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The combined almond pollen collection results for colonies with different strengths used in 1970 are listed in table 1. Results are expressed as average grams of almond pollen collected per colony during the seven-day and ten-day collection periods and as a percentage of pollen collected by four-frame colonies. (A minimum standard colony of honeybees for almond pollination was defined in 1968 by the California Beekeepers Association as having an actively laying queen and four frames completely covered with bees at the beginning of almond bloom.)

Under mild winter conditions in California's Central Valley (mean temperature about 50°F) moderate amounts of artificial wind had no effect on beef cattle performance. Artificial rainfall reduced performance somewhat, depending on the amount of “rain.” Muddy pens seriously affected production, reducing the rate of gain by about 35 per cent and increasing the amount of feed required per lb of gain by about 25 per cent.

OUTDOOR EXPERIMENTS for control of powdery mildew of rose, resulting from infection by Sphaerotheca pannosa, were conducted at Livermore in 1969. Twelve plants of the variety “Forever Yours” were used per treatment, and each treatment was replicated three times. The roses were sprayed once every two weeks (with two exceptions when the intervals were three weeks) from July 23 until November 24 and 25 when results were recorded. All treatments were applied as sprays and all of the foliage was treated to the point of run-off. Triton B1956 spreader-sticker was added to each spray treatment at the rate of 1.2 ml (¼ tsp) per gallon.

A program designed to rid strawberry varieties of viruses by meristem culture was initiated experimentally at U.C., Berkeley about three years ago. Some strawberry virus diseases can be controlled by prolonged heat treatment of the infected plants, however, there are other virus diseases that can not be eliminated by heat treatment. Meristem culture offers a means to control these heat-tolerant viruses. The meristems, or growing points, are small localized regions of active cell division. In meristem culture, these cells differentiate to form another strawberry plant. Approximately 70 per cent of the strawberry plants grown from individual meristems have been freed of all detectable viruses. This study has shown that a combination of both heat treatment and meristem culture is effective in eliminating viruses from strawberry plants.

In processed tomatoes production of ripe fruit was significantly affected by irrigation schedules. Within the range of the test treatments, the longer the period between irrigations, the higher the percentage of ripe fruit and of solids. However, there was a highly significant reduction in yield and an increase in the amount of sunburn as the irrigation interval increased from 10 to 15 and 20 days. The 10-day irrigation cycle appeared to be the most suitable practice, yielding the highest tomato tonnage per acre, and consistent with the evapo transpiration and the gypsum block records. Longer irrigation frequencies depressed yield, stressed the tomato plants, and increased the percentage of sunburned fruits. Pre-irrigation is a very important practice in the production of tomatoes on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.

Best treatments for control of Rhizoctonia pre- and post-emergence damping-off of cotton seedlings were: (1) Terra-Coat L-21 (PCNB-Terrazole) seed treatment plus PCNB-Terrazole in-furrow granular; and (2) Demosan seed treatment. Demosan seed treatment plus Demosan in furrow granular was no better than Demosan seed treatment alone. Terra-Coat L-21 seed treatment plus PCNB-Terrazole in-furrow granular gave excellent control in one trial without the basic mercury treatment. Intermediate in effectiveness were: (1) Vitavax seed treatment; (2) Terra-Coat L-21 seed treatment; and (3) PCNB in-furrow granular. However, Vitavax seed treatment was one of the best materials tested in two trials at the UC Meloland Field Station in Imperial Valley. Bay 78175 in-furrow spray effectively cantrolled Rhizoctonia damping-off in the only trial where it was applied.

No differences in fertility and hatchability of turkey eggs were observed when hens were inseminated with semen extended with three different diluents tested, as compared with undiluted semen.