Newsline for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED MAY 25, 2006:

  1. BROCHURE ON WATERING TREES AND SHRUBS
  2. MCCLELLAND PARK STORY IN ARIZONA DAILY STAR
  3. PROPER TECHNIQUES FOR REMOVING ROSE FLOWERS
  4. UA LAUNCHES ARIZONANATIVENET WEB SITE
  5. NEW RESEARCH SAYS BIOTECH COTTON PROVIDES SAME YIELD WITH FEWER PESTICIDES
  6. CALS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR: JOE HILLER
  7. GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING WHITEFLIES
  8. SAFE FOOD 2010 CONFERENCE JULY 12-13
  9. BETTER PARASITIC WASPS FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
  10. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION WORKSHOP FOR ARIZONA YOUTH JULY 12-16
  11. 2005 EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT AVAILABLE ONLINE

1 BROCHURE ON WATERING TREES AND SHRUBS

It's hot outside. Are your plants getting enough water? A handy Arizona Cooperative Extension brochure is available to help you figure out when, how much and how often you should irrigate your landscape plants.

"Watering Trees and Shrubs: Simple Techniques for Efficient Landscape Watering" covers irrigation needs related to weather, soil type, plant maturity, mulching, and other factors. A section is included to help you identify signs of over- and underwatering.

The brochure can be downloaded from the address below.

Rob Call, Cochise County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1298.pdf


2 MCCLELLAND PARK STORY IN ARIZONA DAILY STAR

When John Norton and Norm McClelland met as University of Arizona students in the 1940s, the pair never could have guessed they would each become an agricultural giant in the state.

The lifelong friends came together again Tuesday to join groundbreaking ceremonies for the McClelland Park building, which will be the new home of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Both generous supporters of their alma mater, Norton and McClelland said they're thrilled to both be connected to the newest expansion of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Part of the McClelland gift comes from the estate of his late sister, Frances.

For the full story from the May 12, 2006 Arizona Daily Star, go to the link below.

Soyeon Shim, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences

To learn more:
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/128813


3 PROPER TECHNIQUES FOR REMOVING ROSE FLOWERS

One of the best ways to keep annual and perennial flowers blooming is to remove their faded blossoms. By removing withering flowers, in a process called "dead-heading," the energy of the plant will be directed toward continued flower formation rather than seed production.

There is a correct way and an incorrect way to dead-head flowers. The incorrect way is to try pulling or pinching off the faded flowers. This will remove the petals but likely leave the seed-forming flower ovary.

The correct way to dead-head faded flowers is to remove them by cutting off the entire flower structure (petals and the ovary flower base). Do this using sharp scissors or hand pruners, and cut the flower stem just below the base of the blossom.

To see the complete story from the May 21, 2006 Arizona Daily Star, go to the link below.

John Begeman, Pima County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/129611.php


4 UA LAUNCHES ARIZONANATIVENET WEB SITE

The University of Arizona has launched ArizonaNativeNet, a Web site devoted to the nation building and higher education needs of Native American communities in Arizona and the United States, and Native Nations throughout the world.

Designed by a team of distinguished faculty, academic professionals and IT specialists, ArizonaNativeNet is a collaborative, university-wide effort led by two of the UA's most highly regarded Native American academic programs, the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the James E. Rogers College of Law, with technical and production assistance provided by the Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office (NPTAO) within the Office of the Vice President for Research. The Web site can be found at www.arizonanativenet.com.

Native American Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is affiliated with this Web site as one of the UA's indigenous education programs.

Joe Hiller, CALS Native American Programs

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/nativeamericanprograms/


5 NEW RESEARCH SAYS BIOTECH COTTON PROVIDES SAME YIELD WITH FEWER PESTICIDES

Arizona farmers receive the same yield/acre, use fewer chemical insecticides and maintain insect biodiversity when they plant the biotech cotton known as Bt cotton, according to new research.

The finding comes from the first large-scale study that simultaneously examined how growing Bt cotton affects yield, pesticide use and biodiversity.

Bt cotton has been genetically altered to produce Bt toxin, a naturally occurring insecticide that kills pink bollworm, a major pest of cotton. Bt cotton has been planted in Arizona since 1996. Now more than half of the state's 256,000 acres of cotton fields are planted with the biotech plants.

Yves Carriere, Entomology

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/11.19.html


6 CALS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR: JOE HILLER

Joe Hiller recently received the 2005-2006 Administrator of the Year Award, presented by the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Hiller is an assistant dean who provides leadership for CALS programs and activities that deal with Arizona tribes, nations, and communities. He is also an assistant director in Arizona Cooperative Extension for American Indian Programs, chair of the Watershed Resources Program, a professor and extension specialist in the School of Natural Resources, and holds joint faculty appointments in American Indian Studies and Arid Lands Resource Studies.

Hiller was nominated for his dedication, leadership, and extensive contributions to the department, college, and the university. As chair of the Watershed Resources Program, he has built consensus on curriculum issues and developed and maintained an active faculty development program. In addition he has made substantial contributions to extension in the areas of rangeland and watershed management.

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/19.5.html


7 GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING WHITEFLIES

Managing whiteflies both locally and area-wide in Arizona will protect not only the production of high quality cotton but also the economic interests of growers statewide.

Several guidelines have been developed by CALS entomologists, especially helpful on a community-wide basis, that should result in better management locally and areawide. They include tips on such things as cultural practices, variety selection and proper insecticide usage.

Effective integrated management depends on implementing pest avoidance practices, in-field sampling, and deployment of effective control technologies.

The guidelines are catagorized into Crop Management, Area-Wide Impact, Whitefly Ecology, Sampling, Insecticides and Resistance Managment.

To view the complete publication, go to the link below.

Peter Ellsworth, Maricopa Agricultural Center

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1404.pdf


8 SAFE FOOD 2010 CONFERENCE JULY 12-13

New food safety issues involving Arizona food supplies will be addressed at the 7th Safe Food 2010 conference. The conference will be held July 12-13 at the Crown Plaza Hotel near 44th St. and McDowell in Phoenix.

Topics around food production and distribution, from field and range to restaurants, food retail and consumers, will be addressed by local experts. There will also be food industry tours and research posters displayed.

The conference is developed specifically for food professionals, sanitarians, health, nutrition and consumer educators, agricultural producers, food processors and retailers, public health professionals, food managers and dietitians.

Continuing education credits are available. The cost of the two-day workshop is $100.

Sharon Hoelscher Day, Maricopa County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/fcs/safefood2010-2006.pdf


9 BETTER PARASITIC WASPS FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

At barely one millimeter in length and without a stinger, a parasitic wasp hardly looks threatening. When viewed through a microscope it even has a friendly face. Out in a cotton field full of whiteflies it's a different story. These wasps parasitize whiteflies by laying eggs inside the whitefly's immature stages.

As the hatched larvae develop, they eventually kill the whitefly. This is good news for cotton growers in Arizona and other farmers worldwide who battle whiteflies in vegetable, fiber and ornamental crops. Now a new scientific twist is boosting the effectiveness of the wasps even further.

Some parasitic wasp species are infected with symbiotic bacteria that exert a powerful effect on the wasp's reproduction. For example, the bacteria can cause the wasp to produce more or even all females. A population of parasitic wasps that contains all females that will lay eggs and kill the crop pest will be a more effective biological control agent in many circumstances.

Molly Hunter, Entomology

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2005/article7_2005.pdf


10 NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION WORKSHOP FOR ARIZONA YOUTH JULY 12-16

The 43rd Annual Natural Resource Conservation Workshop for Arizona Youth is an interactive camp bringing together the latest in science and natural resource technology.

The camp gives youth age 12-16 the opportunity to learn about Arizona soils, plants and wildlife with small group activities in the forests and rangelands of the Prescott National Forest. There will be opportunities for hands-on experience with hi-tech equipment, field testing, data collection and project design as well as interaction with natural resource professionals.

The camp will be held from July 10-14, 2006 at the Mingus Springs Camp in Prescott National Forest, between Prescott and Jerome. The cost is $100.

Kim McReynolds, Cochise County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://azrangelands.org/nrcway/NRCWAYflyer.pdf


11 2005 EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT AVAILABLE ONLINE

Each year the annual Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report highlights more than a dozen research projects from a variety of departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including some that are not focused strictly on agriculture.

The goal is to describe in lay terms the ways the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is solving problems for the people of Arizona, the nation and the world.

This year's topics cover research in vegetable food quality, bull fertility, lycopene in tomatoes, promoting healthy teen relationships, whitefly biotype, pinyon pine dieoff, the new UA water village and other new research facilities.

The magazine is available online at the address below.

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2005/


To find out about available CALS publications and upcoming events, go to http://cals.arizona.edu/. If you have questions or comments about NewsLine, send an email to newseditor@ag.arizona.edu. Previous issues can be viewed at http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/newsline/previous-issues.html

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