Food systems

Growing wheat in drought conditions may be easier in the future, thanks to new genetic research out of the University of California, Davis.

An international team of scientists found that the right number of copies of a specific group of genes can stimulate longer root growth, enabling wheat plants to pull water from deeper supplies. The resulting plants have more biomass and produce higher grain yield, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.

People who turned to gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic did so to relieve stress, connect with others and grow their own food in hopes of avoiding the virus, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) and international partners.

Study of a rice field in Asia found that selective breeding and management decisions maintained crop yields despite climate changes, but those interventions weren’t enough to increase production to meet global demand, according to a paper from University of California, Davis.

Rice is the main staple food for more than half of the global population, and as the world population grows, demand for rice is expected to grow, too. The challenge is how to produce more rice on existing cropland, and do so while minimizing the environmental impact. Here the authors, including Bruce Linquist, provide an analysis of roadmaps toward sustainable intensification for a larger global rice bowl. The research was published Dec. 9 in Nature Communications.

The newest greenhouse on campus doesn’t look like a greenhouse at all. It’s a 40-foot-long shipping container filled with cutting-edge, high-tech equipment that will help UC Davis usher in a new frontier in hydroponic agriculture.