BRUSH COUNTRY HORTICULTURE
JUNE, 1998 VOL. 9, NO. 6

IN THIS ISSUE:
SMOKY HAZE
VALLEY PRODUCE
IN THE WORKS
4-H REQUEST
FLORAL BLUEBONNETS

SMOKY HAZE -----

As you know, the smoke from wildfires in Mexico and Central America has created hazy conditions over south Texas for the last four weeks--and shows little indications of dissipating soon. The various media have raised the question of impact on plant life in the area, so I'll share with you what I believe.

Generally, there has been a limited reduction in daily light intensity, but we undoubtedly receive more sunlight than needed for optimal plant growth anyway, so I do not expect any negative effect on fruit trees and ornamentals.

On the plus side, temperatures have been a very little cooler than they would have been, and humidity has been a little higher than normal. The combination of lower sunlight, lower temperature and higher humidity has resulted in lower evapotranspiration losses, so soil moisture and irrigation should be lasting a little longer than normal.

Hopefully, the weather patterns that have brought this smoke to us for so long will change for the better, as it is obvious that the current pattern is not going to bring any much-needed rainfall into the area.

Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist

VALLEY PRODUCE -----

The Valley citrus season is over, as the last loads of grapefruit and Valencia oranges rolled out a week or so ago. Onion harvest finished before that--and it looks like onion growers had a good year. Melons and cantaloupes are still being harvested, but that should wind up before long. As the melon season closes, the emphasis shifts to crops such as grain, corn, beans and cotton.

Early indications are that the citrus crop should be up in the coming season. Whether that happens may be dependent on rainfall in the Valley and/or recharge (rainfall) in the watersheds, as the irrigation supply is critically short--and there has been no significant rainfall since February.

At this point, next fall and spring vegetable crops are in limbo--land preparation and planting starts in August and continues into about February or early March. Because the water supply is projected to drop to about 22 percent by the end of July, there will be very little planting in late summer or fall--unless the situation takes a dramatic turn for the better

Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist

IN THE WORKS -----

We occasionally receive requests for information about some lesser-known fruits, which we can readily answer, but for which we have nothing to hand out. Consequently, we identified four fruit for which we needed written information. At this point, I have written them up in the Home Fruit Production format and they are being reviewed by colleagues. When the reviews are completed, they will be posted on the Web in the aggie-horticulture home page. The four are: guava, pomegranate, loquat and pineapple.

Further, I am in the process of writing up separate materials on lemons, limes and mandarins separately from to Home Fruit Production-Citrus. These will also be posted on the Web in the near future.

Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist

4-H REQUEST -----

I often hear that we don't have a lot of resource materials in horticulture in general, and fruits in particular, for the 4-H program in south Texas. Well, here's your opportunity to make a difference in that situation--call, write or E-mail (j-sauls@tamu.edu) your views as to what is needed in 4-H horticulture and I'll do what I can to develop those in fruits and maybe ornamentals.

One caution: generalities like "we need leader training materials" or "we need project ideas" are of no value to me--I need specifics and if possible, examples of similar materials or projects in other disciplines.

So, quitcherbeefing and get in touch.

Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist

FLORAL BLUEBONNETS -----

Wayne McKay and Tim Davis at the Research and Extension Center in Dallas have named and released two long-stemmed bluebonnets that they developed from native populations in far west Texas. 'Texas Sapphire' is blue while 'Texas Ice' is white.

Both varieties are long stemmed for floral use and are well suited to greenhouse culture--going from seed to flower in 4.5 to 6 months. Seed are available from Foundation Seed Service, TAMU, 11914 Highway 70, Vernon, TX 76384 (Phone 817/552-6226). Licensing information is available from the Technology Licensing Office, TAMUS, 310 Wisenbaker, College Station, TX 77843-3369 (Phone 409/847-8682).

Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist

JULIAN W. SAULS, Ph.D.
Professor & Extension Horticulturist
2401 East Highway 83
Weslaco TX 78596

***********************************************************************************

THE INFORMATION GIVEN HEREIN IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. REFERENCE TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OR TRADE NAMES IS MADE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT NO DISCRIMINATION IS INTENDED AND NO ENDORSEMENT BY THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE IS IMPLIED.

***********************************************************************************