Article originally posted on the UC ANR Green Blog on October 11, 2011.  Written by Danial Putnam and reposted with permission.  Brad

Those of us who work with alfalfa have seen our much-loved Queen of Forages relegated to poster child of all things evil about genetic engineering (GE) and the supposed damage it may wreak. While hay growers have always felt alfalfa has received insufficient attention – this was probably not what they had in mind! 

Those of us who work with alfalfa have seen our much-loved Queen of Forages relegated to poster child of all things evil about genetic engineering (GE) and the supposed...

Producing 85 percent of the nation’s strawberries, California growers urgently need alternatives to methyl bromide fumigation if they are to maintain yields. Methyl bromide has been phased out for all but critical uses because it depletes ozone in the upper atmosphere.

UC scientists now report that use of totally impermeable film in strawberry fields can improve the effectiveness of a widely-used MB alternative known as 1,3-D (1,3, dichloropropene). Use of the film reduces the amount of 1,3-D needed to maintain yields, while lowering field emissions overall.

The strawberry industry is highly dependent on soil fumigation to control pests and maintain high yields. The methyl bromide alternative, 1,3-D, can be used...

Weeds can be introduced to new areas from a variety of natural and human-influenced sources.  Seed transport on vehicles or equipment can be a very important mechanism of spread. 

The WSSA article below focuses on transport of invasive weed seed on recreational and work vehicles in rangeland areas but the same concepts hold true in agricultural or residental situations.  Have you ever run a mower or tiller through a weedy area and then looked closely at the amount of vegetative matter (and potenially seeds) on the mower deck or in the nooks and crannies of the machine?  All that junk (and  seeds) can fall off in subsequently visited areas and introduce new weed species or biotypes into the new area.

It is a good...

We received several calls yesterday from a news organization in San Francisco about a CDFA biocontrol program for an invasive aquatic weed, water hyacinth. 

I'm a terrestrial weed guy who works mostly in orchards and vineyards, not aquatics so I kept a low profile.  However, I think biocontrol of invasive weeds is really interesting and decided to share two links about the program.  This from KTVU Channel 2 in San Francisco: http://www.ktvu.com/news/28704763/detail.html  and here is the official Press Release on the CDFA program:

An article was posted a couple days ago on the Scientific American blog in which the author deconstructed what she saw as common myths about organic agriculture.  I thought I'd repost Christie Wilcox's article here  "Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Agriculture"  

In her article, she tries to play myth buster on:
Myth #1: Organic Farms Don't Use Pesticides
Myth #2: Organic Foods are Healthier
Myth #3: Organic...