Topics in Subtropics

This is the recent newsletter from the Ojai Pixie Tangerine Growers Association.  Emily Ayala is the author.  I thought this is a great wake up call for ALL Citrus Growers with all the rain we have had and will have.  Get that copper on. Ben Happy New Year! Well, we've got the rain…

2025 has been a rough year for the honey bees and their keepers. Reports of extreme colony mortality began in January, just before the almond bloom which requires the pollination services of an estimated 1.5 million colonies (Fenton, et al., 2025). As of July, honey bee colonies have reportedly dwindled by…

The registration label for Sivano use against Pink Hibiscus Mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)) was approved by DPR last year.  The label can be found at the following link, with dates listed on page 18:https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/agrian-cg-fs1-production/pdfs/Sivanto…

Transition to Organic Webinar SeriesWednesdays • January 14 – March 18, 2026 • Free virtual seriesHosted by CAFF, UC Organic Agriculture Institute (UC OAI), and UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE)Thinking about transitioning your crop operation to organic? Join us for a ten-week webinar series designed to guide…

I ‘ve often heard it said that it’s the soil that makes these two counties so appropriate for agriculture. Well, there are some pretty terrible soils here, as well as wonderful ones. The USDA has a classification for soils that describes all soils in the world. It’s based mainly on the rock it is formed from…