Monterey

From the UC Cooperative Extension Monterey County Crop Notes newsletter (March/April 2014) Excellent weed control is essential for economically producing cilantro and parsley. Both crops have had various weed control challenges over the last few years.

We've been getting reports of coast live oak decline along the coast, well, here's one of the causes: RIVERSIDE, Calif. A fungus associated with the western oak bark beetle is causing a decline in coast live oak trees in Southern California by spreading foamy bark canker disease.

Just call it a "practice run." Or a "buzz run." Barbara Allen-Diaz, vice president of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) vowed last year to wear bees if she received at least $2500 in donations for UC student scholarships through the "Promise for Education" fundraising drive.

I'm at my desk today catching up (slightly) on things that accumulated during the past few months when it seemed like I was in meetings more than I was anywhere else.

From the ANR Report :: February 2014 :: Vol. 27 No. 8 (http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/newsletters/ANR_Report50615.pdf) Brad Hanson, UCCE specialist in the Department of Plant Science at UC Davis, has received national and statewide recognition by his peers.

Good news for minor tree crop weed managers - Chateau SW (active ingredient: flumioxazin) recently received a Supplemental Label that allows use in bearing olive and pomegranate orchards. Flumioxazin is a cornerstone preemergence herbicide for many tree and vine crop weed managers.

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.

The registration site is now open for the 66th annual meeting of the California Weed Science Society (CWSS). This year, the meetign will be held January 22-24, 2014 at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, CA.

Bagrada bug, Bagrada hillaris is a new invasive insect that arrived in the Salinas Valley in the summer of 2013.

Fungi such as Beauveria bassiana, Isaria fumosorosea, Metarhizium brunneum are pathogenic to mites and insects and are primarily used for pest management. Some of these are known to endophytically colonize plants and offer protection against arthropod pests feeding on those plants.