Topics in Subtropics

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Topics in Subtropics Blog
You can subscribe to this  blog with multiple entries per week reflecting what's happening with subtropical crops and upcoming educational events.  Just click on the "Subscribe" button just to the right of this paragraph.  There's also our seasonal quarterly Topics in Subtropics newsletter found at our Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, San Diego, Tulare and Kern Counties Cooperative Extension websites.
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chenopodium californicum

Was That Weed?

April 9, 2018
By Ben A Faber
Occasionally plants show up in our office for identification and no one in the office knows what it is. So it's sent off to to others who might know. This was the case of a perennial amaranth, also called goosefoot for some reason. The is Chenopodium californicum, also know as Blitum californicum.
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nitrogen avocado

Rocks are a Source of Nitrogen

April 6, 2018
By Ben A Faber
For centuries, the prevailing science has indicated that all of the nitrogen on Earth available to plants comes from the atmosphere. But a study from the University of California, Davis, indicates that more than a quarter comes from Earth's bedrock.
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blueberry gall midge

Blueberry Gall Midge?

April 6, 2018
By Ben A Faber
Several Florida blueberry growers have recently reported flower bud damage and corresponding fruit loss, in some cases up to 50% on certain affected cultivars.
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juice container

Which Way OJ?

April 4, 2018
By Ben A Faber
This is the summary of a recent article by Allen Morris, a retired University of Florida Extension Economist Even when a cure for HLB is implemented, unless something is done to stop the decline in orange juice consumption, the citrus-growing part of the industry will become too small to support the...
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vole 7

Got Voles?

April 2, 2018
Baldwin and Meinerz are UC Davis and Witmer and Werner are USDA/APHIA/Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center Voles are short, stocky rodents that often cause extensive girdling damage to a variety of tree and vine crops throughout California.
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