Topics in Subtropics

It ain't over yet, and this last week we had a wonderful 2 day meeting with folks who have dealt with drought in many different ways. Here are presentations made by people from Israel, Australia and California. Soon the actual videos will be available, but now see the powerpoints. http://www.

So I got an email with an attached set of photos showing a number of 18 month avocado trees that had broken at the ground line in a wind storm.

I get a call. He: My trees not doing well. Me: What's the problem? He: It's yellow? Me: Have you looked at the roots? Are there roots? He: NO Me: I'll be out next week, but in the meantime, look at the root system.

All the media are full of stories about the impending El Nino effects and possible flooding rains in California. As I write this, it is the day before our first significant storm (Jan. 4) with a 100% chance of rain throughout Ventura county for tomorrow.

We hear about the decline in honeybees (non-native, from Europe and the most commonly managed bees), but native bees are declining too and in many instances these are the pollinators of California avocado. The loss of any pollinators is a loss for agriculture as well as the environment.