Plant science

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.

Dwarfing genes in cereal crops made the Green Revolution of the 1960s possible, but they have limitations. Scientists at UC Davis have discovered a gene that can overcome some of those limitations in wheat by controlling plant height, while boosting yield in fields where water is less plentiful. Their discovery was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

For the first time, a biophysical model has been created to describe an essential, life-giving process among plants: cell division through the building of a wall that divides the original cell into two daughter cells, called cytokinesis.

For the sixth year in a row, Department of Plant Sciences faculty Eduardo Blumwald has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by an international database of scientific journals. Blumwald, a plant biologist, is among 10 UC Davis researchers to receive the distinction for 2022.

Graduate students Amy Groh and Kimberly Gibson of the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis have been selected as 2021 Borlaug Scholars by the National Association of Plant Breeders. Twenty-four students in total were named, with six undergraduates and 18 graduates making the list from universities across the country.

"This gift will make a tremendous impact that honors Barbara and her groundbreaking achievements as a leader and a woman in plant sciences who is fondly remembered by our long-serving faculty and staff,” said Gail Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Sciences.

Story by Kristin Burns

At 5 feet, 2 inches, Plant Sciences Professor Emerita Barbara D. Webster may have been petite in stature, but she was a powerhouse when it came to reducing barriers for women in academia.