Calag Archive

Many chemicals are available for brush control to reduce fire hazards around rural homes. These chemicals can also be used to reduce competition to desirable native trees and shrubs for landscaping. Livestock offer the preferred method of reducing the amount of dry grass and re-growth of brush seedlings. However, this article also discusses chemicals that can be used for this purpose.

SLOW stem elongation and the excessive time required for production of a salable plant have been problems with a number of nursery plants including the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). Aqueous spray applications of potassium gibberel-late concentrations made at specific intervals, over a 20-week-treatment period, offer the possibility of producing salable plants more rapidly than would be possible under ordinary nursery management practices.

Studies of the interaction of nutrients and toxic substances in soils of different acidity levels have shown that liming will raise the pH, increase the calcium supply and lower toxic levels of manganese and aluminum to tolerable amounts. When the pH of soil reaches 5.5, water soluble manganese is increased as compared with more alkaline soils. As the pH approaches 5.0, aluminum toxicity enters the picture. The amount of lime added should be regulated since an excess can induce deficiencies of iron, magnesium and other nutrients.

Use of the growth retardant chemical CCC offers floriculturists the possibility of producing dwarfed carnations for potted plant sales along with the now-popular chrysanthemum and poinsettia plants. However, several problems remain to be solved before it can become a commercial practice. Plants treated either by soaking a rooted cutting or by soaking the soil vary greatly in height and flowering time. This means that until further research is conducted, plants should only be grown and treated in small containers where selections for sale can be made near the time of flowering.

Trials and field use have demonstrated the effectiveness of the mechanical bait applicator to control gophers in orchards. The machine is most useful in orchards having large numbers of gophers and a grass cover crop.

Soil moisture suction, mechanical impedance through alteration of the air spaces in the soil, or a combination of both factors can influence the growth of tomato plants.