- Author: Olga Kuchment, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife
- Author: Mike Hsu
UC ANR part of team led by Texas A&M AgriLife combating huanglongbing disease
Citrus greening, or huanglongbing disease (HLB), is the most devastating disease for orange and grapefruit trees in the U.S. Prevention and treatment methods have proven elusive, and a definitive cure does not exist.
Since HLB was detected in Florida in 2005, Florida's citrus production has fallen by 80%. Although there have been no HLB positive trees detected in commercial groves in California, more than 2,700 HLB positive trees have been detected on residential properties in the greater Los Angeles region.
“It is likely only a matter of time when the disease will spread to commercial fields, so our strategy in California is to try to eradicate the insect vector of the disease, Asian citrus psyllid,” said Greg Douhan, University of California Cooperative Extension citrus advisor for Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties.
Now, a public-private collaborative effort across Texas, California, Florida and Indiana will draw on prior successes in research and innovation to advance new, environmentally friendly and commercially viable control strategies for huanglongbing.
Led by scientists from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the team includes three UC Agriculture and Natural Resources experts: Douhan; Sonia Rios, UCCE subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties; and Ben Faber, UCCE advisor for Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
$7 million USDA project
The $7 million, four-year AgriLife Research project is part of an $11 million suite of grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NIFA, to combat HLB. The coordinated agricultural project is also a NIFA Center of Excellence.
“Through multistate, interdisciplinary collaborations among universities, regulatory affairs consultants, state and federal agencies, and the citrus industry, we will pursue advanced testing and commercialization of promising therapies and extend outcomes to stakeholders,” said lead investigator Kranthi Mandadi, an AgriLife Research scientist at Weslaco and associate professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The UC ANR members of this collaboration will be responsible for sharing findings from the research with local citrus growers across Southern California, the desert region, the coastal region and the San Joaquin Valley.
“In addition to the ground-breaking research that will be taking place, this project will also help us continue to generate awareness and outreach and share the advancements taking place in the research that is currently being done to help protect California's citrus industry,” said Rios, the project's lead principal investigator in California.
Other institutions on the team include Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center, University of Florida, Southern Gardens Citrus, Purdue University and USDA Agricultural Research Service.
“This collaboration is an inspiring example of how research, industry, extension and outreach can create solutions that benefit everyone,” said Patrick J. Stover, vice chancellor of Texas A&M AgriLife, dean of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
HLB solutions must overcome known challenges
An effective HLB treatment must avoid numerous pitfalls, Mandadi explained.
One major problem is getting a treatment to the infected inner parts of the tree. The disease-causing bacteria only infect a network of cells called the phloem, which distributes nutrients throughout a tree. Starved of nutrients, infected trees bear low-quality fruits and have shortened lifespans.
Treatments must reach the phloem to kill the bacteria. So, spraying treatments on leaves has little chance of success because citrus leaves' waxy coating usually prevents the treatments from penetrating.
Second, while the bacteria thrive in phloem, they do not grow in a petri dish. Until recently, scientists wishing to test treatments could only do so in living trees, in a slow and laborious process.
Third, orange and grapefruit trees are quite susceptible to the disease-causing bacteria and do not build immunity on their own. Strict quarantines are in place. Treatments must be tested in groves that are already infected.
Two types of potential HLB therapies will be tested using novel technologies
The teams will be working to advance two main types of treatment, employing technologies they've developed in the past to overcome the problems mentioned above.
First, a few years ago, Mandadi and his colleagues discovered a way to propagate the HLB-causing bacteria in the lab. This method involves growing the bacteria in tiny, root-like structures developed from infected trees. The team will use this so-called “hairy roots” method to screen treatments much faster than would be possible in citrus trees.
“Even though a particular peptide may have efficacy in the lab, we won't know if it will be expressed in sufficient levels in a tree and for enough time to kill the bacteria,” Mandadi said. “Viruses are smart, and sometimes they throw the peptide out. Field trials are crucial.”
The second type of treatment to undergo testing is synthetic or naturally occurring small molecules that may kill HLB-causing bacteria. Again, Mandadi's team will screen the molecules in hairy roots. A multistate team will further test the efficacy of the most promising molecules by injecting them into trunks of infected trees in the field.
A feasible HLB treatment is effective and profitable
Another hurdle to overcome is ensuring that growers and consumers accept the products the team develops.
“We have to convince producers that the use of therapies is profitable and consumers that the fruit from treated trees would be safe to eat,” Mandadi said.
Therefore, a multistate economics and marketing team will conduct studies to determine the extent of economic benefits to citrus growers. In addition, a multistate extension and outreach team will use diverse outlets to disseminate project information to stakeholders. This team will also survey growers to gauge how likely they are to try the treatments.
“The research team will be informed by those surveys,” Mandadi said. “We will also engage a project advisory board of representatives from academia, universities, state and federal agencies, industry, and growers. While we are doing the science, the advisory board will provide guidance on both the technical and practical aspects of the project.”
Project team members:
—Kranthi Mandadi, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
—Mike Irey, Southern Gardens Citrus, Florida.
—Choaa El-Mohtar, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Citrus Research and Education Center.
—Ray Yokomi, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Parlier, California.
—Ute Albrecht, University of Florida IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center.
—Veronica Ancona, Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center.
—Freddy Ibanez-Carrasco, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Department of Entomology, Weslaco.
—Sonia Irigoyen, AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.
—Ariel Singerman, University of Florida IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center.
—Jinha Jung, Purdue University, Indiana.
—Juan Enciso, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Weslaco.
—Samuel Zapata, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Department of Agricultural Economics, Weslaco.
—Olufemi Alabi, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Weslaco.
—Sonia Rios, University of California Cooperative Extension, Riverside and San Diego counties.
—Ben Faber, University of California Cooperative Extension, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
—Greg Douhan, University of California Cooperative Extension, Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties.
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- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Spinelli named UCCE horticulture advisor
Gerardo Spinelli joined UC Cooperative Extension in San Diego County as a production horticulture advisor on Oct. 12, 2020. He will work with nurseries, floriculture and controlled environment plant production.
Prior to joining UCCE San Diego, Spinelli worked for the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz county since 2015 in irrigation and nitrogen management for strawberry and lettuce. He collaborated with Michael Cahn, UCCE advisor and technical expert for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency's conservation program, to promote the adoption of CropManage to optimize nitrogen and irrigation in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
He has also worked on nutrient and pest management in vegetables, lettuce hydroponic production and anaerobic soil disinfestation in banana at University of Hawaii, Manoa, and was a UCCE farm advisor for irrigation and vegetables in Stanislaus County. He also worked in Honduras on an irrigation development project providing technical assistance for smallholder corn and watermelon growers, and in London designing and installing landscape irrigation systems. He also lived in Lebanon, where he introduced integrated pest management in apple and olive production, rebuilt irrigation channels for tobacco and vegetable growers, began a queen bee breeding program and built sewage lines for the Wavel refugee camp.
Spinelli grew up in Italy on an olive and vegetable farm on the hills overlooking Florence and is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish.
He earned a B.S. in agronomy, an M.S. in tropical agriculture at the University of Florence, and a Master of International Agricultural Development and Ph.D. in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis, focusing on plant physiology and water stress in almond orchards.
Spinelli is based in San Diego and can be reached at (858) 822-7679 and gspinelli@ucanr.edu.
Amaral named pomology, water and soils advisor
Douglas Amaral joined UCCE in Kings and Tulare as pomology, water and soils advisor on Oct. 1, 2020.
Before joining UCCE, Amaral was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. His research has focused on the physiology and biochemistry of plant nutrient uptake, and molecular and genetic aspects of nutrient acquisition and tolerance in citrus, almonds, pistachios and other crops.
Amaral, who was born and raised in Brazil, is fluent in Portuguese and English. He earned a Ph.D. in plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, an M.S. in plant nutrition and soil fertility at Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, and a B.S. in biological sciences at University Center of Lavras, Brazil.
Amaral is based in Hanford and can be reached at (559) 852-2737 and amaral@ucanr.edu.
UCCE poster, newsletters win NACAA awards
Three California state winning entries received national recognition at the recent annual meeting and professional improvement conferences of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) held virtually in late September and early October.
Michael Rethwisch, UCCE field crops advisor for Riverside County, and student assistant Kassandra Allan won a national NACAA award for their applied research poster, “Dingy cutworm pheromone lures are not highly attractive to the closely related granulate cutworm.” Rethwisch was also selected to give a presentation on comparative insecticide efficacy for lygus bug control.
The UC Dairy Newsletter was a national finalist entry and western regional winner in the Team Newsletter competition. UCCE advisors Jennifer Heguy, Daniela Bruno, Joy Hollingsworth and Betsy Karle collaborate on the newsletter.
The University of California Cooperative Extension Subtropical Horticulture News by Sonia Rios, UCCE subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties, was the western regional winner for individual newsletter.
CAPCA honors Wilen for "Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture"
Cheryl Wilen, UCCE integrated pest management advisor emeritus for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, received the 2020 Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award by the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA).
The Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant contribution to California agriculture. The former leader of UC ANR's Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases Strategic Initiative is known for her research and development of integrated pest management strategies for the turf, ornamental horticulture and nursery industries. Over the course of her career, Wilen has helped reduce the use of toxic pesticides, cut the cost of pest control and promote the use of environmentally sound methods in production.
Wilen, who retired from her 25-year UC ANR career in July, received the award during CAPCA's virtual annual conference on Oct. 12. She is currently on recall to serve as interim director for UCCE in San Diego.
4-H Youth Retention Study Team receives national award
The 4-H Youth Retention Study Team received the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Professionals' “Susan Barkman Award for Research and Evaluation” Oct. 20, during the association's virtual conference.
The Youth Retention Study examined the retention and drop-out rates (nearly 50%) of first year 4-H members over a seven-year period to understand why youth leave the 4-H program. They found a lack of communication and the inability to understand and navigate the 4-H program contributed to attrition. These findings led to development of a handbook for families to navigate the 4-H program and a Project Leader Checklist for implementing the 4-H project experience.
While the study focused on California, the team has engaged multiple states in an effort to document the national scope of this issue, and used the data to develop tools and strategies for addressing and extending that information through peer-reviewed articles, workshops and training.
The Youth Retention Study Team includes
- JoLynn Miller, UCCE advisor for the Central Sierra
- Kendra Lewis, University of New Hampshire State Specialist for Youth & Family Resiliency and former UCCE academic coordinator for evaluation for UC ANR Statewide 4-H Youth Development Program
- Marianne Bird, UCCE advisor for the Capital Corridor
- John Borba, UCCE advisor in Kern County
- Claudia Diaz-Carrasco, UCCE advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties
- Dorina Espinoza, UCCE advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties
- Russell Hill, UCCE advisor for Merced, Mariposa and Madera counties
- Car Mun Kok, UCCE advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties
- Sue Manglallan, UCCE advisor emeritus in San Diego County
- Kali Trzesniewski, UCCE specialist in UC Davis Department of Human & Community Development
Ronald becomes first woman to receive World Agriculture Prize
Pam Ronald, a UC Davis distinguished professor, whose work has revolutionized plant molecular genetics, has become the first woman to receive the World Agriculture Prize.
Ronald is recognized for her history of major discoveries in plant molecular genetics. In 1995, she isolated a key immune receptor that revealed a new mechanism with which plants and animals detect and respond to infection. Her discovery in 2006, with UC Davis plant scientist David Mackill, of a rice submergence tolerance gene facilitated the development of high-yielding, flood-tolerant rice varieties that have benefited millions of farmers in South and Southeast Asia.
The award ceremony will be virtually held at 5 p.m. on Nov. 30 from Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, China.
Read the full story by Amy Quinton at https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/plant-pathologist-pamela-ronald-named-gchera-world-agriculture-prize-laureate.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC ANR is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Each Friday during the celebration, Ricardo Vela, manager of News & Information Outreach in Spanish, is hosting online forums.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity for all of us at UCANR to educate ourselves about ethnic groups,” Vela said. “Learning about the struggles of the Latino community is to learn about the history of our country. The knowledge becomes critical for serving all Californians since Latinos are part of every layer of our society.”
Oct. 2, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Vela will discuss the Chicano Moratorium of 1970 with Isidro D. Ortiz, Ph.D., professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University, and Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition and human rights director of Alliance San Diego
Oct. 9, from 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., two journalists from Univision and a farm worker's human rights activist share their experiences with the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 in the Hispanic community, and why they think Latinos have been hit hard by the disease.
During the first group activity, participants discussed the Mexican American deportation that occurred between 1929 and 1936 with San Diego State professor Ortiz. They also discussed the terms Latinx, Hispanic and Chicano.
During the second session, participants met UC ANR Hispanic Heritage Month honorees Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties; Sonia Ríos, subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties; and Javier Miramontes, nutrition program supervisor for Fresno County.
The three spoke candidly about their experiences growing up in Mexico and in the U.S., family support as they pursued higher education and the communities they serve on behalf of UC ANR. Ríos, whose parents were farmworkers, said field workers know agriculture. “We need to listen to them,” she said.
During the uplifting forum, friends and family members of Diaz, Ríos and Miramontes spoke proudly of their accomplishments. A representative of the Mexican consulate congratulated all three honorees.
For more information about upcoming events and to register, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Hispanic_Heritage_Month/Hispanic_Heritage_Month_2020/Zoom_Forums_Calendar.
- Author: Sonia Rios
- Author: Roger A. Baldwin
First, remember that the desire to avoid any kind of an interaction is mutual. Rattlesnakes are an important part of the ecosystem, feeding on rodents, birds, and other small animals. Snake season in Southern California runs from April through October, but the warmer the weather, the more the reptiles are likely to be out and about. Rattlesnakes are California's only native venomous snake, with some adults reaching up to 6 feet long.
According to the California Poison Control Center notes, rattlesnakes account for more than 800 bites each year, with one to two deaths. About 25 percent of the bites are "dry," meaning no venom was injected, but the bites still require medical treatment.
There are nine species live in various areas of the state and their size can vary.
- According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Guidelines (2014),the most widespread rattlesnake in California is the western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), found from the northern part of the state as far south as Santa Barbara County and from sea level to 7,000 feet.
- Two closely related species (C. helleri and C. lutosus) are found in coastal Southern California and in the northern Sierra Nevada, respectively.
- The sidewinder (C. cerastes) is the smallest rattlesnake and is so named because of its peculiar method of sideways locomotion. The sidewinder is sometimes called the horned rattler because of the hornlike scales above its eyes. It is most commonly found in sandy desert areas from below sea level to 6,000 feet.
- The Mohave rattlesnake (C. scutulatus) ranges across the desert and foothills of southeastern California from sea level to higher elevations.
- The southwestern speckled rattlesnake (C. mitchellii) ranges from Baja California northward across much of the Colorado, Mojave, and Sonoran Deserts, overlapping with the red diamond rattlesnake (C. ruber) in western parts of its range and the sidewinder farther east.
- The Panamint rattlesnake (C. stephensi) is closely related but has a more northerly distribution in the inland desert regions of Southern California.
- The red diamond rattlesnake is found in Baja California, and in southwestern California south of Los Angeles. The western diamond-backed rattlesnake (C. atrox) is seldom seen in California but occurs in the extreme southeastern part of the state in desert regions.
Of the nine species of rattlesnakes in this region, the western diamondback rattlesnake is probably the most dangerous because of its size and aggressive nature. State experts say the diamondback can be found primarily in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Most trees crops that are found in this county that are at risk for hosting these snakes are avocados, citrus and dates.
This vertebrate pest can cause a threat to workers conducting routine agriculture cultural practices such as irrigating, fertilizing, and harvesting. In the deserts of Riverside and Imperial county where the laborious date palms are grown, rattle snakes can cause a threat to harvesters if orchard vegetation is left uncontrolled. The snakes are also attracted to water, so irrigators can run the risk of coming into contact with the snakes
Biology and behavior
Rattlesnakes are thick-bodied snakes with keeled (ridged) scales in a variety of colors and patterns. The National Wildlife Federation reported that rattlesnakes typically live for 10 to 25 years. Most species are patterned with dark diamonds, rhombuses or hexagons on a lighter background. Rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous, which means that eggs incubate inside the mother's body. Babies are born live, encased in a thin membrane that they puncture after being born.
They are among the group of snakes called pit vipers because of the small pits on each side of the head between the eye and nostril. These pits are temperature-sensitive structures that assist the snake in finding prey, even in complete darkness. The tongue is also used to detect the scent of prey.
Rattlesnakes have a specialized venom delivery system. Venom is produced in glands behind the eyes and then flows through ducts to the hollow fangs. Normally the fangs fold back against the roof of the mouth and when a snake strikes, the fangs pivot forward to inject venom.(Kardong and Bels, 1998).
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends being alert and also having a sense of where a rattlesnake could be at a particular time of day. After a cold night, the snakes will try to raise their body temperatures by laying out in the sun around mid-morning. To prevent overheating during the day, they may be more active at dusk, dawn and nighttime hours. Though they are not nocturnal, in the hot summer months they may be more active at night.
Management
The nine species of rattlesnakes found in California are not considered endangered or threatened. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Code classifies rattlesnakes as native reptiles. California residents can take most rattlesnake species on private lands in any legal manner without a license or permit, although a bag limit of two still applies. Additionally, the red diamond rattlesnake (C. ruber) is prohibited from being taken or killed by state wildlife regulation.
Habitat modification
Most rattlesnakes seek cover in crevices of rocks, under surface objects, beneath dense vegetation and in rodent burrows, so eliminating potential shelter is critical. Adults eat live prey, primarily rodents; the young consume mostly lizards and young rodents. Controlling the vermin population in your orchard is an important factor as the rodent burrows can become a snake's new homes. Weed management in orchards are critical during the warmer months. The vegetation can be a habitat for snakes. In addition, pruning or removing old trees from the orchard, proper disposal of the wood is important. Stacking or saving the wood in piles create a habitat for the rattlesnakes.
Exclusion
Structures for farming operations can vary in size and age. Chemical sheds, equipment garages, machinery shops are infamous to hosting snakes. In summer, rattlesnakes may be attracted to cool and/or damp places, such as beneath buildings. Sealing all cracks and other openings greater than 1/4 inch can prevent them from entering. Gaps beneath doors are often large enough to permit snakes to enter, especially young ones.
Benefits
According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Guidelines (2014), rattlesnakes add to the diversity of our wildlife and are important members of our ecosystem. They can reduce the number of disease carrying rodents and other pest species. In general, they should be left alone, whenever possible, especially in wildland areas. Nonvenomous snakes, such as gardener snakes should also be left alone wherever found.
References
California Department of fish and Wildlife. https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Keep-MeWild/Rattlesnakes. Accessed 20 June 2019.
California Poison Control. https://calpoison.org/topics/rattlesnakes. Accessed 20 June 2019. Kardong, K. V. and Bels, V. L. 1998. Rattlesnake strike behavior: kinematics. Journal of Experimental Biology, 201(6), 837-850. National Wildlife Federation. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/WildlifeGuide/Reptiles/Rattlesnakes. Accessed 20 June 2019.
Salmon, T. P., D. A. Whisson, and R. E. Marsh. 2006. Wildlife Pest Control Around Gardens and Homes. 2nd ed. Oakland: Univ. Calif. Agric. Nat. Res. Publ. 21385.
Todd, B., T.P. Salmon, D.A. Whisson and R.E. Marsh.University of California Integrated Pest Management Guidelines http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74119.html. Accessed 20 June 2019.
Walter, F. G., U. Stolz, F. Shirazi, J. McNally. 2009. Epidemiology of severe and fatal rattlesnake bites. Philadelphia: American Association of Poison Control Centers' Annual Reports. Clin. Toxicol. 47:663-669.
- Author: Norma De la Vega
Es una fruta una tropical, baja en azucares y alta en ácidos grasos, que le da el toque deleitable a tacos, tortas, ensaladas, sopas y hasta al artesanal Sushi. De hecho, el aguacate, cuyo nombre proviene del náhuatl “ahuacatl” fue considerado en México, país de origen -junto con Guatemala- y principal productor, el alimento de los dioses.
"Le va bien a todos los platillos, y eso lo ha hecho muy popular especialmente en las últimas dos décadas," subraya Sonia Ríos, asesora agrícola en el condado de Riverside de la División de Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de California.
English Summary: Avocado is a popular fruit; its demand still growing at the same time that its production is getting very challenging. UC ANR has played a critical role in the cultivation of this fruit, providing advice to small farmers as well as offering seminars about the best techniques to remain competitive in global marketing. |
California es el principal productor de aguacate en los Estados Unidos, aquí se produce el 90 por ciento de la fruta local y se ha cultivado en el estado desde hace más de cien años. "Fue traído a California en la década de 1890 y se convirtió en un cultivo comercial principalmente para consumidores en California y el gusto por esta fruta ha ido creciendo gradualmente en otros sitios del país," señala Ben Faber asesor agrícola en el condado de Ventura.
De acuerdo al último reporte oficial disponible, en 2017 su cultivo generó 392 millones de dólares. La División de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de California, UC ANR, ha jugado un papel crítico en su producción, brindando asesoría a los productores en todos los aspectos que engloba su cultivo, además que imparte seminarios sobre las mejores técnicas de agricultura para que los productores se mantengan competitivos en el mercado global.
En los Estados Unidos, durante muchos años se le clasificó como un alimento étnico porque los inmigrantes eran prácticamente quienes lo consumían, pero en cuanto los estadounidenses se fueron animando a probarlo, rápidamente se corrió la voz, que era una fruta sabrosa y muy nutritiva. Características que le han ayudado a conquistar los paladares más exigentes. Así que la demanda continua creciendo, mientras en 2016, el consumo per cápita era 2.23 libras ,esto aumentó a 7.1 libras en 2017, pero a medida que crece la demanda también han ido aumentando los retos de producción.
"Cultivar aguacates es un desafío aquí en California," indicó Faber durante una visita a un rancho como parte de los talleres educativos que UC ANR ofrece a pequeños agricultores.
El árbol de aguacate tiene un sistema de raíces poco profundas por lo que se necesita regar con poca agua, pero con frecuencia y necesita agua de buena calidad. "En donde cultivamos aguacates a lo largo de la costa, el agua tiende a ser de baja calidad, tiene sal y necesitamos filtrarla por lo que el agua que usamos es muy cara," añade Faber.
En 2018, la producción disminuyó en 44 por ciento, debido al calor extremo que se registró en el verano del 2017 y a consecuencia del cambio climático y sus efectos negativos como son sequías, incendios y más. “Los aguacates están amenazados cada año por los incendios forestales en cualquier lugar de California en donde se cultivan,” sostiene Faber.
Para ayudar a los productores de aguacate en sus retos los investigadores de UC ANR imparten seminarios cada año con una amplia diversidad de temas y se diseñan cursos específicos para cada condado o región donde se produce como son San Diego, Riverside y las áreas en la costa central y costa central del norte. Algunos de los temas son: mercadotecnia, manejo de plagas, uso del agua, ciencia del suelo. También se organizan debates en mesas redondas y visitas de campo. "Enseñamos prácticamente todo lo que necesitan saber para tener una cosecha exitosa", sostiene Ríos.
El éxito es crucial, después de todo a los estadounidenses les encanta el aguacate.
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