Trina Kleist

3 weeks ago | news.agropages.com | Trina Kleist |Contributing Authors

By Trina KleistCaught between the increasing severity of drought in California and state restrictions on the use of groundwater, grain growers in the Central Valley need options that offer income potential. The recent Small Grains/Alfalfa Field Day, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, presented research on growing cereal crops with minimal water. Without such options, growers are projected to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres on previously irrigated land in the Central Valley.

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Trina Kleist

You’ve seen them alongside country roads all over California’s Central Valley: Walnut trees – entire orchards – knocked over, their dirt-covered roots up in the air, shriveling in the sun. As the state’s $474-million walnut industry struggles to regain its footing against a host of environmental and economic challenges, University of California scientists are testing a new tool that could help farmers with one of those problems: water.

Mar 11, 2025 | m.farms.com | Trina Kleist

By Trina KleistScientists at UC Davis have developed a new genetic tool that makes it easier to breed wheat and triticale to grow more efficiently and to be better adapted to different environments. This new tool is pushing a second Green Revolution, as it bypasses some of the complications left from the first one. The new method recognizes that, in grasses such as wheat, small and short are different.

Jan 8, 2025 | farmprogress.com | Trina Kleist

Stress affects mental, physical health; farm bill program could help. The people who produce our food need support – especially in the areas of mental and physical well-being – to recover from increasingly widespread wildfire, scientists have found. The federal Farm Bill could help, but it is languishing in Congress. An extension of the previous Farm Bill was passed in late December.

Oct 18, 2023 | farms.com | Trina Kleist

By Trina KleistSustainable orchards, regional pest control and organic agriculture education will advance with three grants awarded to faculty in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. The $5 million in funding for the projects comes through the United States Department of Agriculture. “These three projects exemplify the excellent, forward-looking and innovative research that continues within the Department of Plant Sciences,” chair Gail Taylor said.