Pests Content

Researchers Identify Microbes That Help Plants Thwart Parasite

Andy Fell — March 26, 2024 - 10:53am

Bacteria that could help one of Africa’s staple crops resist a major pest have been identified by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their findings, published March 26 in Cell Reports, could improve yields of sorghum, a mainstay of food and drink in West and East African countries.

Citrus Greening Bacteria Affects Pest's Sense of Smell

Andy Fell — November 14, 2023 - 12:45pm

A failed field test has led to a major discovery about the Asian citrus psyllid, the insect that spreads the devastating citrus greening disease. According to new research, the bacteria that cause citrus greening can interfere with the insect’s sense of smell, rendering some kinds of insect traps useless. The work is currently available as a preprint.

Diversifying Agriculture to Control Pest Outbreaks

Andy Fell — May 17, 2022 - 3:15pm

Newly published research led by �ٺ��Ƶ ecologist Daniel Paredes suggests that pest abundances are less variable in diverse landscapes comprised of multiple crop types and patches of natural habitat.

"As a result, pest outbreaks are less likely in diverse landscapes," said Paredes, who analyzed a 13-year government database of diversified landscapes encompassing more than 1300 olive groves and vineyards in Spain. The database documented pests and pesticide applications.

Up to 25% of Non-Native Plant-Eating Insects May Be Undetected

Andy Fell — November 10, 2021 - 4:23pm

Over the past two centuries, thousands of non-native insects have hitchhiked to the United States in packing material, on live plants, and in passenger baggage.

Using the Sun and Agricultural Waste to Control Pests

Amy M Quinton — January 03, 2019 - 1:56pm

Farmers spend a lot of time and money controlling weeds and other pests, and often have to turn to chemical fumigants to keep the most destructive pests at bay. Farmers also wrestle with what to do with low-value byproducts of crop production, such as skin, seeds and hulls from fruit, vegetable and nut processing.

What if those agricultural waste streams could generate alternatives to chemical fumigants and make farming more productive, profitable and environmentally friendly?

Natural Habitat Can Help Farmers Control Pests, But Not Always a Win-Win

Katherine E Kerlin — July 30, 2018 - 11:54am

Songbirds and coffee farms in Central America. Ladybugs and soybean fields in the Midwest. These are well-known, win-win stories of how conserving natural habitat can benefit farmers.

But an international team of authors led by the University of California, Davis, found that natural habitat surrounding farm fields is not always an effective pest-control tool for farmers worldwide. Their analysis is published the week of July 30 in the journal PNAS.

6 Critters You Might See This Summer

Cody Kitaura — August 15, 2017 - 9:45am

Summer may mean the emergence of some creepy, crawly (and slithery) critters, but that isn’t always a bad thing, �ٺ��Ƶ experts say. From many-legged creatures commonly found around your home during the summer to legless animals you might see out on a summer hike, here’s what our experts say about the critters of summer — and what our wet winter means for many of them.

Diversity as Natural Pesticide

Katherine E Kerlin — October 12, 2016 - 11:50am

Monoculture crops provide the nutrient levels insect pests crave, explains a study led by the University of California, Davis, in the journal Nature. Returning plant diversity to farmland could be a key step toward sustainable pest control.

Troublesome, Non-native Squirrels Will Get Birth-control Shots

IET WebDev — October 30, 2008 - 12:00am

Before someone gets bitten, or neighboring farmlands are invaded, �ٺ��Ƶ officials will launch a birth-control research program to curb a campus population explosion of non-native tree squirrels.

The project will launch in the next week, when faculty wildlife experts and their students will begin placing humane live traps of wire mesh under trees and around lawns to capture eastern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger).