Jan 28, 2021
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) announces $2.18 million in grant funds are being awarded to agricultural organizations and universities as a result of the 2020 cycle of the competitive FREP Grant Program.
These grants will fund 11 research projects to improve the efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertilization in California agriculture, reduce the associated environmental impacts, and advance farmers’ understanding and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer applications in farmlands.
The projects
The funded projects include:
Assessment of Nitrogen Content of the Harvested Portion of Specialty Crops to Estimate Crop Nitrogen Removal and Improve Nitrogen Management in Crops
High winds cause damage in California avocado and citrus groves
High winds along the hills and coasts of Southern California have caused damage to avocado and citrus orchard. Growers in the region are eyeing the weather reports as they fear more of the same.
Ken Melban, vice president of industry affairs at the California Avocado Commission: We definitely know some of our growers got hit pretty good by last week s winds. We re still trying to ground-truth things and get a real feel for what the overall impact is.
According to John Krist, chief executive of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, avocado growers in his region had reported fruit-drop rates of 25-50%, depending on location. I can report that the winds knocked an awful lot of fruit off the trees. This was among the worst wind events I can remember ever occurring at this time of year: gusts of 40 mph-plus across most of the county. I can t quantify it yet, but I m sure the damage and the losses were extensive.