Fruit Gardener May/June,2008

Volume 40, No. 3 - May & June 2008

U.S. $5.00; Foreign Surface $6.00; Foreign Air $8.00
(Ordering information)

Photo by
Ron Couch

Features
Wonderful Wild bees: America’s wild bees might be especially needed in view of various maladies that afflict our most important pollinator, the European honey bee. Inside the front cover, Marcia Wood tells why these unheralded insects have suddenly become important, and she describes current research into their possible uses.
Fruitful Viewing in Southern California: Our own Jamlady takes a holiday to Southern California in the hope of meeting some crfg members and getting a taste of unsual fruits. She realized both goals.

Pruning Fruit Trees: No matter the topic, Tom Del Hotal is always a popular presenter at chapter meetings
and at our annual Festival of Fruit. This general treatise on pruning fruit trees is actually derived from one of Tom’s presentations, and it’s just as good as in real time.

Improving Honey Bee Health: A disorder known as colony collapse disorder has stricken honey bees across the nation; entire colonies have simply disappeared. Some beekeepers have lost half or more of their bees. Alfredo Flores shows ARS scientists trying hard to find out why.

Roughing It in Central Central California: San Joaquin Valley chapter chair David Johnson has a lot going on in his backyard at the toe of the Sierra foothills. Would you believe he grows palms and bananas?

Honey Bee Genetics: Honey bees’ work drives industry to the tune of $15 billion annually. Alfredo Flores tells of work to improve the insects’ disease resistance and other desirable traits.

Africanized Honey Bees: As if honey bees and those who depend on them didn’t have enough problems, recent reports indicate that Africanized bees are again on the move, and hive usurpation continues unabated. A race against time is outlined succinctly by J. Kim Kaplan.

Pacifica Graduate Institute Farm and Orchard: Larry Saltzman recently visited Pacifica Graduate Institute Farm and Orchard. He was quite impressed with the facility’s mission as well as its layout. The pictures show why.

News & Notices: 2008 Festival of Fruit
Calendar

Departments
: Ask the Experts–THE AVOCADO REJOINDER
CRFG Kitchen–MIXED GOODIES
From the Editor
From the President
Fruit Forum
Jamming with Jamlady–A CALIFORNIA VACATION
Organic Gardening–PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE
Seed Bank
The Marketplace CRFG MERCHANDISE, CLASSIFIEDS