UC Davis Feeding a Growing Population News

Rising Heat Leads to Minimal Losses for California Processing Tomatoes

Katherine E Kerlin — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:00:00 PST

California’s $1 billion processing tomato industry is highly efficient and likely will be able to withstand higher temperatures from climate change, as well as traffic.

Cabernet Sauvignon’s Long Memory Revealed

Amy M Quinton — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 09:33:09 PST

UC Davis scientists find chemical "switches" that control gene expression in cabernet sauvignon remain stable across hundreds of years of clonal reproduction.

A Microbial Blueprint for Climate-Smart Cows

Amy M Quinton — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 06:00:00 PST

UC Davis research reveals which gut microbes in a cow could reduce methane, bringing them a step closer to engineering microbes to create climate-smart cows.

Study Shows Very Dense Olive Orchards Thrive on Less Fertilizer

Amy M Quinton — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:00:00 PST

UC Davis researchers found olive trees produce the same yields and high-quality oil when using 25-50% less fertilizer.

Plants Balance Adaptability in Skin Cells with Stability in Sex Cells

Andy Fell — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:10:04 PST

Mutations drive evolution, but they can also be risky. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how plants control mutation rates in different stem cells to balance adaptability with safety and stability. The findings have implications for breeding some of the world’s most important fruit and vegetable crops, such as potatoes and bananas.

Bezos Earth Fund Grants $2M to UC Davis and American Heart Association to Advance AI-Designed Foods

Andy Fell — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:35:09 PDT

The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $2 million grant to the University California, Davis, the American Heart Association and other partners to advance “Swap it Smart” as part of its AI for Climate & Nature Grand Challenge. The funding will support research that could help redesign foods, for example optimizing for flavor profile, nutritional properties and lower costs and environmental impact.

Turning Food Scraps into Opportunities

Amy M Quinton — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:05:16 PDT

UC Davis researchers have created an online tool to track food scraps and turn them into useful products.

AI Tool to Help Farmers Measure Real-Time Crop Health from the Field

Andy Fell — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:24:59 PDT

Leaf Monitor, a new mobile tool backed by artificial intelligence and predictive modeling, could revolutionize how farmers monitor crops and make decisions by providing real-time nutrition and leaf trait information in the field.

Cheaper, Sustainable Plant Biomanufacturing on Earth and in Space

Andy Fell — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:31:27 PDT

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have been awarded a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to develop new technologies and workforce training programs to grow plants in low-resource environments both on Earth and in space.

Wheat That Makes Its Own Fertilizer

Amy M Quinton — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 08:00:00 PDT

UC Davis scientists have developed wheat plants that produce their own fertilizer, opening the door for less air and water pollution and lower costs for farmers.

How Plants are Learning to Spot Sneaky Bacterial Invaders

Amy M Quinton — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 02:00:00 PDT

UC Davis scientists are using AI t help plants recognize a wider range of bacterial threats.

UC Davis Launches Small-Batch Wine Label

Amy M Quinton — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:00 PDT

UC Davis is selling wines to the public made by students, staff and faculty from Napa Valley and Yolo County grapes.

Targeting Gluten: Researchers Delete Proteins in Wheat Harmful to People with Celiac Disease

Emily C Dooley — Mon, 05 May 2025 09:01:00 PDT

A UC Davis study found that deleting a cluster of genes in wheat may reduce wheat allergies without harming breadmaking.

What to Know About Processed and Ultra-Processed Food

Jocelyn C Anderson — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:43:45 PDT

Scientists explain the difference between whole, processed and ultra-processed foods. Learn how they could affect our health and how the food industry can improve.

Novel Study Calculates the Cost to Cattle Ranchers of an Expanding Wolf Population

Amy M Quinton — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:16:03 PDT

UC Davis researchers found that one gray wolf can cause between $69,000 and $162,000 in losses due to lower pregnancy rates in cows and decreased weight gain in calves.

Cracking the Code of Pistachio Genetics

Amy M Quinton — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:00:00 PDT

UC Davis researchers have generated the most high-quality map of the DNA of the pistachio, allowing breeders to develop better varieties.

California Rice and Wildlife Report Released

Katherine E Kerlin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:00:00 PST

How many acres of rice are needed to support wildlife? UC Davis outlines a conservation footprint for the state's rice in a report for the California Rice Commission.

States Struggle to Curb Food Waste Despite Policies

Amy M Quinton — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:00:00 PST

Current state policies aren't enough to curb food waste. Study shows states are falling short of the reduction goals set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

Amy M Quinton — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 13:20:21 PST

Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle would make cattle farming more sustainable while meeting global demand for meat.

Making High-yielding Rice Affordable and Sustainable

Andy Fell — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:53:43 PST

Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world’s population, but most farmers don’t grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the University of California’s Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains of rice and other crops.