The annual Rice Field Day, sponsored by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation and the University of California, will be held at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, California on Wednesday, August 28, 2019. The day includes field tours of research on rice varieties and its diseases and pests. Kassim Al-Khatib, professor of weed science,…
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An article in the new issue of California Agriculture addresses how critical research and dialogue are underway to understand the consequences of the massive wave of tree mortality in the Sierra Nevada. Over 147 million dead trees were detected in California by the U.S. Forest Service from 2010 to 2018. The massive tree mortality, mostly…
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The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the University of California, Davis, teamed up to tackle an important topic: food safety. At the Breeding Crops for Enhanced Food Safety Conference in June, Alex Martin sat down with Maeli Melotto, one of the creators and organizers of the event and an associate professor in…
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Plant breeders and food safety experts conducted a two-day conference at UC Davis (June 5–6, 2019) to discuss issues relevant to food safety, including control of microbial contamination in produce throughout the food chain (seeds, field production, pre- and postharvest, packaging, distribution, marketing). Maeli Melotto, a UC Davis Plant Sciences professor who focuses on plant-microbe…
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“More than Yield: Exploring the Full Potential of Our Agroecosystems” was the theme at Russell Ranch Field Day on June 12. Field tours included three topic areas: Soil Structure, Carbon, and Microbes Management and Cropping for Resilience Irrigation, Nutrient Retention, and Disease In addition to field tours, there were a number of flash talks (in…
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As the end of the academic year arrives, we’re pleased to highlight two Plant Sciences students who had the opportunity to go to Congressional Visits Day earlier this quarter. Samantha Hilborn (an M.S. student working with Charlie Brummer and Allen Van Deynze in Plant Sciences), and Carolina Vaquerano (a B.S. student who works in Brummer’s…
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Allen Van Deynze, director of research at the Seed Biotechnology Center and associate director of the Plant Breeding Center at UC Davis, was awarded the Academic Federation’s 2019 Excellence in Research Award on May 8 at a ceremony on campus. Van Deynze has conducted groundbreaking research in Mexico and in Africa, and has received more…
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Crops like corn and rice have relished in research on breeding crop varieties for high yield and disease resistance. Traditional African crops, such as spider plant, finger millet, bambara groundnut or allanblackia, remain highly nutritious in a limited set of varieties but inaccessible. They are “orphaned” into low yielding varieties and limited markets. The UC…
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Picnic Day is the most popular UC Davis event each year for visitors, alumni, students, and campus employees. The family-friendly event, with its popular parade, showcases the diversity and excellence at UC Davis, including research, teaching, outreach, and campus life. Plant Sciences, one of the largest departments on campus, always has an array of hands-on…
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Preparing students for global challenges and opportunities is the goal of a new Curriculum Enhancement through Global Learning program at UC Davis. The program, spearheaded by Global Affairs, provides a professional learning opportunity for faculty to make their course content, teaching, and student experiences prepare the students to address global needs. Professor Li Tian in…
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