The land-grant mission of UC Davis lies deep in the roots of the Plant Sciences department. In Plant Sciences, the RICs address topics such as crop production and postharvest handling, environmental management, pest management, urban landscapes, policy decisions, and home gardening.
The University of California strawberry breeding program began at UC Berkeley, led by plant pathologist Harold E. Thomas and breeder Earl V. Goldsmith.
A new effort to provide California growers with seeds for tomato, bean, pepper and other crop varieties that are specially bred for organic farming has been launched at UC Davis. The organic plant-breeding project was developed in direct response to California organic growers, who have reported that the scarcity of seeds.
