IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED DEC 20, 2002:

1. MISTLETOE: A CHRISTMAS TRADITION AND A PARASITE
2. THE ARIZONA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT
3. ARID LANDS CONSORTIUM FIGHTS DROUGHT AND FAMINE
4. COMPANION ANIMAL: A REFERENCE BOOK
5. OZONE: THE FUTURE IN CITY WATER TREATMENTS
6. CAREER-WISE: PLANT SCIENCES
7. SCORPIONS
8. CONTROLLING WEEDS IN COLE CROPS
9. STRENGTHENING FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND THE MARKETPLACE
10. AWARDS, EVENTS, GRANTS

1 MISTLETOE: A CHRISTMAS TRADITION AND A PARASITE

Mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant that can kill some Arizona trees and shrubs. In fact, dwarf mistletoes are a common problem in conifer forests. In urban desert areas, the true mistletoe infests acacia, several kinds of palo verde, ironwood, mesquite, juniper, and oak.

Another mistletoe parasitizes cottonwood, sycamore, ash, walnut, hackberry, and willow. It is often a serious problem along rivers and streams, near washes, and on large cottonwood trees in parks and golf courses.

In a long process that can take years, mistletoe can eventually kill host plants. Infested branches and stems become swollen, but the parasite grows into the host plant well beyond such visible signs.

The only practical mehod to control mistletoe is pruning out infected branches approximately one foot below infected sites. Sometimes removing the entire tree or shrub is the only answer.

Mary Olsen, Department of Plant Pathology, "Diseases of Urban Plants in Arizona"
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/diseases/az1124.pdf

What does research have to do with your life? It can help you make informed decisions based on scientific evidence. Faculty in the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences conduct research that helps solve problems for the people of Arizona and beyond. They study the environment, crop improvement, nutrition, family behavior and more.

The Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station Report, published annually in January, highlights research conducted in the College. Each issue contains feature articles describing research and results in agriculture, renewable natural resources, and family and consumer sciences. To obtain a copy of the January 2003 edition, send an email to pubs@ag.arizona.edu.
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2002/

Since 1990 the International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) has fought economic problems caused by land and environmental degradation in the desert and arid zones making up nearly one-third of the Earth.

The way we manage and preserve soil fertility and water quality -- plus other factors related to them -- often decides whether a country or a culture survive. The IALC is a global network of scientists and professionals working in sustainable arid lands resource management.

In the past 12 years, they have developed cooperative projects in five U.S. states, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Ethiopia, Chile, Mexico, and other regions. Much of the research has taken place in the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Negev deserts.

Now researchers from the UA Arid Lands Studies (OALS) will lead a team to help strengthen agricultural programs in Afghanistan and Jordan as part of a $1 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

This award offers an unprecedented opportunity for scientists and researchers to make an important contribution in bringing peace and economic stability to these troubled regions.

Kennith Foster, Office of Arid Lands Studies, http://cals.arizona.edu/OALS/oals/oals.html
To learn more: http://ialcworld.org

Do you want to know more about the companion animals that share your life? What should you think about when you select a pet, whether it's a dog, cat, bird, fish, hamster, rabbit or any of the many other small animals?

Pets are now a highly valued part of many American families. They are loyal friends, and provide young children the opportunity to learn responsibility and animal husbandry. In addition to the pleasure they give, animals reduce stress levels and lower blood pressure. Animals that respond well to touch offer health benefits to patients and elderly in care facilities.

As an added bonus, dogs work as seeing eye or hearing dogs, hunting dogs, and drug sniffing animals.

Career options that include companion animals range from veterinarian to pet website developer.

A new source of information on companion animals is available from the Department of Agricultural Education. The publication, Companion Animals, is aimed at students who want to know about selecting, health and nutrition, and the equipment needed for dogs, cats, birds, freshwater fish, and such small animals as hamster, gerbils, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and ferrets.

Jack Elliot, Department of Agricultural Education
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs

The United States -- and Arizona-- lag far behind European countries in adopting ozone water treatments. Here, we rely mainly on chlorine for treating drinking water. That's beginning to change as more Arizona cities change from groundwater to surface water from free-flowing rivers and the Salt River Project.

Groundwater is relatively pristine and differs from the chemical, physical, and aesthetic makeup of surface water. Chlorine treatments are no longer the obvious choice since they are now believed to pose health hazards.

Tucson tried using ozone for water treatment in 1992, but unforeseen complications caused by old steel pipes used for water delivery forced the treatment plant to shut down from 1994 until 2002. Peoria and Gilbert both now use ozone, and Phoenix is considering ozone along with other methods.

Ozone is a valued water treatment because it effectively destroys such hazardous pathogens as Cryptosporidium. On the negative side, ozone lacks a long-lasting residual control for biological contaminants within the water distribution system. So, additional processes are necessary.

Choosing appropriate water treatments is a balancing act, and various combinations of treatments to produce the highest water quality for each location is the strategy for the future.

Water Resources Research Center
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/azwater

Plants are basic to life on earth. The science of plants includes how they grow, what they need to grow, how they respond to their environment, how they evolved and much more.

In the Department of Plant Sciences, you can prepare for a rewarding career in greenhouse environments, crop production, plant genetics, microbiology, and biology, horticulture, and golf course management. You can study plants at all levels, from the chemical reactions and molecules fundamental to all life to the role plants play in ecosystems.

To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pls

Scorpions aren't the death-dealers of Arizona legends. Although at least 38 scorpion species inhabit the state, urban dwellers will only encounter two or three types.

The bark scorpion (1 to 3 inches long) is the most common and most notorious; it's usually found under rocks, logs, tree bark -- and in houses. Its venom may produce severe pain (but rarely swelling) at the site of the sting. More serious affects include numbness, frothing at the mouth, breathing difficulties, muscle twitching, and convulsions, but these usually only occur in people who are allergic to the sting.

The bark scorpion's deadly reputation is a myth; no cases of anaphylaxis have been reported in Arizona.

The desert hairy scorpion is twice as large as the bark scorpion. Shy, it burrows into the soil and, for all its size, has a very weak venom. The stripe-tailed scorpion, intermediate in size, has a painful sting, but the pain usually subsides in a short time.

Scorpions are difficult to control with insecticides. The best control methods include getting rid of the places where they or their prey hide near your home. Install weather-stripping, caulk around cracks, and keep windows tight. If you manage their food source, you'll keep scorpion populations down.

Dawn Gouge, Kirk Smith, Carl Olson, Department of Entomology
Paul Baker, Pesticide Information & Training Office
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1223.pdf

Keeping weeds in broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower crops under control begins with choosing fields with a known crop history. Rotating and planting cole crops after several years of fields planted with alfalfa, small grains, or watermelon often results in competitive weeds.

An integrated weed management program includes identifying problem weeds, combined with relying on a limited number of herbicides, mechanical tillage and strategic cultural practices.

Approximately 13 weeds attack cole crops planted between November and January. London rocket, black mustard, wild radish, and shepherdspurse are particularly difficult to control.

Trifuralin, DCPA, bensulfide, and oxyfluorfen are commonly used herbicides. Biological control agents are difficult to establish or augment in most short season vegetable crops.

Kai Umeda, Cooperative Extension
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1197.pdf

The School of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) encompasses exactly that lofty goal--strengthening families, communities, and the marketplace. FCS provides instructional, research, extension, and outreach programs to enable people to achieve a continuing optimum quality of life.

The School offers degree programs through two divisions: The Division of Family Studies and Human Development andThe Division of Retailing and Consumer Sciences.

In addition, The Institute for Children, Youth, and Families facilitates research and outreach, working with community groups and practitioners to deal with the most critical social, emotional, and physical issues facity today's families.

The Southwest Retail Center for Education and Research works with the retail industry to help students grow into leaders in those businesses. Both Institutes have strong student internship programs.

Soyeon Shim, School of Family and Consumer Sciences
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/fcs

James A. Field, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, was awarded a $137,448 grant from the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research program for a two-year study of agricultural chemicals as a major non-point source of arsenic.
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/AZWATER

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