Rangeland specialist Leslie Roche will bring her California ranching background to her new role on the board of directors of the Society for Range Management (SRM).
Reducing agricultural nitrogen (N) losses remains a key challenge in achieving more sustainable food systems. A recent global analysis by researchers at UC Davis and the Environmental Defense Fund quantified nitrate (NO3) leaching losses in agricultural fields in response to changes in N balance (N inputs minus N outputs). Led by Dr.
Giulia Marino, a crop physiologist, is the new UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Specialist in Orchard Systems, and a faculty member in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). She is primarily based at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, California, and has a second office in Wickson Hall at UC Davis.
Cameron Pittelkow is a new professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis. His expertise covers Agronomy and Agroecosystems, with a focus on sustainable crop production, management practices for high yields with low environmental footprints, and international agriculture.
Troy Magney, Dept. of Plant Sciences, is using methods such as hyperspectral imaging – a remote sensing technique – to measure plant water stress, nutrient status, biomass, and photosynthesis in order to make informed decisions about water and fertilizer management. This is important for global agriculture in the future.
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.
Small growers can build their own farm-scale coolers at a fraction of the cost of conventional units, thanks to the invention of a device that adjusts air conditioners to drop the temperature all the way down to refrigeration levels.
