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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PSHB damage

Reproductive Hosts of Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer

May 4, 2015
By Ben A Faber
Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer can go to over 100 and counting hosts, but the Fusarium that the ambrosia beetle carries can not reproduce on all tree species. It is this fungus that ultimately kills the tree.
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sowthistle

The Case for Attacking Weeds Before They Start Setting Seed

May 1, 2015
One point I always make is that the sooner you control annual weeds, the better. This reduces crop-weed competition, along with a host of other issues caused by weeds (we'll save that for another blog). But the real key to forward-looking weed management is to kill the weed before it produces seeds.
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mandarin rind disorder

Satsuma Rind Disorder

May 1, 2015
By Ben A Faber
There was a lot of odd looking, water-soaked Satsuma fruit showing up this year along the coast. It was showing up as late as March since fruit can hang so much longer along the coast than the Central Valley and hotter areas.
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Peruvian avocado

Avocados and Peru

April 27, 2015
By Ben A Faber
From Peru This Week, Hillary Ojeda: Unfavorable climate conditions around the world have increased demand from Peru. In February, the Ministry of Irrigation and Agriculture confirmed that Peru is the second largest exporter of avocados.
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