All Issues

Use of bulk containers to move fruit from the orchard to packing, or processing, plants is increasing in California.

Four variations in design, of bulk bins were compared in test runs in three cold storage rooms with different cooling capacities. A comparison with field boxes on pallets was made in one of the rooms.

Contamination of agricultural soils and crops by radioactive by-products of nuclear fission is under continuing study.

Preliminary field trials with a mechanical bait applicator indicate definite possibilities for a new method of controlling pocket gophers.

Properly timed trunk sprays with Dieldrin, Endrin, and Thiodan gave consistently better results than the standard DDT treatment in studies on the control of the Western peach tree borer—Sanninoidea exitosa graefi (Hy. Edw.)—during the past several seasons.

The moisture sensing unit—a porous cup—of tensiometers must be reached by the irrigation water if the moisture measuring instruments are to be of practical value as guides to irrigation practices.

Water moves upward from the water table level by capillary action to the soil surface and evaporates, leaving the salts in the soil. However, the water table must be close to the soil surface for long periods of time for the upward movement and evaporation of the water to take place. Poor soil drainage and inadequate control of irrigation water contribute to the salinity problem.

An easily made device—a square-edged orifice—for measuring the rate of water flow in sprinkler irrigation pipe was the most accurate of several such devices evaluated at Davis.

Soil moisture desorption information can be measured accurately in the laboratory with a relatively simple research tool—porous membrane apparatus—and used to determine the energy status of water in the soil.