Merced UCCE Helps UC Davis Evaluate Pilot Welfare Reform Program

As part of a statewide effort to reform the welfare system, a pilot program aimed at reducing school absenteeism in Merced County is being evaluated by researchers from UC Davis and Merced County UC Cooperative Extension. Under the pilot system, which was initiated last September and runs three years, the state withholds cash assistance for 6- to 15-year-old children with more than 10 unexcused absences from school. "We're working with researchers at UC Davis to see whether the Human Services Administration and schools' collaboration is successful in improving school attendance," said Richard Mahacek, 4-H youth development advisor in Merced County. Already the scientists have made some interesting observations. For example, planners expected the threat of losing cash assistance to be a powerful deterrent to attendance problems, but in the first six months of the program, sanctions were requested for more than 80 Merced students. "We have just started to get feedback that should help not only Merced County but others in the state as they implement similar programs in the future," Mahacek said. For more information, contact Mahacek at (209) 385-7418, rlmahacek@ucdavis.edu.

Farm Advisors Join Forces to Control Ants

To the dismay of San Joaquin Valley farmers, ants have marched into almond and citrus orchards, causing damage to crops and trees and disrupting biological control of other insects. In a new effort to get a leg up on ants, farm advisors in four counties are teaming up to find the best way to deliver new insect growth regulators and other "softer" chemicals on California farms. "Currently, we only have one or two pesticides to control ants, and they kill foraging ants only, sparing the colonies that live below the ground," said Fresno County UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Freeman. "But the ants come back after a few weeks. We need a longer solution." The growth regulators and other new chemicals work by inhibiting egg laying or stopping young ants from maturing when foraging ants deliver the chemical-laced baits to the colony. The keys are finding a bait that is more attractive than natural foods in the orchard and determining the best time to place the bait in the orchard. This summer, farm advisors in Fresno, Kern, Merced and San Joaquin counties will test baits based on cornmeal and some of their own formulations. "Ant diets vary by species and time of year. We hope to find a bait they just love," Freeman said. For more information, contact Freeman at (209) 456-7265, mwfreeman@ucdavis.edu.

The "Turmoil of Tillage" Studied in Valley's West Side

Intense soil tilling is akin to an earthquake, a tornado and a devastating fire all rolled into one according to an Oregon scientist who visited California recently. John Luna, coordinator of the Integrated Farming Systems Project at Oregon State University in Corvallis, is consulting with UC Davis vegetable specialist Jeff Mitchell, who is researching the use of low-till and no-till cropping systems in California's very large scale, intense vegetable and cotton production systems. Using a newly acquired farm implement, Mitchell plants tomatoes this spring into the residue of rye and vetch grown over the winter at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center near Five Points. The system has proved to be extremely effective in Eastern and Southern states, where summer rains can wash away unprotected sandy top soils. In those areas, the cover crop mulch also inhibits weeds, provides nutrients, cools roots and adds organic matter to the soil. Whether the benefits will outweigh the cost in California remains to be seen. For more information or a demonstration, contact Jeff Mitchell at (209) 646-6565, mitchell@uckac.edu.

Jeannette Warnert
Public Information Representative
UC Regional Office
550 E. Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93710