Agriculture

Speedier wheat could feed more people, research suggests

If wheat leaves could shift gears faster between moments of shade and light, plants could make more grain, increasing the capacity of a plot of ground to feed people.

Researchers are seeking the genes that control how quickly wheat leaves gear up when hit by flecks of sunlight. They are fueled by evidence of a stronger link between photosynthesis and crop yield than scientists have thought, said Assistant Professor Tom Buckley of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

UC Davis video honored in the 42nd Annual Telly Awards

A short documentary about agricultural innovations supported by University of California, Davis, researchers in Cambodia has picked up three awards at the 42nd Annual Telly Awards. It was a collaborative production between the Horticulture Innovation Lab, the Office of Strategic Communications and Max Video Productions in 2019.

Postdoctoral researcher Josh Hegarty leads NIFA-funded project to breed triticale cultivars for forage

Josh Hegarty, a postdoctoral researcher in the Dubcovsky Lab in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, is leading a project to develop commercial varieties of triticale to be grown for forage and feed. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, is granting a $300,000 investment as part of their Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

Allen Van Deynze receives $650,000 investment from NIFA to breed green chile peppers for mechanical harvesting

Allen Van Deynze, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has received an investment of $650,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, for a project that will develop commercially competitive green chile peppers, like jalapeños, that are amenable to mechanical harvesting.

UC Davis releases 2 new strawberry varieties

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.

Amélie Gaudin receives NIFA grant for cost-benefit analysis of winter cover crops

The National Institute for Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, has awarded Amélie Gaudin, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, an Agricultural Systems Research grant totalling $500,000. 

Gaudin was one of 12 researchers from across the country to receive the grant, which funds projects developing innovative and sustainable solutions to problems facing agriculture and is part of the larger Agriculture and Food Research Initiative . 

The Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award

"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.