UC ANR Blogs
Why Soldier Beetles Deserve the Aphid Belt
It's the Fourth of July and what better time to post images of the aptly name "soldier beetles"...
It's early morning, and a soldier beetle stirs in a Vacaville garden. A beneficial insect, it eats aphids and other soft-bodied insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Are the Red Coats coming? No, but this soldier beetle is alert. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Entomology and Nematology Retiring Faculty Amass 247 Years of Service
247 years! The seven faculty members honored at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and...
UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey, 44 years of service (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Richard "Rick" Karban, 42 years of service
UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, 35 years of service. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Robert Kimsey, adjunct professor, 35 years of service (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim, 34 years of service. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Diane Ullman, 29 years of service. (Photo by Jael Mackendorf)
Professor emerita Sharon Lawler, 28 years of service. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey at UC Davis Picnic Day)
New Product Bulletin :: Loyant® CA
Loyant® CA Section 2(ee) Recommendation Bulletin for Control of Cattail in Rice A...
Sunscald on Blackberry
I made a visit to a beautiful blackberry field a few days ago and was shown this example of sunscald, in this case on mature Ouachita blackberry. Notice these are not tunneled, and also one observes immediately that only the part of the fruit facing the sun is affected.
While today it started to become quite warm - thinking it'll be hitting a toasty 80 degrees here before long - this was not the situation when the damage occurred on these fruits a few days ago. More likely, this is a case of ultraviolet radiation (UV) striking and engendering dysfunction in those druplets (the juice filled sacs which compose in aggregate what people know as the blackberry fruit) which are now discolored.
It is not uncommon to see this disorder right around this time of year, coming so soon as it does after the summer solstice, which we all know is June 21 and the longest day of year. Which means the greatest amount of UV exposure of the year for everything outside.
This is also the time of year when I get the most calls about aborted flowers in strawberry, and sure enough one photo already floated into my phone this morning, some varieties are more sensitive to UV. Meaning that the lengthy exposure of flowers to this radiation during the day of and days before and after the solstice is the time that people tend to see this type of damage.
Sunscald on Ouachita blackberry.
July Pest Prevention Tips
Follow these tips for the month of July to prevent pests in the garden and landscape. To see more...