How do you see dryness? Solar drying is a simple way for smallholder farmers to preserve their harvest, but knowing when food is dry enough to store is complex. UC Davis researchers invented a low-cost, easy-to-use tool that farmers can use to measure food dryness, called the DryCardTM. In developing countries, mold growth on dried…
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Quick Summary: Variable weather is creating extreme challenges for crop breeding in California. How do you develop crops that will thrive under certain conditions when you can no longer predict what those conditions will be? Variable weather already affects soils, weeds, diseases and pests. Plant breeders are challenged to help crops keep pace with changes….
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Increasing wheat yield rapidly enough to meet population growth has been a challenge for wheat breeders. An international research project, headed by plant geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, is using new technology to identify the wheat genes that impact yield. “Grain yield is one of the most…
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UC Cooperative Extension specialist Loren Oki and colleagues have removed important ornamental crop viral pathogens from irrigation water using nothing more than a filter made of sand. The successful attempt to rid water of tobacco mosaic virus expands the list of crop diseases that could potentially be managed using this relatively inexpensive method. “The pathogens…
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Ralph J. Hexter, acting chancellor of the University of California, Davis, announced the recipients of a new series of innovation awards. The UC Davis Chancellor’s Innovation Awards recognize faculty, community partners, and industry leaders for their work, dedication and success in achieving societal impact either through innovations in technology or social engagement. “These new awards…
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A battery of soil moisture and weather instruments on a small alfalfa field on the University of California, Davis, campus is gathering an array of information on how much water the crop needs, and when. Researchers are focused on establishing as precisely as possible crop water needs over a long season that includes numerous cuttings….
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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 into dropping the temperature all the way down to refrigeration levels. A window or split-unit air conditioner available at most hardware or department stores can be used…
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by Andy Fell An international survey of more than 400 colleges has ranked UC Davis No. 3 in the world in environmental sustainability for the university’s teaching, research, campus lifestyle and management. The annual GreenMetric rankings by the University of Indonesia moved UC Davis up one spot from its No. 4 ranking a year earlier….
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UC Davis gets into the dirt for World Food Day, on Friday (Oct. 16). First, there’s a talk and panel discussion on “Healthy Soils for a Healthy Life.” The next program will be in the soil, or, rather, in a new garden where the Horticulture Innovation Lab is demonstrating the technologies that it is cultivating…
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Improving lettuce crops is the aim of a new, $4.5 million grant, awarded to University of California, Davis, researchers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The five-year, renewable grant is part of USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative funding program, made available through the 2014 Farm Bill. This award is…
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