Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

Brian Bailey, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been recognized by the National Science Foundation with a CAREER award. The prestigious award part of NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development Program is granted to assistant professors or those in equivalent faculty positions who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their departm...ent or organization. The award will also provide an investment of $660,571 to support Bailey’s research project entitled, Linking Canopy Structure and Function in Plant Water-Use Economy. Read more here: http://ow.ly/eI5M50F1r80

Josh Hegarty, a postdoctoral researcher in the Dubcovsky Lab in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, is leading a project to develop commercial varieties of triticale to be grown for forage and feed. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, is granting a $300,000 investment as part of their Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The project aims to deliver at least two new cultivars of triticale, with one optimized for sp...ring in the Central Valley of California and another to be winter hardy for Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. A possible third cultivar may be developed alongside the winter variety. Triticale poses so much potential, Hegarty said. But there hasn’t been enough concerted effort to get it over that last hump. Read more here: http://ow.ly/oteK50EW6lu #ucdavis #plantscience #triticale

Mary Cadenasso, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has been named a fellow by the Ecological Society of America, the largest organization of professional ecologists in the nation. The society has recognized her for her definitive contributions to urban and landscape ecology. I am thrilled it’s a huge honor and one that I wasn’t expecting, said Mary Cadenasso, who first joined the society in 1992.

Each year, roughly 25 percent of the fruits and veggies produced across the globe are lost due to fungal diseases like mold. In fleshy fruits, like tomatoes, this issue is more pronounced, especially as they ripen. Researchers from the Blanco Lab at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with researchers from University of Nottingham, have demonstrated how susceptibility factors that accumulate during the ripening process of tomatoes promote infection by fungal pathogens. Read more here: http://ow.ly/g56M50DNkEb

A new walnut variety will provide growers a way to harvest earlier and boost the harvest efficiency of California's $1.6 billion walnut industry. It also builds upon the legacy of the UC Davis Walnut Improvement Program. The new variety, named ‘UC Wolfskill,’ has yield, quality and color similar to the Chandler cultivar, which was released by the UC Davis Walnut Improvement Program in 1979. Chandler has since dominated the state’s walnut market the largest in the nation wit...h 99 percent of total production happening in the Golden State for its reliability, desirable color, and late season harvest. ‘UC Wolfskill,’ which is named after the university’s experimental orchards donated by the Wolfskill family in 1938, hopes to change things. Read more here: www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu//new-uc-davis-walnut-variety

From encouraging increased diversity to an innovative leadership program that employs interdisciplinary training in soil and plant health, Professors Maeli Melotto and Charlie Brummer are spearheading projects that advance graduate and postgraduate training in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Read more here: http://ow.ly/QUha50Dx7Sk

Valerie Eviner, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has been named a 2021 fellow in the North American cohort of the Earth Leadership Program. The program will provide leadership training and will enable scientists, across many disciplines, to co-design solutions with stakeholders on pressing global sustainability issues. This program isn’t only linking science to on-the-ground solutions in policy and management, but transforming the types of science we do to add...ress our most complex environmental challenges," said Eviner. Read more here: https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu//valerie-eviner-name

The Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award has launched and will support the scholarship of an eligible faculty member who works to advance the representation of women in Plant Sciences. The award honors Barbara Webster, who served as Professor of Agronomy at UC Davis from 1979-92 and Associate Vice Chancellor of Research from 1989-92. She strived to create a safe space for women to excel on campus, and was a fierce advocate for the increased participation of women and minorities i...n science. She was formidable, said her daughter, Susan V. Webster. She didn’t back down. Read more here: https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu//barbara-d-webster-s

Associate Professor Amelie Gaudin, along with an interdisciplinary team of UC Davis colleagues, will conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of winter cover crops in California almond orchards. While Gaudin notes there has been a recent upsurge in interest, since the cover crops can help reconcile both the environmental and economic goals of agricultural production, they are still not widely adopted. Read more here: http://ow.ly/T7yt50DpIUa

New research suggests that even small green patches in urban areas can considerably reduce surface temperatures during the summer. The project was led by Alessandro Ossola, currently a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. The department is thrilled that Ossola will be joining us full-time within the next few months. To read the full study: www.sciencedirect.com/scie/article//pii/S0169204621000098