Fruit crops

Cover crops don’t use much extra water, video explains

Many farmers have been wary of planting cover crops, despite the proven benefits, because they worry the additional vegetation in their fields and orchards would suck up precious water. But a new video explains recent research showing that’s not true: California fields planted with cover crops over the winter have about the same level of soil moisture.

'Peach:' Crisosto and team produce handbook for growing quality fruit

Peach book guides growing quality fruit from planting to postharvestTwo scientists who love peaches recently met up at an experimental orchard a few miles west of campus. Thomas Gradziel plucked a nearly ripe nectarine from one of the trees, whipped out a pocket knife, and sliced off juicy chunks for Carlos Crisosto to taste. Both are experts in orchard crops in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

Feldmann named assistant professor

Mitchell Feldmann has been hired as an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences and continues with the internationally prestigious UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program. His assistant professor position began this month.

Figs explained in new book by Ferguson & editors

Louise Ferguson and fellow editors have published a new book in CABI’s speciality crop series about fig cultivation, management, harvesting and marketing. The Fig: Botany, Production and Uses also includes a fascinating review of the historical, cultural, nutritional and economic significance of this storied fruit, ranging from references in holy scriptures to the global market structure for exports and imports.

UC Davis researchers uncover importance of susceptibility factors in the fungal infections of ripe tomatoes

Each year, roughly 25 percent of the fruits and veggies produced across the globe are lost due to fungal diseases. In fleshy fruits, like tomatoes, this issue is more pronounced, especially as they ripen. Researchers from the Blanco Lab at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with researchers from University of Nottingham, have demonstrated how susceptibility factors that accumulate during the ripening process promote infection by fungal pathogens.