California Ag Network

Tag: UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

  • UC ANR Offers Microirrigation School

    In a time of increasing water scarcity and regulatory complexity, enhancing irrigation efficiency and improving on-farm water management practices are critical for California agriculture. Microirrigation – using highly efficient, low-flow and low-pressure systems that deliver water and nutrients close to plants’ roots – is one key solution.

    “Microirrigation is no longer optional in many agricultural production regions worldwide,” said Daniele Zaccaria, professor of agricultural water management for Cooperative Extension at University of California, Davis. “It is essential for producing more food per unit of water and for achieving higher fertilizer use efficiency, relying on greater application precision and pursuing improved environmental stewardship.”

    Zaccaria is organizing the 2026 Advanced School on Microirrigation for Crop Production, offered in California for the first time, from March 30 to April 3 (register by March 25).

    This comprehensive program combines three days of classroom instruction at UC Davis with two days of field visits, including fruit and nut production systems in the San Joaquin Valley and vegetable, berry and wine-grape systems along the Central Coast. There is also an online option for the first three days of the program.

    The school is designed for a broad audience, including farmers and ranch managers, crop consultants, water resource planners and irrigation practitioners, as well as scientists, educators, students, and personnel from a variety of agencies and sectors.

    “This offers a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn directly from global leaders in the field, combining cutting-edge science, real-world applications and field experience,” Zaccaria said. “It’s an excellent investment of time for anyone committed to the future of crop production in semi-arid and arid environments.”

    The educational event is co‑organized by the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Chilean Water Technology Consortium and the California Irrigation Institute.

    Lectures – presented by prominent experts from UC Davis, UC Cooperative Extension and other academic, agency and private partners – will draw on the latest research, technologies and practical applications.

    Topics include:

    • Technical aspects of water delivery systems to allow for successful adoption and management of microirrigation systems
    • Soil-water movement and soil-plant-water relations with microirrigation
    • Microirrigation systems design, operation, maintenance, automation and performance evaluation
    • Methods and tools for microirrigation scheduling
    • Managing microirrigation for different crops (field and agronomic crops, vegetable crops, berry crops, fruit crops, nut crops, vineyards)
    • Chemigation and fertigation
    • Salinity management with microirrigation

    All participants will receive:

    • A UC Certificate of Completion
    • A copy of the book Microirrigation for Crop Production, recently published by Elsevier
    • Continuing Education Units (18.5 CEUs for lectures and 9.5 CEUs for field visits) from the American Society of Agronomy, as well as CEU credits from the Irrigation Association

    Register soon to secure your spot, as class size is limited to 100 participants to ensure an optimal learning environment.

    For the full program schedule, speaker lineup and a link to register, visit https://caii.org/international-micro-irrigation-school/.

    Registration for the online option is at: https://caii.org/product/micro-irrigation-school-lectures-remote-streaming-registration/.

    Zaccaria’s work in organizing the Microirrigation School is made possible by his Alexander and Elizabeth Swantz Endowed Specialist Position and related funds from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

    UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings UC information and practices to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu.

  • Transformative Gift Propels UC Davis’ Leadership in Ag Tech

    The University of California, Davis, has received a gift of more than $25 million that will transform the advancement of agricultural technology and innovation for generations to come, made possible by a bequest from late philanthropist and local businessman Dan G. Best II.

    The gift honors the enduring legacy of his grandfather, C.L. Best, an agricultural innovator and founding leader of Caterpillar Tractor Co., whose design of his first track-type tractor in 1912 still forms the basis for all current track-type machines used across the world today.

    The two-part gift provides foundational support for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. First, $12 million is creating three endowed chairs named for C.L. Best in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. An additional $12.5 million establishes the C.L. Best Innovation in Agriculture Fund to support student scholarships, faculty and staff research, and facility improvements.

    “We are deeply grateful to Dan Best for this extraordinary gift, which allows UC Davis to carry forward the legacy of C.L. Best by continuing to invent and respond to the evolving needs of the agriculture industry,” said Chancellor Gary S. May.  “This game-changing investment strengthens the university’s leadership in innovation while helping educate future leaders who will address critical challenges around food, water and sustainability.”

    UC Davis is widely recognized as a world leader in agricultural sciences, ranking first in the nation and second in the world for agriculture and forestry by the QS World University Rankings and as well as first in the nation in biological and agricultural engineering by U.S. News & World Report.

    The gift is driving growth during a significant time for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, which is opening the Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation in fall 2026. The facility, located in the heart of campus along Hutchinson Drive, will provide state-of-the-art spaces for advanced work in robotics and sensing, AI and big data, plant breeding, sustainability and student success. The robotics and sensing suite in the new facility will be named the C.L. Best Agricultural Innovation Robotics and Sensing Suite in his honor.

    “Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Dan Best, our college will build on our first-rate programming and support for students, accelerate the interdisciplinary research of our faculty and staff, and continue advancing agricultural technology on a global level,” said Ashley M. Stokes, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

    Endowed chairs power innovation in engineering

    The three endowed chairs created by the gift are the first for the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. These prestigious positions provide funds in perpetuity to support distinguished faculty members in research, teaching and service. The new positions are named:

    • C.L. Best Endowed Chair in Agricultural Big Data Analytics,
    • C.L. Best Endowed Chair in Robotics and Cyber-physical Farming Systems, and
    • C.L. Best Endowed Chair in Controlled Environmental Engineering.

    “These three chairs will help translate agricultural research and innovation into deployable products and tangible solutions, supporting ag-tech startups and companies as they bring new technologies to the field,” said Fadi Fathallah, chair of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

    Together, the positions address critical challenges facing agriculture today — from food security and climate resilience to energy efficiency and workforce issues — while drawing from different disciplines across engineering like robotics and artificial intelligence.

    “The roles are designed to be symbiotic; they will work collaboratively with each other and across departments within the college and the university, bringing together the expertise needed to move cutting-edge research into practical farming and agricultural practices,” said Fathallah.

    These resources, along with the Resnick Center’s new equipment and infrastructure, together act as a catalyst bolstering an already top-tier program to go farther and faster than ever before, accelerating UC Davis’ impact and leadership in ag innovation and food systems sustainability. Fittingly, the Agricultural Innovation Robotics and Sensing Suite within the center will be named in honor of the gift.

    Honoring the Best legacy 

    A farmer and long-serving leader in Yolo County, Dan G. Best II was a member of the Woodland Chamber of Commerce, who named him Agribusiness Person of the Year in 2013, and served on the Woodland Healthcare Foundation Board. He was part of a long line of agricultural innovators. His great-grandfather, Daniel Best, worked to improve early grain harvesters and steam tractors in the late 1800s in San Leandro, Calif. — and received 41 patents over his lifetime.

    “Dan was a tremendously generous yet modest man, who was incredibly proud of his grandfather’s legacy and contributions to agricultural innovation. He was adamant that his pioneering work be celebrated, and that UC Davis’s strength in this area made it a fitting tribute for lasting dedication and impact,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations.

    C.L. Best was also an inventor and businessman who changed how land is worked around the world. He perfected the track assembly of the track-type tractor — a machine that moves on continuous steel tracks instead of wheels — making it more durable in difficult ground conditions. His designs became the foundation for nearly all modern tracked machines still in use today.

    In 1925, C.L. Best helped form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. and served as its chairman until his death in 1951. Best’s work supported major advances in agriculture through irrigation, flood control and land development. The machines built on his ideas helped shape farms, infrastructure and communities worldwide, creating a legacy that continues to influence modern-day agriculture and industry. — By Clémentine Sicard

  • Growing Cereal Crops With Less Fertilizer

    Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found a way to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers needed to grow cereal crops. The discovery could save farmers in the United States billions of dollars annually in fertilizer costs while also benefiting the environment.

    The research comes out of the lab of Eduardo Blumwald, a distinguished professor of plant sciences, who has found a new pathway for cereals to capture the nitrogen they need to grow.

    The discovery could also help the environment by reducing nitrogen pollution, which can lead to contaminated water resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions and human health issues. The study was published in the journal Plant Biotechnology.

    Nitrogen is key to plant growth, and agricultural operations depend on chemical fertilizers to increase productivity. But much of what is applied is lost, leaching into soils and groundwater. Blumwald’s research could create a sustainable alternative.

    “Nitrogen fertilizers are very, very expensive,” Blumwald said. “Anything you can do to eliminate that cost is important. The problem is money on one side, but there are also the harmful effects of nitrogen on the environment.”

    A New Pathway to Natural Fertilizer

    Blumwald’s research centers on increasing the conversion of nitrogen gas in the air into ammonium by soil bacteria — a process known as nitrogen fixation.

    Legumes such as peanuts and soybeans have root nodules that can use nitrogen-fixing bacteria to provide ammonium to the plants. Cereal plants like rice and wheat don’t have that capability and must rely on taking in inorganic nitrogen, such as ammonia and nitrate, from fertilizers in the soil.

    “If a plant can produce chemicals that make soil bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen gas, we could modify the plants to produce more of these chemicals,” Blumwald said. “These chemicals will induce soil bacterial nitrogen fixation and the plants will use the ammonium formed, reducing the amount of fertilizer used.”

    Blumwald’s team used chemical screening and genomics to identify compounds in rice plants that enhanced the nitrogen-fixing activity of the bacteria.

    Then they identified the pathways generating the chemicals and used gene editing technology to increase the production of compounds that stimulated the formation of biofilms. Those biofilms contain bacteria that enhanced nitrogen conversion. As a result, nitrogen-fixing activity of the bacteria increased, as did the amount of ammonium in the soil for the plants.

    “Plants are incredible chemical factories,” he said. “What this could do is provide a sustainable alternative agricultural practice that reduces the use of excessive nitrogen fertilizers.”

    The pathway could also be used by other plants. A patent application on the technique has been filed by the University of California and is pending.

    Dawei Yan, Hiromi Tajima, Howard-Yana Shapiro, Reedmond Fong and Javier Ottaviani from UC Davis contributed to the research paper, as did Lauren Cline from Bayer Crop Science. Ottaviani is also a research associate at Mars Edge.

    The research was funded by the Will W. Lester Endowment. Bayer Crop Science is supporting further research on the topic. — By Emily C. Dooley, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

  • Could Seasonal Wildfires Ruin our Wine?

    Many wine lovers know that a hint of smoky flavors in Zinfandel or Pinot Noir are the perfect complement with grilled meats. They may also be familiar with the phrase, “Stressed vines make the best wines.”

    But what if those smoky overtones go overboard as the grapes are exposed to destructive wildfires? And what if those stressed vines are the result of prolonged drought conditions?

    As the effects of climate change are felt in California wine country and around the world, vintners are anxious about what the future holds. They wonder if some wine regions are becoming too warm to properly grow such signature grapes as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. They’re concerned about prolonged droughts that decrease harvest yields and lead to dry conditions that set the stage for massive wildfires. Those fires can not only destroy precious vineyards but also damage fruit through prolonged smoke exposure.

    With so much at stake in the world’s wine industry, UC Davis researchers are focused closely on mitigating the effects of climate change in viticulture. They’re working with the wine industry to study such pressing issues as smoke taint, drought-tolerant rootstocks and other ways that grape growers can adapt to warming temperatures.

    “We’re seeing the impact of climate and climate change,” said Megan Bartlett, a UC Davis plant biologist and assistant professor. “Especially after the heatwaves and the megadrought a few years ago, we really saw, as an industry, declines in (crop) yield. These are really pressing problems, especially now.”

    The spectre of smoke

    The 2020 vintage was a lost year for Stuart Spoto. His premium brand, Spoto Family Wines, sources much of its Cabernet Sauvignon in the Oakville appellation in Napa Valley, on a plot of land that’s also used by UC Davis researchers at Oakville Station.

    As wildfires and hazardous smoke whipped around the Napa Valley in the fall of 2020, Spoto couldn’t help but fret. He’d been through this in 2017, when Napa was similarly engulfed in flames and smoke from the wine country fires.

    While Spoto Family Wines was still able to release a 2017 vintage, this time was different. Early analysis showed that prolonged smoke exposure had most likely tainted the grapes that made the wine, leaving Spoto to scrap the 2020 vintage. Shafer Vineyards in Napa’s Stags Leap District and Somerston of St. Helena were among those who made the difficult decision to forgo the 2020 vintage due to smoke taint concerns.

    “Part of being in Oakville is we have a good team of fellow vintners, and UC Davis is part of that,” said Spoto ’82. “We had a lot of data collected and we relied on other people’s information and sensory evaluations. Sitting down with UC Davis, we had a pretty clear idea to not produce wine.”

    Anita Oberholster uses a large pipette to grab a sample of smoke-exposed wine that’s been sitting in fermentation tanks (photo courtesy of Joe Proudman/UC Davis)

    ‘Can you imagine licking an ashtray?’

    Anita Oberholster, a Cooperative Extension enology specialist at UC Davis, has studied the effects of smoke taint over the past four years, as wildfires have become an annual event in California. She’s now one of the world’s leading experts in the issue.

    If grapes are exposed to smoke, especially for extended periods of time, they can impart unwanted flavors into finished wine. That’s smoke taint, and it has the capability to ruin entire vintages of wine.

    “Can you imagine licking an ashtray?” Oberholster said. “When wines are heavily impacted, it can taste like that.”

    The impact of smoke taint isn’t always cut and dried. You can’t predict which grapes may have suffered damage based on anything intuitive, such as sight, smell or even the flavor of fresh grapes. Just because there’s smoke in the air doesn’t mean grapes are tainted.

    “There are so many variables,” Oberholster said. “Freshness of the smoke, number of times exposed, variety of grape — the list goes on. There’s so much we don’t know.”

    Chemical analysis can help predict the likelihood of smoke taint, but time is of the essence. In the fall of 2020, as grapes hung heavy on the vine in Northern California, commercial labs were backed up for several weeks to test for possible smoke taint. Even if the grapes were unaffected, disruption could still be felt around the wine industry.

    “Growers were in a tough position because buyers were cancelling contracts unless you could prove your grapes hadn’t suffered damage,” said David Block, UC Davis viticulture and enology professor and department chair, “and demand for analysis far exceeded supply.”

    Mysteries and myths

    Thus, the research related to smoke taint continues, with a long list of mysteries and myths to decipher.

    “Number one, are we looking at the right molecules?” Oberholster said. “We can’t fully assess smoke-related issues if we don’t completely understand the nature of the compounds at play.”

    Smoke barriers are also on Oberholster’s radar. She wonders if a spray could be developed that growers could use to protect grapes from the harmful compounds that burning woods emit.

    Additionally, Oberholster hopes to see the development of low-cost sensors that support growers’ ability to estimate smoke-taint risk.

    “That would expand lab capacity because you’d only have to test grapes that were in a high-risk zone,” she said.

    As for myths, Oberholster wants to dispel the misconception that grapes and wine will automatically suffer in smoky conditions.

    “Consumers have no reason to shy away from vintage 2020,” she said. “Winemakers will ensure the quality of the wine is what the consumer expects. They know that if consumers taste wine that is tainted, they won’t reach for it again.”

    Rising temperatures, thirsty vines

    2020 started on a worrisome note in terms of water. In February, the U.S. Drought Monitor classified nearly 60% of the state’s land as “abnormally dry.” That included the wine grape growing counties of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino.

    Meanwhile, a broader and equally troublesome trend was emerging in California’s wine country. Napa, for example, was moving into a warmer climate category according to the Winkler Index. Developed at UC Davis by A.J. Winkler and Maynard Amerine, this system classifies the climate of wine growing regions based on a heat summation scale and serves as a guide for which grape varietals are best suited for a given area.

    Back at Oakville Station, Kaan Kurtural works directly with growers regarding climate change and wine. He’s a professor of viticulture at UC Davis who researches rootstocks and clone combinations that show promise in being more drought-tolerant, along with farming practices that mitigate the effects of warming weather. Some future plots at Oakville Station will focus on varietals that are native to southern Italy and Greece and will be tested for plant-fitness in California’s warming climate.

    “I don’t think there was ever a doubt with grape growers that it was happening,” Kurtural said about climate change. “This is bottom-line — grapes are money, it’s business.”

    In response to warming temperatures, Kurtural is testing shade films that can be used in vineyards to filter certain types of ultraviolet light. Grapes can still be grown outdoors but have the potential to stay cooler and expand the growing season with these systems.

    “It was one of the first things that Napa Valley growers asked me to test when I came to UC Davis in 2015,” Kurtural said. “Now we have shades over the rows to block out the vineyards. It looks like you’re growing the grapes in a greenhouse but the site is open.”

    Kurtural is also helping lead a trial that focuses on Napa’s most signature grape: Cabernet Sauvignon.

    This red varietal, which likely accounts for slightly more than half of the Napa Valley’s grape plantings, requires very particular conditions to thrive. It needs warmth to ripen — but too much heat can make its flavors go flat and boozy. And without enough water supply, growers can face low crop yields.

    Kurtural is now part of a research team that’s collaborating with Napa’s Beckstoffer Vineyards and Duarte Nursery in Stanislaus County in what’s been called “the mother of all cabernet trials.” It encompasses 3,600 plants with 10 clones of Cabernet Sauvignon crossed with different 10 rootstocks.

    The trial’s goals are to find the hardiest rootstocks for Cabernet Sauvignon by identifying biomarkers for overexposure and water stress.

    Explained Kurtural, “We’re going to use these biomarkers to identify the most resilient rootstocks and clone combination for Cabernet Sauvignon. “It’s unlikely that things will change overnight,” he added, “or the markets will accept a substitution for Cabernet or (Bordeaux varieties). This will buy us some time to find some breeding material to blend in.”

    Bartlett, the plant biologist, also works to identify traits that can improve drought tolerance in rootstocks. She’s part of a UC Davis project that’s looking at the characteristics of root cells that help the roots maintain water intake from dry soil. Once the genes with those traits are identified, they can screen across large populations for breeding.

    “We’re trying to see how we can solve problems by improving these plants,” Bartlett said. “We want to see how we can scale up these traits for overall stress tolerance and performance from the plant.”

    Harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at Oakville Experimental Station under smoky conditions in 2017. From left to right are Ph.D. student Raul Girardello, M.S. student Arran Rumbaugh and Anita Oberholster, cooperative extension specialist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology (Photo courtesy Anita Oberholster).

    So as the wine world looks to the 2021 vintage and beyond, questions remain about climate change and what the future may hold.

    “A crystal ball would be nice in terms of climate change,” said Spoto, the Oakville Station winemaker. “I let the experts take the lead. Having UC Davis in our backyard is beyond words for the benefit we get.” — By Chris Macias & Diane Nelson, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences