Posts Tagged: orchard
Silverleaf nightshade in young pistachio orchards
Silverleaf nightshade, Solanum Elaeagnifolium, is perennial weed that is native to South America, Mexico, American Southwest and Southern States. This herbaceous and woody summer weed belongs to Solanaceae just like other weeds such as black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), hairy nightshade (Solanum...
Phacelia! You're Breaking My Heart!
Cecelia, you're breaking my heartYou're shaking my confidence daily...--"Oh, Cecelia" written by Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkle If you think of the song, "Oh, Cecelia,' every time you pronounce Phacelia (the plant), you're not alone. Pollinators, especially honey bees, bumble...
A honey bee forages on a lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) in the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden (BOG) at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee gathering nectar and pollen from phacelia in the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden (BOG) at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
And now there are two! Another honey bee joins in the foraging on the phacelia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Signage in the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A colorful banner (now shredded by the recent storms) once greeted visitors to the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
First impressions at UC Davis of an electrical weed control system for orchard crops
Tong Zhen is a Ph.D. student in the Hanson Lab at UC Davis. Non-chemical weed control usually is based on physical methods (e.g. tillage or mowing) or thermal methods such as propane flaming or steam. Electric Weed Control (EWC) is another thermal method that passes electrical current...
Electric weed control takes hold in orchards
From Page 13 of the Western Farm Press (May 2022) magazine Electric weed control takes hold in orchards By Lee Allen (Contributing writer) Sometimes it takes a long time for an idea to be embraced by the public. Take electric weed control, a concept first patented in 1890, yet it hadn't...
Newly Published UC Davis Study: How Imidacloprid Affects Blue Orchard Bees
The systemic insecticide imidacloprid, belonging to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids or "neonics," is commonly used to control insects that damage agricultural crops. "Imidacloprid disrupts the nerve's ability to send a normal signal, and the nervous system stops working...
A blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, heads for a lacy phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia, at UC Davis. (Photo by Clara Stuligross)
Co-author of the PNAS paper is pollination ecologist Neal Williams, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)