All Issues

Noninfectious bud-failure, or crazy-top as it is often called, is a disorder that affects certain almond varieties and not others. The disorder occurs extensively in Nonpareil, Peerless, Jordanolo and, to a limited extent, Mission (Texas). It is not known to occur in Ne Plus Ultra, Davey, or IXL.

A part of the three-quarters of a million California acres long sown to California Mariout barley will begin to give way to the new Blanco Mariout after the 1961 harvest.

Infectious coryza, a respiratory disease of chickens, is caused by the bacterium Haemophilus gallinarum. The disease has continuously plagued sections of the poultry industry in California for a number of years. Since prevention and control measures have met with relatively little success, new approaches have been made to the study of the disease. Haemophilus organisms associated with recent field cases of coryza and airsac disease have been isolated and characterized for their cultural aspects, biochemical activities, specific antibodies formed against them, and their virulence in causing disease in chickens, chicken embryos, and mice. Similar studies have been made on other microorganisms found associated with H. gallinarum in diseased tissues, especially members of the genus Pasteu-rella. Whether the severe disease observed in field cases was caused by H. gallinarum alone or by a combination of agents is under investigation.

Chamise—Adenostoma fasciculatum—is the major component of about seven million acres of chaparral in California and occurs in almost solid stands in some areas.

Released for unrestricted propagation in the spring of 1960, three new strawberry varieties are available for trial in all California growing areas.

Damage to seed crops by lygus bugs—Lygus hesperas Knight—has occurred in alfalfa, beans and other legumes, carrots and other umbelliferous seed plants, and in sugar beets. The damage may be plant deformation, die-back, and reduction of seed yield and seed viability. Degree of damage varies considerably depending on type of damage, the crop involved, and the numbers of bugs.

The response of Bartlett pear trees to fertilizers is of continuing interest to pear growers in California. An extended series of trials to obtain facts with respect to this relationship was conducted in all of the major pear producing areas in the state. Immediate objectives varied among the trials but, in each case, response in yield to the application of nitrogen was determined.