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Gail Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded the John B. Orr Endowed Chair in Environmental Plant Sciences. Taylor broke ground when she became the first female chair of the department in 2017, and is proud to be adding to the small number of women who hold endowed titles just four years later. 

“Because few women hold endowed chairs, even at UC Davis,” said Taylor, “I hope this helps inspire other professorial women to apply for awards like this one.”

The newest greenhouse on campus doesn’t look like a greenhouse at all. It’s a 40-foot-long shipping container filled with cutting-edge, high-tech equipment that will help UC Davis usher in a new frontier in hydroponic agriculture.

Assistant Professor Brian Bailey and Cooperative Extension Specialist Elizabeth Mitcham, both of the Department of Plant Sciences, are assisting on a project to create a mechanized shake-and-catch harvesting system for soft fruits without fall damage.

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.

A new walnut variety will provide growers a way to harvest earlier and boost the harvest efficiency of California's $1.6 billion walnut industry. It also builds upon the legacy of the UC Davis Walnut Improvement Program.

Red, ripe strawberries are the hallmark of spring in California. Two new varieties from the Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis, will provide consumers with big, flavorful strawberries throughout fall and winter, too.

“These cultivars were developed to provide high-quality fruit from late summer through the holidays,” said Steve Knapp, director of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program and professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.

From encouraging increased diversity to an innovative leadership program that employs interdisciplinary training in soil and plant health, two professors are spearheading projects that advance graduate and postgraduate training in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

Charlie Brummer, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, will lead a program that seeks to recruit two doctoral and two master’s students in plant breeding from underrepresented groups.

The Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award has been launched and will provide an annual grant of $20,000 to support the scholarship of an eligible faculty member within the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

To be considered, a faculty member must be tenured or on tenure-track and represent excellence in their field, exhibit the leadership ability to impact their discipline, present a unique and transformative perspective, and work to advance the representation of women in Plant Sciences.

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, or FFAR, has awarded a Seeding Solutions grant to the University of California, Davis to study how the microbial community hosted by the Sierra Mixe corn variety provides atmospheric nitrogen to the plant. Seeding Solutions grants are awarded annually in six different challenge groups recognized by the FFAR, with this one falling under “Next Generation Crops.” The grant was matched by Benson Hill for a total investment of $1,855,162

Two professors in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis have been elected in this year’s class of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society. Part of their cohort were nine other UC Davis professors, bringing the campus-wide total of elected AAAS fellows to 11.

The association elevates members to the rank of fellow in recognition of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

If you have bitten into a ripe, store-bought peach or nectarine, you may have UC Cooperative Extension postharvest physiologist specialist Carlos Crisosto to thank.

Department of Plant Sciences Assistant Professor Barbara Blanco-Ulate represented her department for the second consecutive year in the annual Undergraduate Research Week, which lasted from October 12 to October 16.

Coordinated by the Undergraduate Research Center (URC), the week-long celebration aims to develop interest in research opportunities for UC Davis students by inviting faculty members to celebrate the work of their undergraduates. Within Plant Sciences, the interest was strong: all 14 students nominated to present their research accepted the honor.

"This gift will make a tremendous impact that honors Barbara and her groundbreaking achievements as a leader and a woman in plant sciences who is fondly remembered by our long-serving faculty and staff,” said Gail Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Sciences.

Story by Kristin Burns

At 5 feet, 2 inches, Plant Sciences Professor Emerita Barbara D. Webster may have been petite in stature, but she was a powerhouse when it came to reducing barriers for women in academia.

Diane Beckles, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has been named an inaugural recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Awarded by UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May and the Academic Senate, the fellowship recognizes faculty with an “abiding commitment to reducing opportunity gaps for underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities.”