Backyard Orchard News
Proof of Life
Sometimes caregivers, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors, take photos of...
A monarch caterpillar summits a milkweed, Asciepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's dinner time! It's always dinner time for a monarch caterpillar. It later became dinner for a bird. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar surrounds its food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Teachers observe next generation science in action on Kearney tour.
Third grade teachers from around California toured UC ANR Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (KARE) Center July 21 during a week of Next Generation Science Standards training in nearby Reedley sponsored by the K-12 Academy and WestEd.
Led by Chuck Boldwyn, KARE superintendent of agriculture, tour stops highlighted the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) weather station, sorghum deficit irrigation trials, and how a soil weighing lysimeter measures tree and vine crops water use.
Boldwyn encouraged teachers to subscribe to California Agriculture journal. Readers in the United States can subscribe for free. Published by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), the quarterly peer-reviewed journal reports on research, reviews and news of California's agricultural, natural and human resources. Content can be easily understood by non-specialist readers. International subscription rates are $24 a year, or $20 a year for two years or more.
Khaled Bali, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in statewide irrigation water management at KARE, explained at the weather station how the data is used for irrigation management decisions. CIMIS was developed in 1982 by the California Department of Water Resources and UC Davis. One of the first CIMIS weather stations to be put into use is still located at the UC ANR West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points.
At a stop in a peach orchard, teachers were surprised to learn of the large weighing lysimeter just below their feet. Basically, a lysimeter is a large "flower pot" measuring 6.5 feet wide by 13 feet long by 6.5 feet deep that rests on a sensitive balance-beam weighing scale in an underground chamber. Why would you want to measure soil weight? Short-term soil weight loss is almost entirely due to water evaporation through leaves or from the soil surface. When a specific threshold is exceeded, the crop is automatically irrigated. The orchard lysimeter has also been used to study the effects of water stress on tree water use. Two lysimeters were constructed at KARE in 1986. The second lysimeter is located in a vineyard.
Comments from teachers recognized the value of the agricultural science research underway at KARE.
"I was not aware of all the research that is going on in ag."
"A great tour. I hope the Reedley teachers take advantage of having the Kearney Center so close to them."
"It was amazing to see the concepts we have been learning put to work."
Bully in the Bee Garden
He's the bully in the bee garden. If you've ever watched the male European wool carder bee...
Male European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum)targets a female Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) on a bluebeard (Caryopteris). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) takes another swipe at the female Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) on a bluebeard (Caryopteris). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sleepytime! Male European wool carder bees sleeping inside a mason bee condo, bee housing meant for blue orchard bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lessons from six California soil care farmers.
Despite the growing interest in soil health in many parts of the country, the notion hasn't captured the imagination of most farmers in California. The Golden State's lackluster attention to soil care is likely due to “phenomenal yield increases over the past several decades, the sheer diversity of cropping systems, and widespread perception that California's environment and crop production mix doesn't lend itself to soil health improvements,” said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension agronomy specialist.
A series of farm visits this summer in the Central Valley prove this rationale wrong, Mitchell said. The farm visits were sponsored by the UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts. The farm visits showcased the soil health goals and experiences of six farmers who are familiar with soil care principles across a wide range of local cropping contexts.
The series of visits demonstrated the use of no-till and minimum tillage farming, cover cropping, enhancing the diversity of above-ground species and underground soil biology, surface residue preservation, and compost applications. Read more.
The rapidity of water infiltration into the soil is a measure of soil health.
The UC Davis Version of 'The Splash Brothers'
What do UC Davis entomologists and other scientists do for fun and camaraderie after working hard...
It was “fun in the sun” at the 13th annual Bruce Hammock Lab Water Balloon Battle. From left are Todd Harris and Sing Lee, assistant project scientists; graduate student Alifia Merchant who just received her master's degree in agriculture and environmental chemistry, and research scientist Christophe Morisseau, who coordinated the event. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Alifia Merchant of the Hammock lab drenches Bruce Hammock. She just received her master's degree in agriculture and environmental chemistry. In the foreground is executive administrative assistant Louisa Lo. At right is Hammock lab researcher and balloon battle coordinator Christophe Morisseau. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ting Xu (far right), a visiting professor from China, gets splashed. At left is Hammock lab research scientist Christopher Morisseau. Associate professor Aldrin Gomes is in the background. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tom Joseph, a visiting student from France (Aldrin Gomes lab) targets Christophe Morisseau of the Hammock lab. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)