A new planting of 500 Tango mandarin trees is scheduled for this month and field preparations are well underway.  Senior Agricultural Technician Jose Hernandez uses heavy equipment to dig a trench for the irrigation line. 

The new orchard will provide trees for insecticide trials for Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell's citrus IPM program.  She plans to study the uptake and impact of systemic insecticides on various pests and the growth and development of young trees.  Beth is an IPM Specialist and Research Entomologist with the University of California, as well as the Director of Lindcove Research and Extension Center.  For more than 20 years Beth has been carrying out pesticide trials to determine the efficacy and suitability of selected chemical formulations for use against citrus pests in California.  To learn about key pests of citrus and pest management tools and information, log on or subscribe to Beth's Citrus Bug Blog.

The trees were propagated here at Lindcove REC.  Center staff grew the Carrizo rootstocks from seed in the greenhouse, and budded the trees with budwood purchased from the Citrus Clonal Protection Program.