Breeding

Lettuce: Michelmore Lab seeks genetic resistance to fungus, bacteria

As common crop diseases such as downy mildew, Fusarium and corky root evolve, Richard Michelmore and members of his lab look for the genetic basis of new variations and for genes in lettuce that can resist them. They hope to breed those qualities into existing cultivars that already stand up to multiple diseases.

UC Davis Releases 6 New Varieties of Organic Beans

The Department of Plant Sciences has released six new varieties of organic dry beans which are higher yielding, and are resistant to bean common mosaic virus (BCMV), a disease that prevents bean plants from maturing promptly and uniformly. Spearheading the project were Ph.D. candidate Travis Parker, Distinguished Professor Paul Gepts, and Charlie Brummer, professor and director of the Plant Breeding Center at UC Davis.

Mexican corn to feed poor nations?

Can an ancient corn from Mexico help feed people in developing regions around the world? Allen Van Deynze and other researchers at UC Davis and Northern California, and in Mexico, have been working hard to answer that question.