Be careful with array_merge in PHP5.1 not only a E_WARNING is thrown, but also the result is an empty array. So if you merge two select queries and the last one is empty you will end up with no array at all.
<?php
$array_1 = array('key1'=>'oranges','key2'=>'apples');
$array_2 = array('key3'=>'pears','key4'=>'tomatoes');
$array_3 = null;
$arr_gemerged = array_merge($array_1,$array_2,$array_3);
print_r($arr_gemerged);
echo "<br>";
?>
Result on php4:
Array ( [key1] => oranges [key2] => apples [key3] => pears [key4] => tomatoes )
Result on php5:
Warning: array_merge() [function.array-merge]: Argument #3 is not an array in /removed/by/danbrown/for/manual.php on line 7