All Issues

Chemical weed control is possible in direct seeded asparagus, according to these tests. However, a successful program may require a pre-emergent chemical that will give complete control for at least 4 to 6 weeks after crop emergence, and then a layby treatment for the rest of the season. Additional tests are needed before recommendations can be made. The University of California has no recommendations at present for herbicides in direct seeded asparagus planting. Federal registrations are available only for Vegiben and Paraquat when used pre-emergent to the asparagus.

FIELD EXPERIMENTS to Compare Streptomycin with copper for control of fireblight of pears were conducted on the Natomas Company Ranch, east of Sacramento, under conditions which were compatible with a commercial pear growing operation. This pear ranch was selected for use because of the extensive fireblight present there during 1969. The trees in this 12-year-old Bartlett pear orchard were planted 20 ft by 20 ft (109 trees per acre).

Under the conditions of these experiments, dehydrated comfrey was not a suitable ingredient for a laboratory rat ration at the 20% level, where it supplied half of the protein, and it was completely unsatisfactory at the 40% level. The swine digestion trial indicated that the comfrey used had a dry matter content of 12.1% digestible crude protein, and 52.7% TDN content. The ratings for crude protein, total digestible nutrient content and nitrogenfree extract were all lower for comfrey than for the control ration.

THERE ARE SEVERAL severe bottle-necks in the search for agricultural chemicals (toxicants, sterilants or repellents) to control navel orangeworm infestations in almond orchards. One is that the use of experimental or unregistered pesticides jeopardizes the sale of crops from test plots. Another concerns the scarcity of knowledge about the flights of moths within or between orchards and within entire communities. The tools to do this kind of assessment work are still crude and the manpower requirement is high. Individuals and various small research teams working in California have accumulated a large amount of information about this tenacious pest, but an economic control method for orchard infestations has not yet been determined.

Cattle Feedlot Operations have always been famous for their odor. Owners and operators of feedlots usually become insensitive to the odor or feel that it is not objectionable. But neighbors, especially those downwind, very often do not share this feeling. Complaints which then arise are sometimes translated into legal action to force changes or removal of the feedlot. Reactions to odors are notoriously subjective. Perfumers and food dealers employ persons who are especially skilled in detecting and identifying odors, especially pleasant ones. But on objectionable odors there is far less information, so it was felt that an objective way to measure compounds which cause odors would be helpful in determining the true source of odors. Although the principal interest was in feedlots, other agricultural operations such as dairy farms and horse ranches have similar problems which might also benefit from a broad-base study of the odor problem.

TENS OF THOUSANDS of acres of young Douglas-fir trees grow on good soils in Humboldt County. Most areas developed on previously logged areas and are between 5 and 25 years of age. Growth rates and stocking in these stands is generally good. Age class distribution on private land in the county is considerably out of balance, however, and faster growth in some areas would help maintain a steady supply of marketable size trees for forest products raw materials. The possibility of nitrogen fertilizer raising the rate of production for a long enough period to yield a satisfactory return on the investment, would give forest owners a very important tool.

Benomyl and thiabendazole fungicides reduced the number of diseased plants and increased the number of flowers harvested when used to treat Fusarium-infected corms of gladiolus. In one trial, a 1-minute dip of benomyl was equal to a 20-minute dip of thiabendazole when comparing number of flowers harvested.

EFFECTS OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS ON CALIFORNIA RANGE AS MEASURED BY WEIGHT GAINS OF GRAZING CATTLE. Bul. 846. This report summarizes the results of 54 field experiments dFsigned to evaluate the effects of nitrogertous fertilization of California rangeland as measured by weight gains of grazing cattle.