Topics in Subtropics

In a recent citrus meeting in San Diego County we asked how many growers were using soil moisture monitoring equipment to help schedule their irrigations. Only 3 people out of 40 indicated that they were using some sort of equipment to monitor soil moisture.

South African plant pathologists were the first to show that root rot in avocado could be controlled by trunk injection with both phosphorous acid and the patented material Aliette.

Growers are faced with an ever-changing list of commercial tools, each with the promise of providing some advantage to the farmer.

Alternate or biennial bearing is a phenomenon where fruit production alternates between large crops consisting of smaller, lower value fruit during an "ON" year and smaller crops consisting of larger, higher value fruit during an "OFF" year.

In 1985, H. Schneider and J. Pehrson published an article documenting a decline of Frost Nucellar navel oranges on a number of trifoliate rootstocks (H. Schneider and J.E. Pehrson, Jr. 1985. Decline of navel orange trees with trifoliate rootstocks. California Agriculture. Sept. Oct. 1985 p.