Rachael Long

University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) | UCANR

‘California Blackeye 77’ (CB77) (Reg. no. CV‐344, PI 698656) is a blackeye‐type cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] cultivar developed by the University of California, Riverside. CB77 is distinguished from the industry standard cultivars, ‘California Blackeye 46’ (CB46) and ‘California Blackeye 5’ (CB5), by its ability to resist infestation caused...

Agronomic cropping systems in many regions face growing economic and management challenges as well as new regulations designed to address negative environmental and social externalities. At the same time, public support for agricultural education and extension is decreasing. Hence, new approaches are necessary to understand the most pressing on-far...

Corrections to a figure and table legend.

Habitat augmentation on farms is predicted to conserve biological diversity and support beneficial animals that reduce crop pests. Effectiveness of local habitat enhancement and subsequent pest reduction services can be mediated by the amount of habitat at larger scales. We tested whether the presence and increase of local and landscape scale bird...

Degradation and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services pose major challenges in simplified agricultural landscapes. Consequently, best management practices to create or restore habitat areas on field edges and other marginal areas have received a great deal of recent attention and policy support. Despite this, remarkably little is known about...

Policy makers are increasingly encouraging farmers to protect or enhance habitat on their farms for wildlife conservation. However, a lack of knowledge of farmers’ opinions toward wildlife can lead to poor integration of conservation measures. We surveyed farmers to assess their perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from perching birds,...

Field edge habitat in homogeneous agricultural landscapes can serve multiple purposes including enhanced biodiversity, water quality protection, and habitat for beneficial insects, such as native bees and natural enemies. Despite this ecosystem service value, adoption of field border plantings, such as hedgerows, on large-scale mono-cropped farms i...

This one-year study focused on the impact of hedgerows of native California plants on rodents and food safety in adjacent crops in the Sacramento Valley. Deer mice, house mice, California voles, and western harvest mice were live trapped in four different walnut orchards at zero, 10, 75, 175-m transects from hedgerows. The abundance and richness of...

Productivity in many agricultural crops depends on reliable pollination service; however, pollination may fail if crop management practices interfere with the attraction and retention of pollinators. Farmers must balance optimizing management decisions such as insecticide use and irrigation frequency for pest and disease management versus their pot...

Background/Question/Methods Conservation biological control focuses on manipulating habitats to favor natural enemy invertebrate communities to maximize pest control services for growers. A growing body of evidence suggests that avian insectivores can also provide important pest control services. Largely untested is the extent to which local habi...

Research on threats to pollination service in agro-ecosystems has focused primarily on the negative impacts of land use change and agricultural practices such as insecticide use on pollinator populations. Insecticide use could also affect the pollination process, through nonlethal impacts on pollinator attraction and postpollination processes such...

Background/Question/Methods Conservation biological control focuses on manipulating habitats to favor natural enemy invertebrate communities to maximize pest control services for growers. A growing body of evidence suggests that avian insectivores can also provide important pest control services. Largely untested is the extent to which local habita...

Hedgerows of native California shrubs and perennial grasses bordering rotational field crops were examined for the abundance of beneficial and pest insects compared to fields with semi-managed weedy field margins. During 2-years of sampling in the Sacramento Valley (2009-10), hedgerows attracted more beneficial insects than pests, resulting in slig...

Insectivorous bats from a single colony can consume millions of insects a year and may play a key role in integrated pest management in agricultural systems. In ongoing studies in California’s Sacramento Valley, research documented that bats forage in walnut and pear orchards and feed on key codling moth (Cydia pomonella) pests. As a result of thei...

Many alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) fields are sprayed each year with insecticides to control Egyptian alfalfa weevil (Hypera brunneipennis) and the alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica). Overseeding various species of legumes and grasses into established alfalfa has been proposed as a method to mitigate weevil damage without insecticides. Established fiel...

The effect of both liquid (oil-based (37% PAM) and water-based (25% PAM) formulations) and dry PAM (granules and tablets) on sediment concentration of surface runoff during furrow irrigation was investigated on loam and clay loam soils. Liquid PAM was highly effective in reducing the sediment load. Granules/tablets placed 45 m or 90 m from the head...

Some insecticides used for controlling Egyptian alfalfa weevil have been detected in California's surface waters and are of concern, due to their impact on water quality and toxicity to some aquatic life. To assess the impact of insecticide choice on water quality, we collected tail-water samples from on-farm alfalfa sites in the northern Sacrament...

Food habits of Mexican free-tailed bats and Yuma myotis bats were examined in the Sacramento Valley. Analyses of guano samples indicated that Mexican free-tailed and Yuma myotis bats fed on moths, water boatmen, beetles, flies, midges, mosquitoes and plant bugs. The diet of Yuma myotis bats tended to be diverse early in the season, but more uniform...

Overseeding another forage species into a depleted alfalfa stand can extend stand life and improve the yield and marketability of the hay. Potential overseeded forage species include annual and perennial grasses and legumes. The species selected for overseeding can affect yield, forage quality, and the suitability of the forage for the end market....

There are a number of insect pests found in alfalfa hay that can cause significant yield and quality losses if left unmanaged. To control these pests, both conventional and organic growers implement similar integrated pest management practices that focus on maximizing profits while minimizing inputs and costs. As such, both farming practices select...

The alfalfa stem nematode is the most serious nematode pest of alfalfa in the United States, causing serious yield, forage quality, and stand losses in infected fields to seedling as well as established stands. However, in recent years this pest was not a major concern to California growers as it was only occasionally found in alfalfa fields. Then,...

The rise in the demand for organic feed makes alfalfa an attractive crop for some organic farmers where there can be about a 10% premium over conventionally grown alfalfa hay. This need for organic feed is primarily driven by the rise in demand for organic dairy products whereby cows producing organic milk must be fed organic feed. Other markets fo...

Sclerotinia stem and crown rot of alfalfa can be a significant disease in California's Central Valley in wet and/or foggy winters. Previous studies have failed to demonstrate significant control with cultural and weed control measures. Planting in September has numerous advantages in terms of stand establishment, seedling survival, and subsequent y...

Alfalfa is an important crop in California; it is grown largely in the Central Valley, Low Deserts, and intermountain areas but some alfalfa is grown in nearly every county. There are over 1 million acres grown and alfalfa is used as an important feedstuff for the dairy industry (the top ranked agricultural commodity in the state). Alfalfa acreage...

Irrigation tailwater can serve to transport sediment and particle-associated agricultural pollutants to nearby water courses. To help protect the biota of surface waters, we evaluated the use of polyacrylamide, PAM (a synthetic material that flocculates sediments when added to water), vegetated tailwater ditches, and sediment traps to mitigate loss...