Calag Archive

Earliness of fruit maturity is influenced to some extent by tree density. Data on fruit maturity taken during two successive years from close and widely spaced Washington Navel orange trees on Troyer citrange root-stock showed that maturity, as expressed by the solids/acid ratio, was reached earlier by fruit from widely spaced trees, than from trees which were more closely spaced. Rind color also developed sooner and was more intense in fruit from widely spaced trees.

Olive growers have had increasing difficulty. in getting their crops harvested by conventional hand-picking methods, not only in California but also in Spain and Italy. Over the past 30 years, many University of California workers have participated in research to develop mechanical harvesting of olives in California. Intensive research has also been conducted in Spain and Italy.

In southern california, Helix aspersa (Müller), or brown garden snail (BGS), is the most obvious introduced land mollusk. Outdoors, as opposed to a glasshouse environment, BGS occupies the same general habitat as several species of introduced slugs. Native land mollusks seldom invade cultivated areas, preferring undisturbed natural habitats.

Hunters and research workers took 2,267 deer from the 5,000-acre Hopland Field Station in southeastern Mendocino County from 1951 through 1974. About half of the deer were bucks taken by hunters and the remainder were antlerless deer shot or trapped for various scientific studies. Compared with this harvest of 12 deer per square mile of range per year, the average hunting kill for Mendocino County during the same period was only two deer per square mile per year. The heavier removal from the Hopland Field Station had no discernible effect on deer numbers, but fawn production and survival on the station were higher than elsewhere in the county. These records show that California deer populations can produce many more deer than are currently being taken with bucks-only hunting and very limited antlerless hunting.

A sparacus growers tend to seed at very high rates when they establish fields by the direct-seeding method. Many direct-seeded fields now being harvested in California had an initial plant population of over 100,000 plants per acre. In comparison, crown-planted fields are normally planted at a density of between 9,000 and 18,000 plants per acre, depending on whether single row or double row beds are used.

Backhoes have been used to remove trees from orchards for many years. In sandy soils, increased tree growth has resulted where large holes were dug for replanting as compared to trees planted conventionally.