Topics in Subtropics

Fire, Flood, Freeze, Fytophthora. It seems like there is disaster around every corner these days. This can be tough for tree growers with a lot of investment in the ground. There has been a special USDA crop insurance available for Hass' avocado growers for several years.

There's a new Topics in Subtropics Newsletter available: Ah, Rats! ? So You Want To Install Soil Moisture Meters? ? Notes on Applying Gibberellic Acid (GA) to Navels in the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California ? Fall Leaf Tissue Sampling ?

We live in unusual times and every year is different, so we are bound to see things that are different, or see things differently. Recently a pest control advisor brought in a sample of what looked like black scale (Saissetia oleae) on the stems of avocado fruit.

Diseases, disorders and other plant problems are critical concerns for the wholesale nursery.

Wild pigs currently exist in 56 of California's 58 counties and can be found in a variety of habitats ranging from woodland, chaparral, meadow, grasslands and in agriculture cropping systems.