Two UC Davis collaborative projects aim to enlarge the share of that wealth for small farmers in Colombia. Undergraduate students from the Department of Plant Sciences played host to five students from Colombia recently, after themselves visiting Colombia last year to study that country’s cultivation of this ancient and storied crop.
Doctoral student Marie Klein’s career is getting bolstered with recognition and connections after being named a 2023 Borlaug Scholar by the National Association of Plant Breeders.
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.
Growers will continue to get support and information about the latest research on controlling pests and diseases in their crops through the Western Integrated Pest Management Center that received a $1 million grant for the 2023-24 year.
UC Davis’ student-led program in organic farming will expand to include new crops and new partners, with the aim of exporting its educational the model to other institutions. The expansion is being funded with a $2-million grant from the Organic Research and Extension Initiative.
Mark Lundy is now an associate professor of UC Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. In addition to researching new ways to manage farmland more efficiently – including water – he leads field days to share that research and is teaching a new generation of top agronomists.
The Taylor Lab will receive continued funding as part of a ground-breaking project to wean the United States’ aviation industry off petroleum-based fuel and help put the brakes on climate change. The U.S. Department of Energy announced the UC Davis project as part of a $590 million package over the next five years. The Taylor Lab’s goal: grow poplar trees that can be turned into sustainable, cost-effective jet fuel.
Due to severe water shortages, rice acres planted in California plummeted by 37 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to numbers released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. But now, thanks to University of California researchers, growers have a new tool they could potentially use to cope with droughts and other environmental and socioeconomic changes.
Organic legumes already developed by postdoctoral researcher Travis Parker are prized, especially in Southwest cuisine, for their colorful patterns, flavor and texture. Parker’s new work seeks even better, more beautiful beans for arid climes. The Department of Plant Sciences geneticist has received a boost for his work with a $20,000 grant, funded jointly by the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
Scientists Grey Monroe and Daniela Quiroz are trying to develop a technique that could speed research on processes affecting countless facets of biology – from how plants respond to stressful conditions to the changes that trigger cells’ cancerous growth. They just won a $50,000 boost for their work, with a grant from the UC Davis Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR™) program.
