A project led by Amelie Gaudin receives $2M to study grazing sheep in orchards. Focus on benefits: soil health, pest control and lower costs. It aims to boost sustainability for organic farmers by developing safety guides.
Louise Ferguson has been recognized by the American Society of Horticultural Science for her leadership and contributions. The professor of UC Cooperative Extension assumed the presidency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she nurtured the organization through its first all-virtual annual conference, a subsequent hybrid conference and back to a fully in-person conference.
Bioenergy crops are central to climate mitigation strategies. Bioenergy is a developing renewable resource, but it can impact land for food, and ecosystem services. Gail Taylor, Plant Sciences, received $2.52 million from the Department of Energy to develop bioenergy poplar trees for low-quality, marginal land.
While much of the 2019 Tahoe State of the Lake Report is about the lake itself, it also addresses the severe defoliation that many aspen stands are facing due to white satin moth. Information on other UC Davis tree loss and restoration research in the Sierra Nevada and other forests is cited.
An article in California Agriculture addresses how critical research is underway to understand the consequences of the massive wave of tree mortality in the Sierra Nevada. Urgent dialogue has started among UC scientists, forest managers, and public agencies to manage the consequences of the unprecedented tree die-off and increase the resiliency of forests to future droughts.
With U.S. avocado consumption doubling every decade, new Northern California avocado production is being explored to complement Southern California production.
