UC Blog
Olive farmers dread another exotic pest
As if the 1998 introduction of olive fruit fly into California weren't enough, UC Cooperative Extension scientists have now found shopping center olive trees in San Diego and Orange counties infested with olive psyllid, according to a story in Western Farm Press.
“Psyllids are some of the most fecund insects I have worked with,” the story quoted UCCE IPM entomology advisor Marshall Johnson.
(Fecund has two definitions: intellectually productive and fertile. No doubt that Johnson's meaning was the latter.)
The article said Johnson toured several San Diego County sites with infested ornamental olive trees in July, but found very low populations of the insect. He will repeat the tours this fall and again in April when the first generation is expected to appear.
“We need to learn all we can about this insect to anticipate its impact on California’s commercial olive production,” Johnson was quoted.
This photo, from the UC Statewide IPM Project, shows pale waxy material excreted by olive psyllid infesting olive leaves and stems.
Sign of psyllid infestation.
Think globally, act locally
UC Cooperative Extension takes the adage "Think Globally, Act Locally" to heart. With 52 county offices all around the state, the organization is poised for local action. Such efforts were covered by a number of local news outlets in recent days.
The Pine Tree, with "Celebrated News of Calaveras County and Beyond," ran an article on local agritourism with information from UCCE farm advisor for Plumas and Sierra counties, Holly George.
“If you eat food or wear clothes, you’re already involved in agriculture,” George was quoted. “An important part of agritourism is to help tourists and the community to understand and appreciate what’s beyond the barnyard gate.”
Calaveras County director Ken Churches offered a folksy definition of agritourism for the story:
“If you had a train ride operating on your property, that’s not agritourism. But if your train goes through an apple orchard and (you) give tours while visitors sip on apple cider, that’s agritourism."
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported on local efforts to stamp out red imported fire ants. UC Riverside entomologist Les Greenburg gave a down-home asessment on the pest:
"If you're sensitive to the venom of stinging insects, then you have to worry about it. You certainly don't want the ants where kids are playing."
The Paradise Post covered a UCCE-sponsored "nutrition decathalon" that took place at a local elementary school, and included a variety of events aimed at improving the health of local children. UCCE nutrition educator Kristy Bresette was quoted in the story as saying:
"Music is always wonderful to pump up the kids. The trivia booth brings education into this event."
The Modesto Bee localized a story about pruning that first appeared in the Kansas City Star. While the Kansas City paper referred readers to a K-State and University of Missouri Extension Web site for more information, the Modesto story gave the exact guidance, but substituted ANR's main portal Web site, http://ucanr.org.
The Calaveras Enterprise brought its readers an article headlined "Sheep and chickens and miniature horses-oh,my!" The story details the pleasant lives a local farming couple have carved out for themselves in rural Calaveras County. A part of their tie to the local community, the story says, is their heavy involvement as 4-H club leaders.
Fresh fruits and veggies at school promoted on KXJZ
The Capital Public Radio program "Insight" ran a segment this week on successful efforts in Davis to put fresh, healthful fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. On the program, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program food systems analyst Gail Feenstra answered the questions of guest host David Watts Barton.
Feenstra said that the ability to offer local produce in Davis schools is linked to last year's passage of Measure Q, a parcel tax which allocates $70,000 per year to improve children's nutrition by providing farm fresh food for school lunches, according to a summary on davisfarmtoschool.org.
The fresh food lunches are part of an effort to help Davis children connect their food with its agricultural origin, rather than perpetuate a misconception that "food comes from the grocery store."
"We feel that by providing the students food from local sources, talking to them, school gardens and farm tours, they will make that connection," Feenstra said on the radio program.
Feenstra also said that, with additional grant funding, the project enlisted a consultant to provide monthly cooking lessons to school food service staff. The consultant is teaching the staff how to combine local, fresh ingredients with the commodity foods provided by the USDA to create meals kids will enjoy.
"They have gotten so excited by the program," Feenstra said. "They're making Mexican and Indian and Asian and Mediterranean items using the resources of their ethnic heritage. It's been a wonderful development."
More information on bringing healthful food to school cafeterias can be found on the UC Farm-to-School Program Web site.
A healthful school lunch.
4-H teen conference marks 20th anniversary
Twenty years ago, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor Carla Sousa, working with retired kindergarten teacher Denise Nelson, launched the first teen survival conference in Visalia.
Even as its first participants are pushing middle age, the program continues to gather local teenagers to face the challenges of youth in the rural San Joaquin Valley community, according to a story in today's Visalia Times-Delta. The 2008 event takes place Oct. 14.
"When we started off, we had no idea," Sousa was quoted. "Was this going to last one year? Two years? Five years? Because of the reception, it makes you want to continue."
Teen pregnancy, mental health, higher education and employment opportunities were topics of the conference from the beginning. The program has evolved to address such issues as teenage depression, nutrition and eating disorders, and gender identity.
"Kids continue to grow up faster and faster," Nelson was quoted. "I think the value of the conference has grown because of the faster pace of our society and the greater stresses our youth have today."
ANR Spanish-language program featured in UCR pub
The UC Riverside faculty and staff newsletter Inside UCR includes a feature in the current issue about a long-standing ANR program housed at the Southern California campus, News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS).
The article traces the program's journey from its inception in 1981, when radio news stories were sent to California radio stations on gigantic reel-to-reel tapes, through a 27-year-long uninturrupted stream of information from the University to the Spanish-speaking public. The stories are still mailed directly to radio stations, but are also available for online listening on demand on computers worldwide.
Myriam Grajales-Hall, NOS manager, told writer Todd Ransom that the radio new stories provide very practical tips that the Hispanic listeners can apply to their daily lives.
Added public information representative, Alberto Hauffen:
“Because we are research-based, we have the credibility and have established a good working relationship with the news media. They use what we give them.”
The program's effectiveness and longevity has given it a devout following. Listeners often contact the NOS office directly for more in-depth advice on health issues.
“They look at us as a trusted friend,” Grajales-Hall was quoted. “It’s a big responsibility, but we can guide them to the right people.”
Alberto Hauffen, Lisa Rawleigh, Myriam Grajales-Hall