The 2012 California Citrus Conference will be held October 10-12 in Porterville. This event is organized by the Citrus Research Board (CRB) and will include presentations, demos, and exhibitors.

Topics will include:

• ACP/HLB
• Pests
• Diseases
• Organics
• Irrigation
• Nutrition

Demonstrations and displays will include:

• ACP tracking and mapping
• Spray demonstrations
• Irrigation technologies
• Sensory evaluation lab

For more information please call the CRB at 559.738.0246 or email them.

The California Citrus Conference will have much information for citrus growers. Photo of navel orange bloom by Jack Kelly Clark.

UC’s Nursery and Floriculture Alliance has many trainings scheduled, including several in Southern California. You can find program details on their website. 

Also on the site, you will find archived presentations available for viewing and links to resources to help growers conserve irrigation water and manage water quality issues.

The nursery and floriculture industry is big business in Ventura County. Even after experiencing a decline in sales during the recession, the most recent crop report lists nursery stock as our third highest value crop at $180,057,000 (down from $298,690,000 in 2007-2008). Cut flowers are in the number four spot and brought in $47,348,000 (down from $51,297,000 in 2007-2008).

This map shows where these crops are grown within the county.

UC ANR has many resources available for the nursery and floriculture industry. Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.

UC Farm Advisor Oleg Daugovish will hold an Irrigation field day Thursday, April 19 from 9:00 am to 11:15 am.

Scheduled topics include:

• Update on conditional waiver and requirements for irrigated lands in Ventura County
• Evaluation of three differing irrigation regimes in California strawberry
• Salts and soil analyses in strawberry beds under different irrigation regimes
• Soil test results interpretation and corrective management
• View experiment plots onsite

VCALIG educational credits have been requested from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

There is no cost to attend. If you have questions, require translation into Spanish, or to register please contact Oleg Daugovish at 805.645.1454 or odaguovish@ucdavis.edu. More information can be found on the agenda.

In the event of rain, the meeting will be held at the UCCE Conference Room located at 669 County Square Drive in Ventura.

Oleg Daugovish and collaborators will share current research related to irrigation in strawberry production at the upcoming Irrigation field day. Photo by K. Garvey.

On the morning of Tuesday, April 3 Oleg Daugovish will hold a fumigant alternatives and soil-borne pathogens field day. This event will be simultaneously translated into Spanish.

Scheduled topics include:

• Regulatory update on soil fumigation
• Alternative fumigants research update
• Soil borne pathogens Macrophomina and Fusarium: biology and management in strawberry
• Advances in steam application technology for soil disinfestation
• Update on Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation studies
• Research update from the California Strawberry Commission
• In-progress results from experiment on display
• View the plots with fumigant alternative treatments

Continuing education credits have been approved from DPR (Department of Pesticide Regulation).

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.   Additional details can be found on the agenda.

To insure your participation, or if you have questions, please contact Oleg Daugovish at  (805) 645-1454 or odaugovish@ucdavis.edu.

Strawberries are the highest value crop in Ventura County. Oleg Daugovish and his collaborators work to improve yield while reducing potential environmental impacts.