June 5, 2018
Edition Topics


  1. Message from Dr. Silvertooth
  2. Congratulation Kai Umeda
  3. Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge Treatment Truck 
  4. 24th Annual Southwest Noxious, Invasive Plant Short Course
  5. New Extension Publications
  6. UCAP - Merging Staff and APs
Photo of Dr. Silvertooth

Message from the Associate Dean and Extension Director

 On 21 May, I met with Dean Burgess to discuss the results from my Five-Year Administrative Review (AR) that was recently completed.  A committee of faculty, staff, and Cooperative Extension System (CES) stakeholders conducted the review with input from a survey and several listening sessions.

The committee and Dean Burgess provided thorough analyses and recommendations from the input and data provided.  I am taking this information and working to utilize it constructively, recognizing that we all have room for improvement.  There are several clear and distinct patterns evident from the resulting input and opportunities for me to continue my efforts to improve upon my capacity to do my job and support the CES.

I want to thank Dean Burgess and the committee, including Jeffrey Ratje who served as the committee chair, for their hard work in directing this review process and for their efforts to develop a constructive review document. I appreciate the input and commentary that was provided by many people across the organization and I look forward to working with all of you as we work together to move this organization forward.

Congratulations Kai

Kai Umeda, turfgrass Area Agent serving Maricopa, Pinal, and Yavapai counties, has been inducted as a Fellow by the Western Society of Weed Science. Kai has been an area extension agent for turfgrass science since 2003, working with golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, and commercial landscapers. His turfgrass extension program areas of emphasis are in weed science and pest management. He began his career with Cooperative Extension in 1994 working in vegetable crops and has always worked closely with University research and extension faculty, as well as collaborating with private and public researchers. Congratulations to Kai on this prestigious honor.

Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge Treatment Truck on Display 6/6/18

Come learn about the technology that was used to purify waste water in the Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge.  University of Arizona researchers played key roles on this team from Pima County Southwest Water Campus. The truck will be parked in front of the Forbes Building on Wednesday June 6th from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Tucson Water staff will be on hand to provide tours.

More info available at: http://www.azpurewaterbrew.org/faqs.html

24th Annual Southwest Noxious, Invasive Plant Short Course

July 24-26, 2018; Farmington, NM

The primary purpose of this regional 3-day Short Course is to explore the ecology and management of noxious, invasive weeds that threaten economic and ecologic interests of the southwestern U.S., with special emphasis placed on Arizona and New Mexico.   The course is broken into 2 tracks – "Beginning" (i.e., Track 1), for those wanting to learn about the various species of interest and basic management options for invasive plants, and "Advanced" (i.e., Track 2), for those interested in going beyond plant ID and basic management principles.  Although the short course is presented in 2 tracks you will be free to tailor your participation in a way that best fits your needs.  A field trip in air conditioned buses from Farmington, NM to Durango, CO on the afternoon of July 25 will provide many hands-on experiences with identifying noxious weeds and discussing various integrated weed management options with noxious weed experts from across the U.S.  For more details, click here --> https://www.regonline.com/SWweedshortcourse2018.

New Extension Publications


Kathleen Walker,  Hayley Yaglom, Dawn H. Gouge, Maureen Brophy, Mariana Casal, Veronica Encinas Ortiz

The brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus, has a worldwide distribution and is found throughout the United States (US) and Mexico. This tick is driving epidemics of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in Arizona and northwest Mexico. As the name suggests, the tick mainly takes blood meals from dogs, but it will also feed on humans and other mammals, and can carry serious disease causing pathogens. In the early 2000’s it was found to transmit Rickettsia rickettsii, (a gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium) that causes RMSF in Arizona. This was the first time this tick species has been associated with the disease in the US (Demma et al. 2005). Similar outbreaks occurred at the same time in Sonora and more recently in Baja California (Alvarez- Hernandez et al. 2017).
Common Terms In Water Recycling And Agricultural Irrigation
Jessica Dery, Channah Rock, Jean McLain, Daniel Gerrity 

All water is used and reused naturally in what is called the water, or hydrologic, cycle. There are also many ways to reuse our water supplies using advanced treatment technologies and processes that allow for the safe reuse of water in diverse ways, such as in agricultural irrigation. Thoughtful integration and management planning of all our valuable water resources can minimize environmental impacts and contribute to economic and social endurance, through a concept called One Water. The following glossary covers some of the common terms and concepts used in water reuse and agriculture, technologies and processes, policy and laws, and reflects current regulations in Arizona.


E. coli Prevention and Control in Fresh Produce from Farm-to-Fork
Paula Rivadeneira, Channah Rock, Jean McLain, Natalie Brassill, Jessica Dery, Rebecca Urzua

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common bacterium found naturally in the digestive systems of warm blooded animals and soil and is not normally harmful. However, certain types of E. coli produce toxins, called Shiga Toxins, that are harmful. These Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, also called STEC, are significant foodborne pathogens that cause illness in approximately 265,000 people in the United States each year (Scallan, 2011). There are numerous steps along the farm-to fork continuum where growers, harvesters, shippers, and processors implement prevention and control methods to minimize risk from foodborne pathogens, with the goal of ensuring that only the safest fresh produce reaches consumers’ tables.  Since 2007, growers of fresh produce in our state have been voluntarily following equally strict, and even more specific, guidelines developed by the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) as enforced by the Arizona Department of Agriculture (https://www.arizonaleafygreens. org). You may ask, “If guidelines are so strict and if growers are so cautious, why do people still get sick from outbreaks of E. coli and other foodborne pathogens?” This paper will provide a roadmap of how fresh produce travels from farm-to-fork, identifying potential routes of contamination. We also describe the preventative controls that are implemented by the fresh produce industry at each stop to reduce the potential for microbial contamination, and how consumers can take simple steps to maintain safe foods eaten in their homes or in restaurants.  

 
Scorpions of the Desert Southwest United States
Dawn H. Gouge, Shujuan Li, Christopher S. Bibbs, Shaku Nair
 
Scorpions are predatory arachnids related to spiders, mites, and ticks. They are some of the oldest known terrestrial arthropods (animals with an external skeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed limbs). Scorpions have an elongated body and a segmented tail that ends in a stinger that can deliver a venomous sting. They have four pairs of legs and pedipalps with plier-like pincers on the end, used for grasping. There are close to 2,000 described species of scorpions worldwide, at least 100 in the U.S., and more than 50 species in the desert southwestern states. Scorpions have long been of concern and interest to humans primarily due to their ability to give painful, and sometimes life threatening stings, but also because they are important and beneficial components of many ecosystems.


Cotton stem blight and boll rot is caused by the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Hu et al. 2018). This pathogen can attack hundreds of plant species including many important agricultural crops such as vegetables, legumes, sunflowers, canola, many flowering bedding plants, and stone fruits (Kohn 1979). The disease caused by Sclerotinia spp. is commonly referred to as white mold. The disease is favored by cool temperature (between 59 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit) and moist conditions under a closed plant canopy. S. sclerotiorum is a soil-borne fungus that usually infects the lower stem and other foliage tissues near the soil surface and can attack roots of some plant species. However, the primary impact of white mold on cotton is manifested in yield losses, although cotton stand establishment and seed quality could be affected by this disease. Due to wet and cool weather conditions during the “monsoon” season in the southeast Arizona, fields with a history of bean production will have an increased risk of cotton boll rot and stem blight.
 

University Career Architecture Project: Merging Staff and APs

Classified Staff and Appointed Professional employment groups are merging: Learn more about UCAP

The University Career Architecture Project (UCAP) is a UA-wide 2 year project scheduled to go live July 2019 that will merge Staff and APs, provide greater career structure and progression paths, and allow for market-based salary ranges for all positions. To learn more, get involved, and keep apprised of progress visit the official project website. Make sure you check out the FAQs page, as many of your questions about the project are addressed here!

TMN Submittal Process

Please submit your news to TMN [tmn@cals.arizona.edu]
Subscribe to our email list.