Weeds | Department of Plant Sciences

Cartoon man stands near a checklist that includes a photo of a sick-looking plant.

Video based on Al-Khatib, Hanson course wins Gold Award

by Trina Kleist
July 26, 2022

A cartoon character that looks suspiciously like a Department of Plant Sciences professor leads an animated, online tutorial that recently won a 2022 Gold Award from the Association for Communication Excellence.

UCCE Sutter-Yuba-Colusa Continuing Education Seminars: Sept-Oct 2020

by Lauri Brandeberry
September 02, 2020

Cooperative Extension

University of California Cooperative Extension Sutter-Yuba-Colusa is holding a series of webinars in September and October to provide research updates on some of the major crops in the Sacramento Valley. The classes are relevant to growers throughout California and are primarily focused on pest management and pesticide safety.

Dino, a driverless cultivator to remove weeds, is being tested by Steve Fennimore and Simon Belin at UC Davis. (photo Ann Filmer/UC Davis)

Steve Fennimore Receives 2020 EurAgEng Outstanding Paper Award

by Lauri Brandeberry
August 17, 2020

Mechanization

Steve Fennimore, UC Davis Plant Sciences faculty member and UC Cooperative Extension weed specialist, and colleagues received the 2020 EurAgEng Outstanding Paper Award for the paper, “Crop Signalling: A Novel Crop Recognition Technique for Robotic Control,” which was published in Biosystems Engineering.

‘Dino,’ a Driverless Weed-removing Cultivator – Steve Fennimore Testing It at UC Davis; VIDEO

by Ann Filmer
December 12, 2019

Weeds

A driverless, autonomous weed cultivator is being tested at UC Davis, uprooting weeds with wheels of fingers as it travels. Steve Fennimore, Plant Sciences, is working with Simon Belin at Naio Technologies. The goal is to reduce labor, costs, and herbicide use.

Steve Fennimore, UC Davis, will travel to INIA Las Brujas in Uruguay for a Fulbright Project

Steve Fennimore Receives Fulbright Scholar Award to Work in Uruguay on Weed Management in Organic Vegetable Production

by Ann Filmer
October 03, 2019

Awards and rankings

Steve Fennimore, faculty in the Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to conduct research and teaching at the INIA Las Brujas horticultural field station in Uruguay as part of a project to develop sustainable weed management systems in specialty crops.

A severe infestation of yellow starthistle in Calaveras County.

Release of Weevil for Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle

by Ann Filmer
September 25, 2019

Weeds

The USDA will allow the release of a weevil (Ceratapion basicorne) in the United States to help control yellow starthistle, an invasive weed found in 40 of the lower 48 states. The weevils will initially be released in California. Brad Hanson, weed specialist in Plant Sciences, addresses management of yellow starthistle.

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

Weeds

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.

Broomrape Eradication is High Priority for UC Researchers

by Ann Filmer
August 14, 2019

Weeds

Control of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that can badly infest tomato and other crop fields, was addressed by UC Davis, UC ANR researchers — Brad Hanson, Mohsen Mesgaran, and Matt Fatino — at the annual Weed Day field day at UC Davis.

Rice Experiment Station, Biggs, California. (photo Ann Filmer/UC Davis)

Rice Field Day, August 28, 2019

by Ann Filmer
July 24, 2019

Outreach

The annual Rice Field Day will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2019. The day includes field tours of research on rice varieties and its diseases and pests. Kassim Al-Khatib and Bruce Linquist, Plant Sciences, UC Davis, will be among the speakers.

Weed Management in Specialty Crop Production (video #7 of 26)

by Ann Filmer
July 08, 2019

Weeds

Weeds can result in yield losses in California’s specialty crops. They also harbor pests and diseases. In this video, weed specialist Steve Fennimore (Plant Sciences, UC Davis, and UC ANR) addresses the use of herbicides and hand labor, along with the cost of weed control.