Topics in Subtropics

...

A recent trip to Spain was an opportunity to look at their cherimoya production practices. One of the most interesting is their ability to manage the tree through pruning to produce fruit off-season (in spring) when the prices are the highest.

Installing tree wraps on young trees provides protection to the trunk from applications of herbicides during weed management operations. Additionally, the wraps minimize light interception by trunk tissue thereby reducing sucker growth.

Jane Delahoyde, a PCA here in Ventura, recently found an unusual scale in lemon here. It is barnacle scale with a typically long Latin name - Ceroplastes cirripediformis. It is unlikely to be any worse than other scales, but it's something to keep our eyes on.

Bob Hill, a local Ventura PCA, saw an interesting mite he had never seen before and asked if I could id it. Well, I sent it in to Mark Hoddle and UCR and he turned it over to his student Ricky Lara to id it.