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UC Cooperative Extension | Agricultural Experiment Station
Green Hall of Famer Oki retires after 29-year UC career
UCCE specialist's research prevents water pollution, reduces water use When interviewed to become a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist in environmental horticulture, Lorence “Loren” Oki was asked what kind of...
UC Delivers
Since 1882, when Mexican avocado seedlings were planted in Ventura County, the industry has been slowly expanding. By 1942 there were 231 acres, 2,000 in 1954 and today there are 17,000 acres of avocados in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Initally there were few problems in the crop, other than searching for the ideal variety. For many years, avocados were one of the few crops in California that was unsprayed. Over time, a number of new pests have arrived. In the late 1940s, growers started seeing "avocado decline," a slow dying of the roots and canopies of the trees. ANR began the long-term study of what turned out to be a fungal disease that was renamed "avocado root rot." In the meantime, other problems began showing up in the $80 million avocado crop (2008) - diseases, pests and management issues, such as pruning, irrigating and fertilizing.
Read about: Making avocado crops profitable in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties | View Other Stories
