Posts Tagged: Lucia Varela

Bee-Helpful Cover Crops in Vineyards

Kathy Kellison is on a mission: to encourage winegrape growers to plant “Bee-Helpful Cover Crops.” This would include mustards, clover...

Honey bee foraging on mustard, a good cover crop for bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee foraging on mustard, a good cover crop for bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Upside down honey bee on mustard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Upside down honey bee on mustard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

New pest found in California vineyards

The Virginia creeper leafhopper has been found in vineyards from the Oregon border to the northern Sacramento Valley, but so far has not made its way to the storied vineyards of Napa or Sonoma counties, according to an article in The Grower.

Reporter Vicky Boyd based the article on a report by Lucia Varela, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, an integrated pest management expert for the north coast of California. So far, the Virginia creeper leafhopper has been reported primarily in backyard and organic vineyards.

Western leafhoppers are common in California vineyards. Many are controlled by natural enemies. Whether the same will hold true for the Virginia creeper leafhoppers is unknown.

Learn how to distinguish the two leafhoppers by watching the 4-minute UCCE video below.

 

Fifth annual sheepdog trials in Hopland showcase dogs' skills
Tiffany Revelle, Ukiah Daily Journal

Dog handlers competed recently in the 5th Annual Sheepdog Trials, held on the rolling hills of the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center.

Sheepdog trials are held all over the nation, allowing dogs to accumulate points that count toward a national competition where the top 150 compete for the top spot, bragging rights, and possibly, for money-making opportunities that could include training or breeding, according to Bob Keiffer, superintendent at Hopland.

UCCE leads the charge against grapevine pest

UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors Monica Cooper and Lucia Varela are taking the lead in helping Napa County growers manage their vineyards infested with European grapevine moth, according to an article in Grower magazine.

The advisors are monitoring the pest's lifecycle, and when it's the optimum time for pesticide treatment, they send e-mail alerts to growers.

Growers then have a 10-day window to treat the vineyard, said the article, written by editor Vicky Boyd. The pesticides Intrepid and Altacor are registered for conventional production; Entrust and Bacillus thuringiensis are available for organic farmers.

A second European grapevine moth control effort in Napa County involves distribution of twist-ties on vines to dispense pheromones that disrupt the pests' mating.

In the San Joaquin Valley, where only a few moths have been trapped, agricultural officials are relying on insecticides alone. UC Integrated Pest Management entomologist Walt Bentley told the reporter that clouds of pheromone would shut down detection traps.

“I’m confident we can eliminate it here in the Central Valley,” Bentley was quoted.

For more information, Boyd directs readers to the UC Integrated Pest Management web page on European grapevine moth.

European grapevine moth.

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