Welcome to the UCCE Stanislaus County Vegetable Page. The purpose of this website is to generate and disseminate resources and tools for vegetable stakeholders in Stanislaus County to strengthen their vegetable production and business.

This site provides:

1. Progress on our area of ongoing research and extension programs
2. Descriptive photo galleries from different research and extension activities
3. Various deliverables from our research and extension programs (newsletters, scientific reports, presentation slides, etc.)
4. Tools that are built to strengthen stakeholders in decision making and troubleshooting

Stanislaus County Vegetable Crops Production

Vegetable production in Stanislaus County is historically diverse in commodities. According to the 2017 Stanislaus County Crop Report, vegetable crop production experienced significant increases in total harvested acreage (20%) and sales value (15%) compared to 2016, reaching totals of 28,630 acres and $180 million, respectively. Tomatoes (fresh market and processing), melons, and sweet potatoes continue to be the major commodities, constituting nearly 60% total acreage and sales value. Follow the link (http://www.stanag.org/crop-reports.shtm) to download the 2017 crop report and previous crop reports for more details. 

Plans for 2019

There are two major themes for the UCCE Stanislaus County vegetable crops program in 2019: Sustainable Practices and Plant Health.

Sustainable Vegetable Production:

• San Joaquin County Vegetable Crops Advisor, Dr. Brenna Aegerter, Yolo County retired Vegetable Crops Advisor, Gene Miyao, and myself will begin the third year evaluation of grafted rootstock-scion combinations on processing tomato yield and quality in the northern San Joaquin Valley. We will assess the viability of grafting as a cost-effective tool to enhance processing tomato productivity.
• I will test the effects of in-row spacing of grafted seedless watermelon on fruit yield, quality, and economic matrix in Turlock. I hope to find the optimal spacing (plant population) to make watermelon grafting more efficient and economically sound.
• I will collaborate with crop biostimulant companies to evaluate a number of crop biostimulants on processing tomato productivity and plant nutrient management in Patterson. Crop biostimulants are rapidly-growing product lines receiving much attention, especially from sustainable vegetable folks.
• I will also work with the Soil Nutrient and Health Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fulford and Dr. Costanza Zavalloni from CSU Stanislaus to figure out the influence of compost application rates on nitrogen management and processing tomato productivity and quality in Patterson.

Plant Health:

• I will collaborate with other UCCE vegetable advisors to monitor the varietal responses to resistance-breaking tomato spotted wilt virus. I will scout processing tomato fields in our county for the disease occurrence especially the fields grown with resistant varieties. Meanwhile, I will also keep eyes on other vegetable diseases and pest issues to maintain healthy vegetable operations.
• For leafy vegetables, I will work with the Western IR-4 and Ratto Bros in Modesto to conduct a field trial of testing the efficacy of a Sulfentrazone herbicide on the basil weed control. This will hopefully help with the process of herbicide registration to provide CA leafy vegetable growers more choices toward chemical weed control.

Stay tuned to the Veg View Newsletter with project updates.       

Presentations

Vegetable and Irrigation Presentations

• Zheng Wang - 1-12-2020 - Effects of in-Row Spacing on Grafted Watermelon Productivity and Fruit Quality - Presented at International Plant & Animal Genome XXV
• Zheng Wang - 12-5-2019 Evaluating Microbial Biostimulants on Processing Tomato Production under Reduced Fertility
• Zheng Wang - 11-18-2019 - 2019 Crop Biostimulant Evaluation Trials
• Zheng Wang - 9-13-2019 Watermelon Grafting Field
• Zheng Wang - 9-19-2019 - Vegetable grafting value of recombination
• Zheng Wang - 10-22-2019 - Cucumber Beetles in Vegetable Crops
• Zheng Wang - Till Minimally, Cover Strategically -- Sustainable Vegetable Production - September 12, 2019
• Water in Central Valley-2019 CA Specialty Crop Tour
• Plant-fert-FREP workshop-May 29-19-final
• Crop Biostimulants – 2019 Plant Protection & Innovation – May 22, 2019
• Zheng Wang -Introduction for 2019- NSJV Processing Tomato Meeting-Jan. 31 2019
• Dr. Cassandra Swett-UCD Plant Path - Diag. wilt and crown rot of tomato-
• Zheng Wang - Cover cropping-Sustainable Vegetable Class- CSUS-Sep 18 2018
• Zheng Wang - Conservation tillage-Sustainable Vegetable Class- CSUS-Sep 13 2018
• Water in Central Valley-2018 CA Specialty Crop Tour
• Plant-fert-FREP workshop-May 9-18-final