Technology

Three women wearing goggles inside a small room with reddish-purple light look at plant sprouts growing in a tray.

Vertical farming benefits, concerns explored by The Guardian

  • by Trina Kleist
  • August 23, 2022

You may already be eating leafy greens that grow without soil, sunlight or ever being touched by human hands. Vertical farming has gained interest from growers and major investors around the world as a way to provide nourishing food, especially in urban areas. Gail Taylor, a vertical agriculture researcher and chair of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, offered this perspective in an article recently published in The Guardian:

Troy Magney, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, is just one of the researchers with the Smart Farm Big Idea who are working to turn agricultural data into comprehensible information for farmers.

Taking a Byte Out of Big Data in Farming

  • by Ann Filmer
  • February 06, 2020
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.
Steve Fennimore, Cooperative Extension specialist with the University of California, Davis, says automatic weeders like the Robovator shown here will help ease the shortage of skilled employees needed for hand weeding. (photo Steve Fennimore/UC Davis)

Automated Weeders are Attracting More Interest: Steve Fennimore Explains

  • by Ann Filmer
  • September 20, 2019
Three factors drive automation in vegetable crops: Employee shortages, availability of technology, and fewer new herbicides. Weed specialist Steve Fennimore, Plant Sciences, UC Davis and UC ANR, explains the importance of mechanization and robotic weeders, due, in part, to labor shortages and fewer herbicides.
Boxes of vegetables being ice-cooled prior to shipment

Precooling Vegetables in California Production (video #16 of 26)

  • by Ann Filmer
  • August 27, 2019
Cooling vegetables just after harvest prolongs shelf life and maintains quality. Most California vegetables are precooled before shipment using Cold air, Cold water, Ice, and/or Vacuum. Several of these were developed at UC Davis in the 1970s and 1980s in Plant Sciences, and in Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
Students planting seedling

Breeding Plants for the Farm of the Future

  • by Ann Filmer
  • June 28, 2019
Breeding crops has been practiced for millennia — new technology has greatly enhanced the ability of plant breeders to feed the world’s growing population, while spearheading a new era of agriculture in harmony with nature and people. Sustainability, Disease resistance, and Labor efficiency are pressing issues in plant breeding.
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