In 2022, the UC Ag Experts Talk webinar series continued to expand beyond production agriculture citrus and tropical tree crops. Notably, were webinars about managing pests in vegetable crops. Topics included managing downy mildew, viruses in vegetable crops, and diseases in processing tomato. UC IPM also expanded beyond insect and disease pests to webinars on vertebrate pest management and weed control in noncrop and natural areas.

Responding to a problem that has emerged over the past two or three years, one webinar covered mealybugs in citrus. And conversations about nut crops continued with a webinar on the management of nematodes: plant-parasitic nematode biology, feeding habits, and host range; monitoring; soil sampling; and management options such as rootstocks, pre-plant soil treatments, and post-plant remedies.

For urban and community IPM, the new year started with a webinar titled, “New Year, New Pests,” the first in a ten-webinar series. Pests covered in 2022 included insects (bed bugs, termites), vertebrate animals (squirrels), invasive species, weeds, and spiders. Timely webinars talked about pesticides and the protection of water quality, as well as the use of disinfectants and wipes, and whether these commonly used cleaning tools are considered pesticides or not.

We know you’re busy. Or perhaps you just learned that we all need to use disinfectants and wipes safely! That’s why UC IPM works to provide IPM information when it’s most convenient for you. If you missed one of our webinars, view a recording on the UC IPM YouTube channel.