SALINAS, Calif. -- Steam treatment of soil offers growers a viable alternative to chemicals and a money-saver for organic farmers. It also benefits farm laborers by reducing their exposure to potential harm, said graduate student Erika Escalona. She is assessing the impacts on weeds, soil-borne disease and the soil biome of steam treatments used to disinfest lettuce and spinach fields in the Salinas Valley.
Long-term smoke exposure from massive wildfires lowers the energy reserves of orchard trees and can cut their nut production by half, researchers at the University of California, Davis, found. The smoke can affect trees for months after a megafire, depressing their bloom and the next season’s harvest. This finding reveals a new danger from wildfires that could affect plant health in both agricultural and natural environments.
SALINAS, Calif. -- It smelled a bit like freshly fried chicken with the oil starting to burn. A tractor-like machine rolled slowly over rows of carrots in a field near Salinas, Calif., spraying canola oil onto the weeds but sparing the small, tender carrot leaves.
Facing a deluge of lower-priced products from Europe, California olive oil producers are doubling down on their clear competitive edge: true and consistent quality.
“Olive: Production Manual for Oil” is a new book that aims to help California olive growers maximize that advantage. It has just been published by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Samjhana Khanal, a doctoral student studying disease resistance in lettuce, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Schlumberger Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports science and technology education.
Two thousand years ago, lima beans were a food reserved for warriors in the Moche culture of coastal Peru. Today, researchers at the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences are leading a program to develop tools and resources to breed better beans faster. Their work is part of a larger effort to create new versions of the delicacy that will flourish in the United States.
Meet Clara, Shirley and Estelita. With thickly layered petals, varieties of texture and colors ranging from elegant peach to cactus orange to pastel pink, these zinnias were among the new varieties that debuted at a recent field day on the UC Davis campus.
A nation-wide project led by Charlie Brummer, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has received a grant of $936,000 over the next three years from the Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Research Program, within the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Scientists are seeking the genetic basis for breeding new varieties of alfalfa that can withstand the pressures of climate change and evolving pests and disease.
Rice farmers in California this year are facing low prices for their crop, but record-high costs of production and hot temperatures during critical growth phases, Chairman Rob Doornbos of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation Inc. said at a recent event.
Researchers in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences offered some relief, describing trials of new herbicides and alternative cultivation methods during the Rice Field Day, held Aug. 28 at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, Calif.
That's the key takeaway from a recent paper published by a team that included Leslie Roche, an associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. The paper describes those challenges, how farmers are confronting them and what should come next.
Valentina Roel Rezk was among graduate students from around the world who participated in a summer program seeking to shape future policy and research into circular food and agriculture systems. The program was put on by the Circular Food Systems Network, hosted by Wageningen University & Research, in the Netherlands.
Doctoral student Marie Klein, of the Department of Plant Sciences, was part of a team that took first place in the UC Davis Food and Agriculture Business Case Competition. The event brought together teams from several universities to solve a business challenge for global seed company Hm.Clause. Here, team member and MBA student Danielle Kleiner-Kanter describes their journey to first place. She also offers three tips that helped them grow their business plan from idea to presentation.
Not all forest fires have devastating effects. Low- and moderate-severity forest wildfires can reduce the intensity of future conflagrations for as long as 20 years in certain climates, according to new research by the University of California, Davis.
Carrot growers face a variety of climate and biological threats, including water access and diseases such as Alternaria leaf blight, which can reduce yield by 40 to 60 percent. Some cultivated carrots are partially resistant to Alternaria, but still require frequent fungicide applications to fully protect crops.
Leslie Roche has received the Outstanding New Academic Award from University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources. Roche is an associate professor of Cooperative Extension, based in the Department of Plant Sciences. Her research looks at the agricultural, environmental and social aspects of ranching and livestock production.
