As a fourth-year undergrad, Jackeline Limon designed and led a project to dig up soil and measure tiny bits of plastic pollution in community parks and gardens in Yolo County. Her work – plus the financial award that made it possible and the events where she presented her findings – show the career-developing resources available to students in the Department of Plant Sciences.
Amanda Wong and Gail Taylor, in the Department of Plant Sciences, call on scientists to standardize how they study microplastics in soil to clearly understand how they impact plants in real-world agriculture.
Faculty and graduate students in the Department of Plant Sciences mentor local high school students as part of a national program to share what they have learned with a new generation of scientists.
By winning a scholarship to attend an ag industry conference, doctoral student Oluwatosin Adebanjo accessed holistic resources to help him become a leader in the ag sector.
Yufei Qian and team in the lab of Gail Taylor have created guidelines for breeders who are improving growth and nutrition of leafy greens for controlled environment agriculture.
Graduate student Ana Zepeda offers tips for disaster planners, culled from observing how women-organized-and-run community gardens in San Juan provided food security in the wake of a natural disaster.
Alessandro Ossola is part of a nationwide team of scientists studying trees in the Altadena and Palisades areas, trying to understand mortality, recovery and lessons for rebuilding after future wildfires.
Ph.D. student Anca Barcu has been recognized for leadership in promoting health and well-being among students, including awareness of resources, accessibility and inclusivity in her teaching, and more.
Lincoln Sabini was a second-year student in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and also took courses in the Department of Plant Sciences. Those who knew him recount some memories.
Research from the lab of Dan Kliebenstein shows the fungus that causes grey mold "tastes” the difference between a strawberry and a tomato — reading the plant's own chemical defenses to counter them.
Mohsen Mesgaran will receive the 2026 Award of Excellence in Agricultural Research Innovation-Mid Career from AgInnovation-West for tools that advance early detection of high‑risk invasive species and pests.
Hosted by the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, this event included cultural demonstrations and panels that emphasized the web of connections among people, plants and the land.
Researchers in the Department of Plant Sciences found lab-based tissue culture leads to more somatic mutations. They suggest not leaving clones in culture for extended periods, and DNA review early in the process.
Cover crops provide a variety of benefits. Keeping living plants in the soil year-round improves soil structure and nutrients, stimulates soil organisms and provides homes and food for pollinators and helpful insects such as ladybugs.
