Ongoing research

There is a running debate about whether avocado canopies should be skirted up, raised up so that you can see under the canopy. In doing so, the trees tendency is to maintain its bearing volume by increasing a similar amount in height that is lost by removing the bottom layer of canopy.

It's Veterans' Day, but to jumping spiders, it's just another day--another day to ambush unsuspecting prey. We spotted this jumping spider on an orchid cactus, Epiphyllum (Greek for "upon the leaf"). It was catching a little morning sun and poised for business.

Since our last article on high-density avocados appeared in Topics in Subtropics we have had a lot of questions from growers concerning the cost of installation of such a grove.

The Lone Star State will be far from "lone" or "alone" Nov. 10-13.

You see the darndest things in orchards, aside from all the junk that people throw out of their cars. Here's a case where someone had a little time on their hands and tattooed some fruit in the field. Apparently it was some pointed object that scared the skin and then it healed over.

"Would the extinction of honey bees lead directly to the extinction of humans?" That's a recent question posed on Quora, where folks can ask questions and receive answers. The answer is "no.

If you think people don't care about monarch butterflies, think again. A recent survey published in Conservation Letters showed that Americans are willing to spend at least $4.78 billion to help conserve monarchs (Danaus plexippus), one of the most recognizable of all insects.

From suddenoakdeath.org. The United Kingdom (UK) Forestry Commission has updated its P. ramorum larch outbreak map (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-86ajqa) to include Northern Ireland.

The UC system and Esri, the world leader in GIS software, have an agreement that allows each UC campus to distribute software to students and faculty.

There's been a lot of salt damage to fruit trees after two years of drought using poor quality water and not doing adequate leaching. The situation could be improved by knowing when to irrigate. Here's some guidelines on selecting soil moisture measuring devices.