Calag Archive

Studies show that kiwifruit can be successfully canned, but that frozen, sliced kiwifruits are closest to fresh fruit in appearance and flavor.

Sometimes referred to as farm advisors in hip boots, University marine advisors devote their time to educational and applied research programs dealing with the development and use of marine resources.

The increased interest in redworms and their use as biological agents for several purposes has led to inquiries, by avocado growers and redworm industry representatives, about the worm's effectiveness in controlling avocado root rot caused by Phytophthom cinnamomi. At the request of the redworm industry, we initiated a greenhouse experiment to determine if the worms had any effectiveness in reducing root rot on avocados.

Damping-off of cotton seedling, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia soluni, can be a serious seedling disease in the interior valleys of southern California. Pythium spp. may cause some seed rot and seedling decline. Trials in previous years indicated combination treatments of two fungicides were superior to single fungicides for control. Trials were initiated in 1973 to compare new fungicide materials and combinations of older materials.

Powdery mildew disease of suger beet has been known for many years in Europe and the Middle East, but it was seldom seen in California before 1974. The sudden and widespread occurrence of the disease in 1974 throughout the western United States is difficult to explain but probably was due to the introduction or development of a virulent race of the pathogen in or near the Imperial Valley, from where it rapidly spread by windblown spores to other areas. The continued presence of the disease in all areas in 1975 and 1976 indicates that a pathogenic race of this fungus disease is here to stay.

During the last few years emphasis has been placed on wheat production in the Imperial Valley. In 1975-76 about 115,000 acres were planted to lurum and another 35,000 acres to “bread” wheat.

Evergreen broadleaf trees, such as tanoak (lithocarpus densiflorus [Hook & Arn] Rehd.) and madrone (Arbutus menziesii Pers.), infest almost a million acres, or 25 percent, of potentially productive redwood/Douglas-fir timber acreage in northern California and southwestern Oregon. The cut-surface method of injecting herbicides into the vascular systems of such undesirable tree species is an effective means of control. Recent interest in this method of hardwood tree control in forests can be attributed to several factors. One is the relatively poor long-term control of resprouting species provided by herbicide applications from aircraft. Another is that the cut-surface method increases selectivity; the user can treat only the trees he wishes to control, such as those of one species or size, leaving desirable trees. Cut-surface applications also confine the herbicide to the treated tree.

Consperse stink bug feeding on the fruit causes sunken areas or dimples on the surface under which white corky areas form in the flesh. (See fig. 1 and 2.) The bug usually feeds near the stem end, although it may attack other parts of the fruit. While feeding, the adult bug often leaves small, dark blotches of excrement on fruit and leaves.