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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aRGENTINE ANT

ACP and Natural Enemies

October 3, 2022
By Ben A Faber
Natural enemies have significantly suppressed Asian citrus psyllid populations in southern California Ivan Milosavljevi, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA Christina D. Hoddle, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA David J.W.
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Brown marmoratted stinkbug

A Different Way of Evaluating Invasion

September 30, 2022
By Ben A Faber
A lot of work has been put into monitoring the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemitpera: Pentatomidae). It has been a major problem in many areas of the country, as well as California.
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avocado leaf wilted

Trees Need to Cool Too

September 27, 2022
By Ben A Faber
So what happens to an avocado tree when it runs out of water? The stomata close and stops transpiring. When water no longer evaporates from the leaf surface, it heats up. If it gets hot enough, and it will, the leaf sunburns and dies.
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mandarins with leaves

New Sugars from Citrus

September 26, 2022
By Ben A Faber
LAKE ALFRED, Fla.Americans' love affair with sugar can be a deadly attraction that sometimes leads to major health problems, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Finding natural, non-caloric sugar substitutes is desirable but challenging.
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Avocado weevil

The Smell that Saved the Avocado

September 21, 2022
By Ben A Faber
UC Riverside scientists are on the hunt for a chemical that disrupts evil weevils' mating and could prevent them from destroying California's supply of avocados. UCR entomologist Mark Hoddle in Mexico, hunting avocado weevils.
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