All Issues

Dwarfed peach and nectarine varieties, tests indicate, are more productive-for their size-than standard varieties. What remains in store for researchers: improvement of fruit quality.

Does agricultural research pay off economically and who benefits if it does? The writer says (a) it does and (b) consumers benefit the most. Some of the social costs, however, should be studied and their problems solved.

Breeding host-plant resistance to two spider mites would constitute a major development in the growing of soybeans in California. Some progress is indicated; more is necessary.

Tests with nitrification inhibitors show that they work: They prevent the leaching of nitrates beyond the reach of roots and thereby reduce the need of additional expensive applications of fertilizer.

Experiments conducted at Davis indicate that chip-budding of grapevines offers “take” results equal to that of T-budding without requiring much skill or the use of grafting compounds.