Better management of walnuts in the field, and better handling and storage of the nuts after they are harvested, are key to boosting nut quality, keeping consumers happy and benefitting growers who supply nearly one-quarter of the world’s market each year.
If you’ve driven past central California’s walnut groves, you’ve seen them: Thick, rough-looking tree-trunks rise from the ground for two or three feet. Then, atop each base, a thinner trunk with smoother bark continues up and branches into majestic, green canopies spreading toward the sky.
Shuxiao “Susan” Zhang wants to figure out how pistachio trees can do such a good job dealing with drought and saline soil. And, did you know? Pistachio nut shells naturally split when they ripen! She’s trying to figure that out, too.
Tree nut experts from around the world are gathering at the UC Davis Convention Center this week to discuss the challenges faced by the people growing and processing almonds and pistachios. Researchers are outlining possible solutions and exchanging ideas for how to combat problems of water scarcity, increasingly saline water and soils, rising wintertime temperatures and new pests that come with the changing conditions.
Giulia Marino is looking at some promising new varieties of pistachio trees to help growers facing warmer winters, reduced water quantity and quality, and rising management costs. As the new University of California Presidential Chair for Tree Nut Genetics, Marino’s work will help farmers in the state’s $5-billion-and-growing industry become more resilient and more profitable.
A multi-state team led by Patrick J. Brown has been awarded nearly $3.8 million over the next four years for a project to improve pistachio production as the industry faces warmer winters and scarcer water.
“We are at this unique point in history where we can do this,” said Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.
Doctoral student Matt Davis has been accepted into a three-year fellowship program that nurtures young scientists who are addressing unprecedented challenges in American food and agriculture.
A new walnut variety will provide growers a way to harvest earlier and boost the harvest efficiency of California's $1.6 billion walnut industry. It also builds upon the legacy of the UC Davis Walnut Improvement Program.
