Graduate student Ana Zepeda offers tips for disaster planners, culled from observing how women-organized-and-run community gardens in San Juan provided food security in the wake of a natural disaster.
Ph.D. student Anca Barcu has been recognized for leadership in promoting health and well-being among students, including awareness of resources, accessibility and inclusivity in her teaching, and more.
Steve Fennimore and Kassim Al-Khatib received top honors at a recent meeting of the California Weed Science Society. Plus, three students, also from the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, won awards.
Scientists Pershang Hosseini and Matt Fatino discuss their research for controlling the parasitic plant Orobanche, commonly called broomrape. Strategies include drawing down the bank of seeds in the soil, adding herbicide to irrigation water and timing transplants going into infested fields.
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."
Alfalfa expert Charlie Brummer says it's time to "think about redesigning the alfalfa plant from first principles," after 40 years of frustrated efforts to increase yield. He made the remarks at a recent meeting of the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. Students also presented their research, including trials to grow the crop with less water.
Alfalfa offers a drought-resilient, high-protein crop for both livestock and human use. UC Davis researchers are exploring ways to improve yield, protein extraction, and resilience while testing almond shells as a soil amendment to enhance water infiltration.
UC Davis researchers are exploring how byproducts from anaerobic digesters, rich in nitrogen, can serve as fertilizers for wheat and triticale. Early results show promise for forage crops, potentially reducing chemical fertilizer use and costs.
Storing fresh produce correctly can save you money and time by keeping your tomatoes, grapes, broccoli and other fresh fruits and vegetables in tip-top condition for as long as possible. UC Davis’ Produce Heroes game teaches proper produce storage to reduce food waste and climate impact. Learn fridge vs. countertop tips through a fun, educational cornhole game.
UC Davis plant scientist Grey Monroe won a $1M NSF CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study how plants protect key genes from harmful mutations. His work could boost gene editing and crop resilience and involve underrepresented high school students.
