Thursday, November 12, 2009

New UC Web site helps farmers with business and marketing


"University of California Cooperative Extension has launched a new Web site at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/farmbusinessandmarketplace to help new and established small- to medium-scale farmers of fresh products with the business and marketing aspects of their operations.

The Web site is designed for people who are considering farming, and those who have been in the business for quite a while and wish to refresh or enhance their skills. It was designed with Central Coast farmers in mind, but is applicable in most parts of the state. The site aggregates information from the University of California and other universities and agricultural affiliates from around the nation"
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Source: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1250

Looking for effective advance fertilizers, plant nutrients and soil amendments? Please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.

Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators’ Nightlife



“Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan G. Lundgren, while exploring corn fields at night, has found a very different group of predators than the ones that feed during the day. It turns out that these night-time predators have a great appetite for corn rootworms, the most costly pest of corn in the world.
Research on day-active and night-active predatory insects is important for scientists who are developing strategies that maximize the potential of the natural predators in crop pest control.
During his night studies, Lundgren focuses on the top few inches of the soil surface, where rootworm larvae do most of their damage to corn roots. Lundgren works at the ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D.
Lundgren found that one common carabid beetle, Poecilus chalcites, prefers day work, while another common carabid, Cyclotrachelus alternans, works a night shift, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wolf spiders search for rootworms during the night, while some other spiders hunt during the day.”

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Article By Don Comis (ARS)

Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective advance fertilizers, plant nutrients and soil amendments? Please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.