Awards and rankings

Beans, peppers and alfalfa win grants from NIFA

Scientists in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences have landed $2.1 million in federal grants to develop varieties of green beans, chile peppers and alfalfa that can offer farmers greater quality, lower production costs and better yield amid the growing heat and drought already happening with climate change.

The grants from the United States Department of Agriculture come through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

Sundaresan elected to National Academy of Sciences

Venkatesan Sundaresan, a plant reproduction biologist who specializes in rice, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Sundaresan has a dual appointment as a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences.

Blumwald named 2023 Innovator of the Year

Plant biologist Eduardo Blumwald was named a 2023 Innovator of the Year for his team's discovery of a way to greatly reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow cereal crops such as rice. He was among several people recognized by UC Davis this week for developing innovative solutions that improve the lives of others and address important global needs.

Triticale to rise in the world of baked deliciousness

Craft bakers love adding a little triticale to breads for its subtle blend of nutty and earthy flavors and its moist, slightly chewy texture. Farmers love the grain mainly for forage: It produces bigger yields with less water and fertilizer compared to wheat. Now, Joshua Hegarty and colleagues across the country will work on combining those qualities to create new varieties of triticale that are good for bread-baking at commercial scale, and still offer good value for growers.

Ferguson named ASHS Fellow

Louise Ferguson has been named a fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and will be inducted into the organization’s 60th class of fellows at a ceremony Aug. 1. The award recognizes decades of leadership and, more recently, Ferguson’s efforts to build a leadership training program for younger members.

The recognition is “more than well-deserved and should have happened YEARS ago!” wrote ASHS Executive Director Michael Neff. ASHS fellows are elected “in recognition of outstanding contributions to the science, profession, or industry of horticulture,” he added.

Retiring faculty honored for 2023

Five retired faculty from the Department of Plant Sciences will be honored for their outstanding scholarship, the global impact of their contributions to their fields, their service, their expansive teaching and their generous mentoring. A dinner will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, April 28, in the UC Davis Conference Center.

Department Chair Gail Taylor will host the festivities. Current faculty will introduce the honorees.

John Yoder