Small grains

New organic wheat varieties coming from SCOPE

New varieties of wheat, oats, barley and alfalfa are available or are being developed to give growers flexibility for their local growing conditions, weather and markets. Plus, early results from on-going trials in wheat under dry conditions were described during the recent UC Davis Small Grains/Alfalfa Field Day at UC Davis.

Zhang seeks better ways to breed small grains

Xiaofei Zhang started this month as an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, specializing in molecular genetics and breeding of small grains crops. His top priority, he said, will be developing wheat varieties that are highly productive for forage and that also have high grain yield and good quality.