, Ventura County Farm Bureau, the UC Small Farm Program, Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau, and other local partners Are you considering agritourism or nature tourism on your farm or...

I had a chance to talk to PCA Dennis Seaton a few weeks back. During the farm call, he mentioned that he was making a survey of leaf yellowing in his clients citrus orchards.

Every year for the past 3 or 4 years I've been hearing of rice that is graded No. 2 because of "peck". It's always been just a few isolated cases, except in 2011 when we had some early rains during harvest. The free water on the surface of the the grains may allow fungi to grow and stain the kernel.

(This article summarizes California Department of Pesticide Regulations online VOC information.) Its that time of year again when hot weather fuels the creation of ground-level ozone, also called smog. High levels of ozone can harm people and crops.

At first thought this sounds like a dumb question. Of course we need to schedule irrigations just like we schedule lunch; we get hungry, plants get thirsty. End of story.