Luscious zinnias, spectacular tomatoes and blue stone-ground wheat were among the organically grown produce on display during the 2023 SCOPE Field Day at the Student Farm at UC Davis.
Forty scientists from 22 African nations started in-person classes with the African Plant Breeding Academy this spring in Nairobi. The six-week program is hosted by the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center. Rita Mumm, director and primary instructor for the academy, is leading the program.
Downy mildew makes those dry, tan-colored spots on spinach leaves -- a problem especially in organic cultivation. Growers have safety measures to ensure spinach is attractive, tasty and safe, but pathogens keep coming up with new ways to get around them, said Allen Van Deynze, associate director of the UC Davis Plant Breeding Center, directed by Charlie Brummer.
As common crop diseases such as downy mildew, Fusarium and corky root evolve, Richard Michelmore and members of his lab look for the genetic basis of new variations and for genes in lettuce that can resist them. They hope to breed those qualities into existing cultivars that already stand up to multiple diseases.
America’s grand challenge to develop sustainable, plant-based jet fuel offers a model for young scientists showing the value of collaboration across disciplines and institutions, a leading biofuels scientist said at the recent UC Davis Plant Sciences Symposium.
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.
The Department of Plant Sciences has released six new varieties of organic dry beans which are higher yielding, and are resistant to bean common mosaic virus (BCMV), a disease that prevents bean plants from maturing promptly and uniformly. Spearheading the project were Ph.D. candidate Travis Parker, Distinguished Professor Paul Gepts, and Charlie Brummer, professor and director of the Plant Breeding Center at UC Davis.
Mars Wrigley, a segment of Mars, Inc., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new research facility in Davis, California. The facility will continue the research partnership between Mars and UC Davis, addressing critical plant science issues such as plant genetics, global sustainability, climate change, and crop disease control.
Kester almond was developed at the University of California, Davis, Almond Breeding Program with support from the Almond Board of California. The program was developed to breed new varieties and germplasm to meet the emerging needs of the expanding California almond industry. Professor Tom Gradziel in Plant Sciences, has conducted much of the research.
For the first time, plant scientists at UC Davis and UC ANR harvested an industrial hemp crop at UC locations. Working on the project are Professor Charlie Brummer, and Cooperative Extension Specialists Bob Hutmacher and Dan Putnam – all three are faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis.
