Something is Different This Year

Jun 27, 2018

By Ben Faber

Plants have been acting differently this spring. Along the coast the peaches have barely bloomed and it's May. Avocado Brown Mite has had a field day. Stethorus beetles have been in low numbers and biocontrol is out of whack.

Her ladybug Coccinelid sisters have been in low numbers, as well. There's lots of ladybug species in the coastal area. Usually the first ladybugs show up on the aphids feeding on the malva (cheeseweed) new growth. I haven't seen many aphids on the malva, but for the last several weeks the new growth on citrus has been hammered by green peach aphid (http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r604300111.html). They have also been feeding on new growth blueberry.

This aphid doesn't normally get out of hand like this. Possibly the fires have burned up the hills where they were hibernating this winter? Aphids are not normally a problem in either mature citrus or blueberry. It can run it's course, and something will come in to eat them, but it's interesting how a year can be so different from others.

Source: ucanr.edu

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.