Topics in Subtropics

With hot, dry winds, the question came up this week about whether the hot temperatures or the low humidity would affect pollen viability. It turns out that both day and night time temperatures will affect pollen tube growth.

We've been getting reports of coast live oak decline along the coast, well, here's one of the causes: RIVERSIDE, Calif. A fungus associated with the western oak bark beetle is causing a decline in coast live oak trees in Southern California by spreading foamy bark canker disease.

We had a pretty mild winter, in spite of the freeze damage that occurred in the Central Valley. Now we are seeing what happens when there's not enough chilling to break bud. There is erratic flowering and leaf out. This can be quite pronounced in such trees as peach and apricots, apples and pears.

Two years ago we set out to study the impact of native bees on avocado fruit set. We applied for several grants unsuccessfully and turned to growers to see if there was interest. We raised $6,000 to start the project and have established 4 sites in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

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