California Ag Network

Tag: UC Davis

  • Research Identifies Traits That Could Advance Grape Breeding, Sustainability

    Wild North American grapes are now less of a mystery after an international team of researchers led by the University of California, Davis, decoded and catalogued the genetic diversity of nine species of this valuable wine crop.

    The research, published in the journal Genome Biology, uncovers critical traits that could accelerate grape breeding efforts, particularly in tackling challenges like climate change, saline environments and drought.

    “This research marks a significant step in understanding the genetics of grapevines,” said Dario Cantù, the senior author on the journal article and a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology. “It lays the groundwork for future advancements in grape breeding by identifying key genes responsible for important traits.”

    The research team developed and used state-of-the-art technology to construct a comprehensive pangenome, which is a complete genetic blueprint, of wild grape species.

    This so-called super-pangenome of nine species allowed the team to map genetic diversity, identify similarities or differences among them, and pinpoint specific traits that breeders may want to incorporate. First author Noé Cochetel, a postdoctoral researcher in Cantù’s lab, did the analyses and played a pivotal role in the project.

    It is the first North American wild grape pangenome to be mapped and catalogued, Cantù said.

    “This offers tremendous potential for advancing sustainable grape cultivation, especially in regions facing water scarcity challenges,” said Cantù, a plant biologist who also holds the Louis P. Martini Endowed chair. “This pangenome will enable further genetic exploration of other vital adaptive traits, essential for industry resilience, like drought tolerance, heat resistance and defense against Pierce’s disease.”

    Caused by a strain of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, Pierce’s disease kills grapevines by clogging their water-conducting vessels.

    Wild grape pros and cons

    North American grapes are known for their resistance to disease and adaptability, but they are not favored for taste and wine quality. European grapevines like chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon are less resistant to diseases but are renowned for producing high-quality wines.

    North American species have a wide geographic range. As a consequence, they have evolved to withstand diverse climatic, soil and pathogen conditions, encompassing a broad spectrum of genetic diversity.

    That is why nearly all wine grapes produced worldwide are from European vines grafted onto North American rootstocks.

    Ability to select traits

    The detailed pangenome will empower breeders to selectively incorporate desired traits from wild grapes, such as salt tolerance, while avoiding less desirable characteristics.

    “Salt tolerance is a crucial trait for rootstocks,” Cantù noted. “Identifying these traits at a genetic level is a major advancement for grape breeding.”

    Andrea Minio, Jadran F. Garcia, Rosa Figueroa-Balderas and Mélanie Massonnet from UC Davis contributed to the research, as did experts from Cornell University, UC Irvine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Human Technopole in Italy.

    Funding from the National Science Foundation, the E&J Gallo Winery and Louis P. Martini Endowment in Viticulture supported the research. The UC Davis Genome Center, of which Cantù is a member, performed sequencing. — By Emily C. Dooley, UC Davis

  • The Good and Bad Uses of Biomass for California

    Conversion to Biofuels Good for Air Quality and Climate Policies

    As California works to meet climate and air quality goals, a key to the transition will come from biomass, which is renewable organic material from plants and animals.

    New research from the University of California, Davis, published in the journal Global Change Biology Bioenergy, examines the good and bad uses of biomass and the best pathways to meet California’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 85% of 1990 levels by 2045.

    “California is fortunate in having a large biomass resource,” said lead author Peter Freer-Smith, an adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. “Finding the best use of biomass remains challenging, and this study outlines future scenarios for effective use.”

    Not all biomass is equal

    California’s biomass resources are vast and widespread across the state, with as much as 54 million dry tons available each year. This comes mostly from forests and wildlands, municipal solid waste, animal manure and crop residues such as material left over from harvest.

    But use of this biomass is controversial, and not all biomass is equal. Using this resource effectively to produce energy, as well as minimize greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution is key to a sustainable future for California.

    Policymakers, planners and others working to reduce waste streams and pollutants should use the study as a resource, said  Freer-Smith.

    “Using this information, we can take action to ensure that biomass is used effectively in California,” he said. “If you’ve got a bad use, then you can use biomass in a different way, or you can change the technology so that you address the problems associated with that use. Also, some biomass is waste, so we have to get rid of it, and we might as well do something sensible with it.”

    Freer-Smith and other researchers examined more than 400 papers written from 2005 to 2022 about biomass use in California and cataloged the effects on emissions.

    Choosing the right path for biomass

    The paper finds that there are 34 pathways that either help reduce greenhouse gases or specific air pollutants, and 14 that achieve reductions in both categories. Conversely, 13 pathways — including wildfires, the open burning of biomass and other uses — increase harmful emissions.

    Good uses of biomass include combustion to generate renewable energy, producing biodiesel and converting wastes to biogas. Anaerobic digesters, which break down biodegradable materials into energy, have positive effects when it comes to converting agricultural, livestock, food and water waste.

    Bad pathways include fires, open composting of animal manure and disposal of municipal solid waste without production of landfill gas. Wildfires have among the most negative effects.

    Burning of forest material, such as for prescribed burns, and crop byproducts is also detrimental.

    “It would be a lot better to take that down to the power station and burn it to create energy,” Freer-Smith said. “Even burning biomass in power stations is better for climate policy, and it’s better for air quality relative to burning on site.”

    The paper also finds that new, innovative pathways are being developed to replace fossil fuels, meet climate objectives and contribute to the bioeconomy.

    “It’s best to use biomass for renewable energy or for generating electricity where combustion is controlled and carbon capture becomes a possibility — so it’s better for climate policy and for air quality relative to burning on site,” said Freer-Smith. “Similarly, it’s important to get prescribed burning of forest biomass right.”

    Jack H. Bailey-Bale, Caspar L. Donnison and Gail Taylor from the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences contributed to the research.

    Funding for the preliminary analysis came from the California Air Resources Board. The John B. Orr Endowment in Environmental Plant Sciences and the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory also supported the research. — By Emily C. Dooley, UC Davis

  • UC Davis Nematologists Excel at International Meeting

    Doctoral students in the laboratory of nematologist Shahid Siddique, associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, excelled at the 62nd annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists (SON), held July 9-14 in Columbus, Ohio.

    It was the lab mates’ first-ever conference, and they brought home first- and second-place awards, in addition to a second-place tie in the Cobb Bowl competition which memorializes Nathan Cobb (1859-1932), the father of nematology.

    Alison Coomer Blundell, who will be a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Plant Pathology this fall, won first place in the three-minute student competition with her presentation on “Trade Offs Between Resistance Breaking and Fitness Cost in Root-Knot Nematodes.” She received a $250 award and a plaque.

    Alison Coomer Blundell, first place winner in the three-minute student competition with her presentation on “Trade Offs Between Resistance Breaking and Fitness Cost in Root-Knot Nematodes.”

    Ching-Jung Lin, who will be a fourth-year doctoral student this fall, won second place in the 12-minute category with her presentation on “Elucidating the Role of MigPSY Peptides in Interactions Between Plants and Root-Knot Nematodes.” She received a $250 prize.

    The six-member Siddique lab team, “Meloidogyne Gang Gang,” which included Blundell, Lin, third-year doctoral student Pallavi Shakya, and second-year doctoral student Veronica Casey, tied for second place in the Cobb Bowl, a jeopardy-like competition that can include both students and postdoctoral fellows on the teams.

    “I am very humbled by the award and recognition but am very proud of seeing all my lab mates accomplish their presentations and get good feedback and recognition as well,” said Blundell, who seeks a PhD in plant pathology. She holds two undergraduate degrees–a bachelor’s degree in biology and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry–from Concordia University, Seward, Neb.

    “I was first introduced to nematodes in my undergraduate studies where I maintained C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans) cultures, but was introduced to plant parasitic nematodes when Dr. Siddique reached out to me about becoming a member in his lab,” Blundell said. “This was my first time at SON, and for all my lab mates. SON has allowed me to meet people I have heard about or have talked to on Zoom, email, or twitter and also make new connections with many U.S. states and universities.”

    Lin enrolled in the UC Davis Plant Pathology doctoral program, with a designated emphasis in biotechnology, in 2020. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in agronomy in 2015 from the National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, and her master’s degree in plant biology in 2018 from National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. She recently received a two-year, $32,000 Ministry of Education Taiwan Government Scholarship to Study Abroad (GSSA).

    Lin, a first-generation international student, credits co-principal investigator Professor Gitta Coaker of Plant Pathology and the Coaker Lab with mentoring her, offering presentation suggestions. “It was very much appreciated,” she said.

    Six teams competed in the Cobb Bowl. The study material is based on six decks of nematode trading cards created by Jon Eisenback, professor in  Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He also hosted the game as “SmartAlex EisenTrebeck.” He asked questions in the form of an answer, such as”

    • Question: “The Guava root-knot nematode.”
      Answer: “Meloidogyne enterolobii“
    • Question: “First report of root-knot nematodes.”
      Answer:”Who is Miles Joseph Berkeley?”

    “The most difficult question, said team member Veronica Casey was: “The color of the first edition of the Journal of Nematology.”

    “The answer was simply, ‘What is orange?’ but many teams thought it was green,” Casey related. “Another difficult question was ‘The full species name of the Beech Leaf disease nematode.’ The answer: “What is Litylenchus crenatae mccannii?”

    The University of Idaho team won the Cobb Bowl. The UC Davis team, which also included a postdoctoral fellow from the University of Illinois and a graduate student from Montana State University, tied for second place with two other teams: AlohaNema, comprised primarily of students from the University of Hawaii, and Nemafolks, comprised of students from a number of  universities, including Michigan State, Oregon State and Texas Tech. The other two teams represented the University of Florida and The Ohio State University.

    Also at the SON meeting, Siddique participated in a session titled “Nematology Faces of the Future.” In his five-minute self-introduction, he displayed a map showing how far he has traveled. A native of Multan, Pakistan, he received two degrees in Multan: his bachelor of science degree from the Government College Bosan Road in 2001 and his master’s degree in botany from the Bahauddin Zakariya University in 2004. Then it was off to Vienna, Austria to receive his doctorate in 2009 in agriculture and biotechnology from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. After serving as a research group leader for several years at the University of Bonn, Germany, he joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty in 2019 as an assistant professor and advanced to associate professor this year.

  • Dry Creek Vineyard Founder David S. Stare Receives ‘Wine Lifetime Achievement Award’ At Castate Fair

    Dry Creek Vineyard is proud to announce that the California State Fair honored Sonoma County wine pioneer David S. Stare as the recipient of their “Wine Lifetime Achievement Award” during yesterday’s ceremony. Stare is one of two recipients for the 2022 year alongside legendary wine writer Bob Thompson, as the State Fair Advisory has recognized multiple industry experts across award categories due to delayed events during the pandemic.

    Coming west in the late 1960s with little more than a dream to start his own winery, David Stare is the original innovator of present-day Dry Creek Valley.

    “It was 1971, and I was studying winemaking at UC Davis during the week and searching for vineyard property on the weekends. It was on one of those visits that I discovered the Dry Creek area and immediately fell in love,” said Stare.

    As the first new winery in the Dry Creek Valley following Prohibition, Dry Creek Vineyard has become the flagship producer of Fumé Blanc and Zinfandel in Sonoma County. Over the last 51 years, the winery has also developed an international reputation for its Dry Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Bordeaux varietals and Meritage blends, continuing to craft classically styled, terroir-driven, appellation-focused wines.

    Stare’s pioneering legacy reflects his lasting impact. Among the many achievements during his career, Stare was:

    • First to plant Sauvignon Blanc in the Dry Creek Valley in 1972.
    • First to produce a Fumé Blanc in Sonoma County.
    • First to initiate the appellation status for the Dry Creek Valley in 1983.
    • First to label a wine with the Dry Creek Valley appellation.
    • Ranked among California’s first proponents of Bordeaux-style blending.
    • First to release a wine using the classification of “Meritage” (1985 vintage) on the label to classify Dry Creek Vineyard’s Bordeaux-style blend.
    • First to champion Zinfandel among world-class vinifera.
    • First to coin the term “Old Vines” Zinfandel, beginning with the 1985 vintage.

    The journey to establish Dry Creek Valley as a premier winegrowing region was never easy, but David Stare remained persistent in his vision despite skepticism from agricultural critics.

    “All along the way, I was told that my ideas had never been done before. Being a kid from Boston, I was just bullheaded enough to do what I wanted to do,” said Stare. “I am so proud that Dry Creek Vineyard remains one of the last truly private, family-owned, iconic wineries from Sonoma County consistently producing 90-plus point wines!”

    Stare’s work extends far beyond the five-decades-old family winery. As a community leader, he has served as President of the Society of Blancs, President of the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and President of the Sonoma County Wineries Association, as well as serving on the board of directors of the California Wine Institute. He was recently honored with Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “American Wine Legend” award as well in 2022.

    With a passion for philanthropy, Stare continues to serve as the Board Chairman for Global Partners of Development, initiating Vineyards to Villages in 2012, a program that raises money from the wine industry to bring clean water to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. His family winery Dry Creek Vineyard continues to pave the way to an innovative future, led by the second generation and Stare’s daughter, Kim Stare Wallace.

    Established in 1972 by David S. Stare, Dry Creek Vineyard is Dry Creek Valley’s flagship winery located in the heart of Sonoma County, California. This premier, family-owned winery is celebrating 50 years of winemaking and is led by the second generation. Dave’s daughter, Kim Stare Wallace, serves as President overseeing a successful family winemaking and grape growing business that includes 185 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards. Named a Top 100 Winery by Wine & Spirits Magazine and a Top 10 Tasting Room by USA TODAY, the winery is also 100% Certified Sustainable. Dry Creek Vineyard proudly produces delicious Dry Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Meritage blends as well as a portfolio of single vineyard selections. To learn more, visit www.drycreekvineyard.com. Connect with Dry Creek Vineyard on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

  • Nearly 70% of Private Label Avocado Oil Rancid or Mixed With Other Oils

    Avocado oil has become a popular choice for many people in recent years because of its heart-healthy benefits and versatility in cooking. However, not all avocado oil products on store shelves are created equal. Some products are labeled as “pure” avocado oil when they contain other oils or additives. No enforceable standards defining the chemical and physical characteristics of avocado oil exist yet.

    Researchers at the University of California, Davis, analyzed samples of 36 private label avocado oil products and graded them based on quality and purity. Private label products are made by a third-party processor and sold under a grocery store or retailer brand label. Their findings, published in the journal Food Control, show that 31% of the samples tested were pure, and 36% were of advertised quality. Quality refers to whether the oil is fresh or has gone bad due to aging, heat or light exposure. For purity, researchers measured fatty acids, sterols and other components that differentiate avocado oil from other oils.

    The study included oils purchased from 19 retailers in the U.S. and Canada with various price points. They found that lower-priced oils were more likely to be tainted with other oils.

    “We found that low-cost products indicate a higher probability for adulteration, but high cost didn’t guarantee purity or quality,” said Selina Wang, associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Food Science and Technology. She and Hilary Green, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis, co-authored the paper.

    Researchers also identified certain chemical markers in avocado oil that professional retail buyers can use to make more informed decisions when it comes to choosing suppliers. This way, consumers can feel confident about the products they buy.

    This is the second comprehensive study conducted by UC Davis researchers on the quality of avocado oil sold in the U.S. The first study released in 2020 found that many of the test samples were of poor quality, mislabeled or adulterated with other oils.

    “This study demonstrates that although progress is being made in standard development since our first market study in 2020, there are still issues with purity in avocado oil and these issues extend significantly into private label oils,” Wang said.

    Avocado oil standards

    Since the release of the first UC Davis study, Wang said there’s been a coordinated effort by researchers, industry leaders and government agencies to establish enforceable standards. The Avocado Oil Expert Group was formed in collaboration with the American Oil Chemists’ Society to discuss potential standards and future research projects.

    Wang’s research group has been studying how natural factors like different types of avocados, harvest times, geographic origins and processing methods could affect the chemical composition of avocado oil. They want to create standards that will accommodate natural variations while detecting any adulterations.

    Wang hopes that the study’s findings will contribute to the establishment of standards that benefit both consumers and avocado oil producers who want to compete in a fair market.

    “I’m very optimistic for the future of the avocado oil industry,” Wang said. “It’s a high-value product with high consumer demand, similar to what I saw with olive oil 10 years ago. Olive oil quality and purity have improved significantly, which is where I see avocado oil going, if we can establish fair standards and eliminate fraudulent products.” — By Tiffany Dobbyn, UC Davis

  • Lab-Grown Meat’s Carbon Footprint Potentially Worse Than Retail Beef

    Lab-grown meat, which is cultured from animal cells, is often thought to be more environmentally friendly than beef because it’s predicted to need less land, water and greenhouse gases than raising cattle. But in a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that lab-grown or “cultivated” meat’s environmental impact is likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.

    Researchers conducted a life-cycle assessment of the energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production and compared that with beef. One of the current challenges with lab-grown meat is the use of highly refined or purified growth media, the ingredients needed to help animal cells multiply. Currently, this method is similar to the biotechnology used to make pharmaceuticals. This sets up a critical question for cultured meat production: Is it a pharmaceutical product or a food product?

    “If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” said lead author and doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “If this product continues to be produced using the “pharma” approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.”

    The scientists defined the global warming potential as the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each kilogram of meat produced. The study found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using these purified media is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.

    A more climate friendly burger in the future?

    One of the goals of the industry is to eventually create lab-grown meat using primarily food-grade ingredients or cultures without the use of expensive and energy-intensive pharmaceutical grade ingredients and processes.

    Under that scenario, researchers found cultured meat is much more environmentally competitive, but with a wide range. Cultured meat’s global warming potential could be between 80% lower to 26% above that of conventional beef production, they calculate. While these results are more promising, the leap from “pharma to food” still represents a significant technical challenge for system scale-up.

    “Our findings suggest that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment than conventional beef. It’s not a panacea,” said corresponding author Edward Spang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “It’s possible we could reduce its environmental impact in the future, but it will require significant technical advancement to simultaneously increase the performance and decrease the cost of the cell culture media.”

    Even the most efficient beef production systems reviewed in the study outperform cultured meat across all scenarios (both food and pharma), suggesting that investments to advance more climate-friendly beef production may yield greater reductions in emissions more quickly than investments in cultured meat.

    Developing the technology that would allow the leap from “pharma to food” is among the goals of the UC Davis Cultivated Meat Consortium, a cross-disciplinary group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and educators researching cultivated meat. Other goals are to establish and evaluate cell lines that could be used to grow meat and find ways to create more structure in cultured meat.

    Risner said even if lab-based meat doesn’t result in a more climate-friendly burger, there is still valuable science to be learned from the endeavor.

    “It may not lead to environmentally friendly commodity meat, but it could lead to less expensive pharmaceuticals, for example,” said Risner. “My concern would just be scaling this up too quickly and doing something harmful for the environment.”

    Other authors include Yoonbin Kim and Justin Siegel of UC Davis and Cuong Nguyen of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    The research was funded by the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and the National Science Foundation Growing Convergence Research grant. — By Amy Quinton, UC Davis

  • UC Davis Leads World Rankings with Veterinary Science, Ag

    The University of California, Davis, continues to be recognized for its leadership in the fields of veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry in the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject released March 22.

    Quacquarelli Symonds, considered one of the most influential international university rankings providers, ranked UC Davis first in the nation and second in the world in both subjects.

    Since veterinary science was added to the rankings in 2015, UC Davis has been first in the world five times and is No. 2 for a fourth time. The campus was No. 1 in agriculture and forestry in the first three years the subject was ranked and has held the No. 2 spot since 2016.

    UC Davis was ranked 38th in the world and tied for 17th in the nation in the broad category of the life sciences and medicine. The campus was also ranked globally and nationally in each of the other broad categories of the rankings: natural sciences, engineering and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences and management.

    In addition to being top-ranked in veterinary science and agriculture and forestry, the university had top 50 world rankings in four other subjects and top 25 national rankings in 14 others. (Detailed rankings by country are provided to universities but not published on the website.)

    “The rankings shine a spotlight on UC Davis for its leadership in veterinary science and also demonstrate the excellent education and research the campus provides across the academic fields,” said Chancellor Gary S. May.

    The rankings consider reputation among academics; reputation among employers; the citations and impact of academic papers from a university; and the diversity of a university’s international research network. In all, the 2023 rankings analyzed programs at 1,594 universities across the world.

    In addition to veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry, the top 50 world rankings are:

    • environmental sciences, 22nd
    • biological sciences, 35th
    • development studies, 44th
    • anatomy and physiology, 50th

    And the top 25 national rankings are:

    • environmental sciences, 10th
    • development studies, 11th
    • civil and structural engineering, tied for 12th
    • geography, tied for 15th
    • anatomy and physiology, 16th
    • biological sciences, 17th
    • law, tied for 19th
    • earth and marine sciences, 20th
    • geophysics, tied for 21st
    • geology, tied for 21st
    • economics and econometrics, 21st
    • sports-related subjects, 22nd
    • statistics and operational research, tied for 22nd
    • chemical engineering, 23rd

    The School of Veterinary Medicine has more than 700 students pursuing the doctor of veterinary medicine and other professional and graduate degrees, and offers the nation’s largest veterinarian residency program with more than 30 specialties. More than $89 million in annual research funding is applied to benefit animal, human and planetary health. The school’s hospital treats more than 50,000 patients each year. This April, the school will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

    The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has more than 7,400 undergraduates in 27 majors and 1,040 graduate students in 22 graduate groups and programs. The college’s researchers generate more than $225 million in government, corporate and foundation awards. UC Davis is among the most published and cited U.S. research universities in agricultural sciences, animal science and plant sciences, environment and ecology, food science and nutrition, and soil sciences.

    UC Davis & Rankings

    A world-class university, UC Davis is highly ranked for how it transforms students’ lives, the impact of its research, the excellence of its academic programs, sustainability and more. The university performs self-evaluations and also appreciates the value of third-party assessments. However, ranking methods vary, change over time and can be subjective. UC Davis focuses on those rankings that most closely align with its mission and values — including serving the public good, inclusiveness and equity, and social mobility — and in national rankings looks most closely at its standing among public universities. UC Davis encourages prospective students and their families to weigh rankings among other factors in their college decision, talk with counselors and UC Davis admissions advisors, and, if possible, visit the campus. — By Julia Ann Easley, UC Davis

  • Growing Food Under Solar Panels with Less Water

    People are increasingly trying to grow both food and clean energy on the same land to help meet the challenges of climate change, drought and a growing global population that just topped 8 billion. This effort includes agrivoltaics, in which crops are grown under the shade of solar panels, ideally with less water.

    Now scientists from the University of California, Davis, are investigating how to better harvest the sun — and its optimal light spectrum — to make agrivoltaic systems more efficient in arid agricultural regions like California. Their study, published in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, found that the red part of the light spectrum is more efficient for growing plants, while the blue part of the spectrum is better used for solar production.

    A Door Opener

    The study’s results could help guide global interest in agrivoltaics and identify potential applications for those systems.

    “This paper is a door opener for all sorts of technological advancements,” said corresponding author Majdi Abou Najm, an associate professor at the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and a fellow at the UC Davis Institute of the Environment. He conducted the study with first author Matteo Camporese of the University of Padova in Italy, who came to UC Davis as a Fulbright visiting scholar. “Today’s solar panels take all the light and try to make the best of it. But what if a new generation of photovoltaics could take the blue light for clean energy and pass the red light onto the crops, where it is most efficient for photosynthesis?”

    For the study, the scientists developed a photosynthesis and transpiration model to account for different light spectra. The model reproduced the response of various plants, including lettuce, basil and strawberry, to different light spectra in controlled lab conditions. A sensitivity analysis suggested the blue part of the spectrum is best filtered out to produce solar energy while the red spectrum can be optimized to grow food.

    This work was further tested this past summer on tomato plants at UC Davis agricultural research fields in collaboration with UC Davis Assistant Professor Andre Daccache from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

    Guiding Light

    In an era of shrinking viable land, understanding how plants respond to different light spectra is a key step toward designing systems that balance sustainable land management with water use and food production, the study noted.

    “We cannot feed 2 billion more people in 30 years by being just a little more water-efficient and continuing as we do,” Abou Najm said. “We need something transformative, not incremental. If we treat the sun as a resource, we can work with shade and generate electricity while producing crops underneath. Kilowatt hours become a secondary crop you can harvest.”

    The study was funded by a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Research Scholarship, UC Davis and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. — By Kat Kerlin, UC Davis

  • Resnicks Pledge $50M to UC Davis for Sustainability Research

    The University of California, Davis, announced that philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, have pledged the largest gift ever to the university by individual donors. The $50 million pledge will support the school’s longstanding commitment to address today’s most pressing challenges in agriculture and environmental sustainability.

    The $50 million gift will establish the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation, with $10 million of the Resnicks’ gift to be directed toward annual competitive research grants through the Resnick Agricultural Innovation Research Fund. Their donation also supports UC Davis’ $2 billion fundraising campaign, “Expect Greater: From UC Davis, for the World,” the university’s largest philanthropic endeavor to date.

    “Protecting and preserving our planet for the future means we must take bold steps and push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Stewart Resnick, who is also a member of the UC Davis Chancellor’s Board of Advisors. “UC Davis is at the forefront of tackling climate change, developing groundbreaking technologies and solutions to reduce our collective carbon footprint, and creating a more sustainable agriculture system. This gift aims to help our greatest scientific minds rise to the great challenge of our time — the sustainability of our planet for future generations. Lynda, I, and The Wonderful Company are proud to partner with UC Davis to support this all-important work.”

    Design on the Resnick Center is expected to begin in 2022, with construction slated for completion by 2026. Once built, the new 40,000-square-foot, LEED-certified, state-of-the-art hub will house classrooms, research and lab spaces, and student career and advising support near the current plant sciences building off Hutchison Drive in Davis.

    This initiative will unite experts from across UC Davis focused on five thematic research areas including identifying innovative solutions for agricultural byproducts, maximizing water and energy efficiencies, developing next-generation technologies, making crops more resilient and sustainable in the face of a rapidly changing climate, and expanding access to nutritious food. Ultimately, the center will explore new ways of balancing food production with leading sustainability practices while advancing the global agricultural industry with scalable solutions.

    “Thanks to this historic gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, UC Davis will further expand its global reach, helping to shape the future of sustainable food production,” said Gary S. May, chancellor, UC Davis. “This gift demonstrates a continued commitment to innovative environmental stewardship and allows us to create science-based solutions that can be rapidly deployed while mitigating the impacts of climate change.”

    The Resnick Agricultural Innovation Research Fund will provide grants to promote cross-collaboration and strengthen the network among research faculty, agricultural producers, food companies, pharmaceutical companies, commodity boards, and other key stakeholders. Beginning this year, competitive research grants will be awarded annually to UC Davis faculty and Cooperative Extension specialists focused on identifying value-added properties in pistachio, almond and pomegranate byproducts.

    “Many specialty crop byproducts are treasure troves of compounds that can promote health, improve soil quality, influence microbial ecology, or be converted into valuable products,” said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “This transformative gift will help increase the potential of these byproducts, enhance sustainability and create new markets.”

    The center will provide student advising and career support including for more than 60 Wonderful Scholars enrolled at UC Davis. The Resnick-created Wonderful Scholarship program was initially established to provide college scholarships to the children of Wonderful employees from the Central Valley. It has expanded over the last 28 years to also award college scholarships to Wonderful Education Career Pathways Program students, as well as graduates of the Wonderful College Prep Academy and neighboring schools. Many of these recipients are first-generation college students.

    The Wonderful Company, co-run by the Resnicks, is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, whose iconic brands include FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Halos, Wonderful Seedless Lemons, Teleflora, JUSTIN, JNSQ, and Landmark wines. Every year, the Resnicks invest in education, community development, and health and wellness initiatives across the Central Valley and beyond, a place-based giving approach centered on investing in, listening to, and collaborating with the communities where their employees live and work. To date, the Resnicks have invested more than $2.3 billion in philanthropy, with more than $1.3 billion invested in environmental sustainability, to help combat climate change and preserve the planet for future generations.

    “The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation will be a game-changer for research and teaching,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations. “Now, experts from diverse fields will have the critical resources and tools needed to train the leaders of tomorrow. The Resnicks’ vision is a testament to what philanthropic partnerships with UC Davis can achieve.”

    Together, donors and UC Davis continually strive to advance and accelerate sustainability and social responsibility initiatives to create positive outcomes for the planet and people.

  • Thirteen UC Davis Scientists Contribute to Special Journal Edition on Spotted-Wing Drosophila

    Thirteen UC Davis scientists or former affiliates are among authors from eight countries who contributed to research articles for the Journal of Economic Entomology’s Special Collection: Research Advances in Spotted-Wing Drosophila suzukii Management.

    The recently published Special Collection showcases 14 articles.

    Native to Asia, the agricultural pest is a worldwide threat to the berry production industry, which includes raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. The tiny insect, about 1/12 to 1/8 inch long, invaded the continental United States in 2008.

    “All of the papers were by invitation of the co-editors of the special collection—Jana Lee, Cesar Rodrigue-Saona, and me,” said journal editor-in-chief Frank Zalom, a UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and recall professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Zalom’s research includes the spotted-wing drosophila.

    Lee, formerly with the UC Davis laboratory of the late chemical ecologist Steve Seybold, is a research entomologist with the Horticultural Crops Research Unit,  U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis. Rodriguez-Saona, who received his doctorate from UC Riverside, is an Extension entomologist with the Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey.

    In addition to Zalom and Lee, the UC Davis-linked authors include Joanna Chiu and Antoine Abrieux (Joanna Chiu lab); Zain Syed and Kevin Cloonan (Walter Leal lab); Gregory Loeb (Rick Karban lab); and Kelly Hamby, Hannah Burrack, Fatemeh Ganjisaffar, Brian Gress, Nicole Nicola and Mark Demkovich (Zalom lab).

    Overall, the Special Collection includes authors from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States that represent perspectives from universities, federal and state laboratories, growers, and pest product companies, according to the editors.

    One paper, Spatio-temporal Variation of Spinosad Susceptibility in Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), a Three-year Study in California’s Monterey Bay Region, is from the Zalom lab and includes co-author, molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

    The work of molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is included in the Journal of Economic Entomology’s special collection targeting research on the spotted-wing drosophila. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

    UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology communication specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey provided the cover photo of the spotted-wing drosophila feeding on a raspberry.

    Since 2008, “D. suzukii has become a key economical pest of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries in the United States and worldwide,” the editors wrote in their introductory remarks. “Not surprisingly, the number of publications has proliferated from 29 publications as of 2010 to 978 additional publications between 2011 and 2021 from a Web of Science search for ‘Drosophila suzukii.’ While many publications are available, this special collection will highlight advances in D. suzukii pest management since its U.S. invasion. We solicited papers by open call and received 66 abstracts, and selected 14 papers covering: 1) review, 2) monitoring and risk, 3) behavioral control, 4) biological control, 5) cultural control, and 6) chemical control.”

    The collection is meant to serve “as a key reference point for entomologists across many institutions (e.g., academia, government, and industry) on important advances in D. suzukii pest management,” according to the Entomological Society of America. “The articles in this collection will also provide scientists information on potential research gaps that will help guide future research directions on this important pest. The goal is to preserve and catalog articles on various aspects of D. suzukii pest management, i.e., monitoring, cultural control, chemical control, behavioral control, and biological control, that will be shared among entomologists.”