January / February 2023

Crop Advising

Unwrapping the Possibility of Watermelon Grafting

By Zheng Wang

You will probably not surprise to see the grafting of fruit and nut tree crops and well understand the needs to do so. But when I am going to discuss watermelon grafting…

Irrigation

The Agronomy of Water

By Karl Wyant

Water ties all aspects of crop production together and is the largest input on most farm operations on a per-acre basis (both by volume and weight.) Aside from recent challenges with water…

Soil

Adapting Solutions: A Novel Product for Soil Salinity Management

By Raquel Gomez

It is estimated that approximately 78 million acres in the western San Joaquin Valley are affected by soil salinity, with 30% of that acreage categorized as strongly or extremely saline (Scudiero et…

Citrus

Properly Timed Foliar-Applied Urea and Phosphite Increase Citrus Yield and Fruit Size

By PCC

The goal of properly timed foliar-applied fertilizer is to increase the economic benefit derived from the grower’s fertilization program. In this strategy, fertilizer is applied at key stages in citrus tree phenology…

Irrigation

Irrigation Tools and Information for Efficient Water Management in California Avocado Production Systems

By PCC

In California, avocados are primarily grown in southern and central parts of the state along the coast. These regions face uncertain water supplies, mandatory reductions of water use and the rising cost…

Soil

The Key to Building a Soil that Can Suppress Pathogens Naturally

By Cassidy Million

When it comes to managing soilborne plant diseases, methods for reducing or eliminating the impact of pathogens have heavily relied on selecting a resistant plant variety and the use of pesticides for…

Nutrition

Phosphate vs Phosphite: Part One

By JW Lemons