New varieties of wheat, oats, barley and alfalfa are available or are being developed to give growers flexibility for their local growing conditions, weather and markets. Plus, early results from on-going trials in wheat under dry conditions were described during the recent UC Davis Small Grains/Alfalfa Field Day at UC Davis.
Is dust inevitable in southeastern California’s Owens Valley? A new federal report says “no,” supported by work from Valerie Eviner, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. Native plants and better water management offer help, amid warming weather that will make air dustier for valley residents.
Cameron Pittelkow is estimating greenhouse gas emissions from alfalfa fields and suggests ways to reduce those emissions depending on region. Valentina Roel-Rezk is measuring the link between organic amendments and GHG emissions.
Kelly Paglia, advisor for the horticulture and agronomy graduate group, received an Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate Students from the UC Davis Graduate Student Association. Students call her "a gem," and Paglia says "we'll get to the end together."
Doctoral students Danyelle Forte and Jonathan Berlingeri have been named fellows to the UC Davis Professors for the Future program, a year-long journey that prepares outstanding candidates for careers in academia and other fields.
Fourth-year doctoral student Brooke Wainwright has received the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award. The award recognizes outstanding academic performance, service and leadership, and comes with a $7,500 grant.
Graduate student Amrit Pokhrel has secured a place in the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Fellows program. He is one of 30 students across the United States and Canada this year to become an FFAR fellow.
Graduate student Ava-Rose Beech co-led her undergraduate team through the trenches of a national soil judging conference in a first for the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. The team tied for fifth place in the group soils judging category, and highlights the intersection of plant and soil sciences.
Zhenglin Zhang, a Ph.D. student who studied with the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has received the Kinsella Memorial Prize for writing a dissertation that is original, of high quality and multidisciplinary.
Xiaofei Zhang, the new director of the UC Davis Small Grains Breeding Program, outlines the program's priorities, including dual-purpose wheat that farmers can harvest for different uses, depending on water availability and market forces.
