Valentine's Day plants trending upward
Live plants are gaining in popularity for Valentine's Day, with social media trends leading the way. Orchids are a top seller at one Sacramento-area nursery, with blooming succulents, tropical plants and African violets not far behind. One San Diego County grower said she's selling a lot of plants with pink blooms or leaves, as well as Anthuriums with heart-shaped flowers.
Tomato tonnage about steady this year
California tomato processors expect to handle about 12 million tons of fruit this year, a figure essentially unchanged from 2019. That's good news for the state's processing tomato growers, whose 2019 crop fell short due to late-season rain and hail. As export challenges linger, growers expect more of their harvest to be used domestically in products ranging from soup to salsa.
Natural and working lands offer potential for carbon reduction
California's working lands can help the state achieve negative carbon emissions by 2045, according to a study by Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Scientists found that increasing the uptake of carbon in natural and working lands, as well as converting waste biomass to fuels and storing the CO2, could together reduce annual carbon emissions by 109 million metric tons of the 125 million needed to reach the goal.
Oak trees may hold answer to devastating citrus disease
Scientists have found that applying oak leaf extracts inhibits the bacterium that causes the devastating citrus crop disease huanglongbing, or HLB. The disease has reduced Florida's citrus crop by 90% and led to plant quarantines in Southern California after being found in residential citrus trees. Scientists from the University of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated oaks after farmers observed citrus trees planted near oaks survived HLB.