Topics in Subtropics

In the earliest days of human flight, before the invention of the first radio beacons and ground-based electronic systems, and modern GPS, pilots commonly navigated by following roads and railways striking linear landscape elements at ground level that guide towards a destination of interest.

Sandipa Gautam UCCE IPM Advisor California red scale is a common pest of California citrus attacking leaves, twigs, fruit by sucking plant sap. If the scale numbers are high serious damage can occur to the trees and highly infested fruit may be downgraded in the packinghouse.

Invasive shothole borers (ISHB) are beetles that tunnel into trees and introduce a fungal disease (Fusarium dieback) that can cause tree death. Well established in many areas of Southern California and the Central Coast, the beetle-disease complex has killed thousands of trees.

California is in a severe winter storm making conditions ideal for diseases caused by Oomycetes, also called water molds, especially Phytophthora species, which thrive in waterlogged soils and areas with standing water for periods of time.

Dimocarpus longan, commonly known as the longan and dragon's eye, is a subtropical tree species that produces edible fruit. There are numerous cultivars of longan, but only 30 to 40 are grown commercially. In the United States, longan is grown in Hawaii, Florida, and South California.