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In parts of the alfalfa seed producing areas in the southern San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, toxaphene has lost some of its original toxicity to lygus bugs. Where such toxicity loss occurs, toxaphene applied early in the year generally provides satisfactory control, but when applied late in the season control of the lygus bugs is poor.

The incidence of resistance to certain acaricides by the European red mite—Panonychus ulmi (Koch)—has increased severely during the past few seasons. The acaricides were organic phosphate compounds and such specific acaricides as Ovex and other closely related compounds, Chlorobenzilate and Kelthane. All of the observations on European red mite resistance in California have been from the field. Laboratory studies have not been conducted due to the difficulty of rearing this mite species under artificial conditions.

Larger strawberries is one of the prime objectives of the current plant breeding program because harvesting cost decreases as frun. size increases.

Low populations of beet leafhoppers, rare incidence of curly top infection, and an almost complete absence of crown blight in the melon producing area of the Colorado desert in the spring and early summer of 1959 coincided with a good melon crop.

A one-half cooling time of 47 minutes for eight tons of vine-ripe tomatoes was achieved in a test to develop information on forced-air cooling rates.

Plant growth, fruiting time, and yield of cotton were studied during four years of research with systemic pesticides on cotton in Kern and Fresno counties.

Clothes moths and carpet beetle larvae—the fabric insects of most economic importance—are dependent for normal development upon vitamins contained in woolen fibers and certain vitamins within the B-complex.

Leaf analysis as a tool for effective diagnosis and correction of micronutrient deficiencies or excesses in citrus requires determination of the seasonal trends of zinc, copper, boron, manganese, and iron concentrations in the leaves.

Some 900 steers were included in the first of a series of trials designed to field test feeds, feeding practices, and the reported benefits accruing from the addition of an enzyme to a feed lot finishing ration.