October 01, 1999

CA&ES Leadership Team Named
Neal Van Alfen (Ph.D., '72, Plant Pathology), dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, announces the appointment of three faculty members to his restructured leadership team. James D. MacDonald (B.S., '73; M.S., '75; Ph.D., '77, Plant Pathology) was named executive associate dean of the college. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology in 1978 and has served as chair the last four years. He holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Environmental Horticulture. MacDonald has held several leadership positions in the college, the most recent being chair of the Steering Committee for Academic & Strategic Planning (SCASP). His research expertise is in soil-borne fungi and root diseases of nursery, ornamental and landscape plants. Lovell S. Jarvis (Tu) was named associate dean of the Division of Human Sciences. He came to UC Davis and joined the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 1984. He served on the College Executive Committee, as chair of the Academic Committee on Research and two terms as chair of the International Agricultural Development Graduate Group. Jarvis received his B.A. in Economics from University of Kansas in 1964 and his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969. His research focuses on economic policy in developing countries, particularly relating to agricultural production and international trade Michael P. Parrella was named associate dean in the Division of Agricultural Sciences. He earned a B.S. in animal science at Rutgers University in 1974 and a Ph.D. in entomology at Virginia Tech in 1980. He joined the UC Riverside faculty in 1980 and relocated to Davis' Department of Entomology as an associate professor in 1988. He served as department chair for eight years. Parrella has a courtesy appointment in the Department of Environmental Horticulture. His research expertise is the development of integrated pest management strategies in nursery and greenhouse crops. Selection is underway for an associate dean to lead the Division of Environmental Sciences. Annie J. King, who was named associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in 1993, continues to serve in that role. Van Alfen also announced that Andre Lauchli, associate vice chancellor for research, will serve as a part time faculty advisor to the dean. Lauchli served as interim dean from July 1 through August 31, 1999. Van Alfen assumed the position of dean September


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Crop Vandalism Fact Sheet
Vandals caused roughly $20,000 in damages to three research plots in the Department of Plant Pathology's campus farm sometime between 7 p.m. Monday, September 27, 1999 and 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 28. The 130-acre farm is located in the area known as the Armstrong Tract west of Old Davis Road, south of Interstate 80 and north of the railroad tracks. None of the plantings was genetically engineered, and there has been no indication that the vandalism is linked to recent damage claimed to be the work of anti-genetic engineering activists. UC Davis police are exploring possible connections to the earlier vandalism, however. A staff member at Plant Pathology Field Headquarters discovered early Tuesday morning that one-third of an acre of cantaloupe, one acre of English walnut saplings and a small weather station had been destroyed. The cost of the vandalism includes more than $14,000 in plant materials and instrumentation plus the cost of lost research time. UC Davis police suspect the vandals may have hopped over the chain-link fence between the plant pathology field area and the UC Davis off-ramp from Interstate 80. A large irrigation valve appears to have been tossed over the fence at that point. According to Richard Bostock, professor and acting chair of the Department of Plant Pathology, 178 walnut trees, which were planted in May, were broken in half, and many of the metal support stakes were knocked over. The trees were English walnuts, which had been grafted onto a "wingnut" rootstock. Researchers were studying how compatible the wingnut rootstock is with the English walnut, because there is evidence that the wingnut rootstock may be quite resistant to Phytophthora root rot, a major disease affecting the walnut industry in California. USDA researcher Greg Browne, Department of Plant Pathology, was conducting the walnut research, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To the east of the walnut planting, six rows of cantaloupes covering about one-third acre were pulled up. Researchers were observing how well a particular fungicide controlled powdery mildew disease on the melons. Rows of pumpkins and squash on either side of the cantaloupe were not damaged, although they were part of the same research project. Cooperative Extension specialist Doug Gubler, Department of Plant Pathology, was conducting the cantaloupe study. In a tomato plot less than a quarter mile west of the walnuts and cantaloupe, an eight-foot-tall weather station was knocked over and its computerized equipment smashed. The solar-powered weather station was being used to monitor how black mold disease in tomatoes responded to varying weather conditions. Cooperative Extension specialist R. Michael Davis, Department of Plant Pathology, was conducting the tomato trial.


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Reminder: Arboretum's Annual Plant Faire
The Arboretum's 25th Annual Plant Faire will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, 1999, on campus. Hosted by Friends of the Davis Arboretum, the sale will feature more than 1,000 different kinds of plants that have been grown in Davis and acclimated to Central Valley conditions. Many others plants are drought tolerant. Proceeds from the sale support the UC Davis Arboretum, a 97-acre garden bordering the southern edge of the main campus. Expert gardeners will be available to provide information on plants.


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Design Alliance
October 3 - 29, 1999 "Visage: The International Face:" A variety of eclectic international folk art and antique artifacts that focus on the image of the face, from the collection of Dolph Gotelli, professor, Department of Environmental Design Guest Curator: Dolph Gotelli Lecture: October 3, 1999; 12 noon; 176 Everson Hall; $10 admission; Design Alliance members free; Campus parking is free on Sundays Opening Reception: October 3, 1999; 2 - 5 p.m., 176 Everson Hall, free admission From primitive tribes to sophisticated artists, the human face has held mankind's interest for centuries. Curator and collector Dolph Gotelli brings together a variety of objects from around the world that highlight or focus on the face. According to Gotelli, all cultures have emphasized the face in varied forms and media. In many folk art pieces, the face is abstracted, exaggerated, anthropomorphic, horrific or sacred and often has been depicted as over-scale with diminished limbs. Historic and contemporary artists alike have transformed vegetables, suns and moons into humanoid countenances. Human and animal faces have been depicted on everything from utilitarian objects to great works of art. The exhibition highlights many forms of the face, including unusual forms such as ceramic jugs, porcelain pitchers, papier mache, Halloween pumpkins, Easter candy, composition toys, Victorian paper scraps, textiles and wooden sculptures.

Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223

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Central Valley Exhibit
Associate Professor Heath Schenker, Landscape Architecture Program, Department of Environmental Design, is guest curator of an exhibit titled "Picturing California's Other Landscape: The Great Central Valley," to be held October 17, 1999, through January 2, 2000, at the Haggin Museum in Stockton. The exhibit presents an overview of 150 years of photos, maps, commercial images, paintings and drawings of the Central Valley region. According to Schenker, images represent diverse points of view and challenge popular perceptions of the Central Valley landscape. Schenker is editor of a book with the same title published by Heyday Books (Berkeley) in conjunction with the exhibit. The book includes full-color images from the exhibit and essays contributed by Central Valley scholars.

Victoria E. Whitworth
CDR Coordinator
Department of Environmental Design
vewhitworth@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-2245

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Mark Francis Elected ASLA Fellow
Landscape architecture Professor Mark Francis, Department of Environmental Design, was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for his contributions to the profession. The award was presented at ASLA's Centennial Conference in Boston in September. At the same conference, Francis was presented an Honor Award for Communication for his new book, "The California Landscape Garden," published in May. He also received a Merit Award for Research for his UC Davis Medical Center Urban Wildlife Preserve project.


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Agricultural-Interest Dorm
UC Davis students have the opportunity to live in a "special-interest" or "theme" community that offers activities unique to a specialty program. This week, the campus' new agricultural-interest dorm became home for 49 students with an interest in agriculture. They reside in Ryerson Hall with Resident Advisor Kara Green. Students in this new special-interest community are interested in crop and livestock production and research, food processing, marketing, business and policy. Programs available to them discuss career options and feature speakers from industry and faculty. Residents will have the opportunity to discuss agricultural issues and review the relationship of agriculture to the environment. They will participate in tours of campus research projects and of California's agricultural industry.


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Manure-Management Partnership
A partnership agreement aimed at protecting California's natural resources by helping dairy producers better manage their manure was signed Thursday, September 9, 1999, at UC Davis' 100-cow working dairy. Representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, UC and several state agencies signed the joint agreement. The resulting partnership provides federal funding to support the environmental component of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program, including an ongoing education program, development of dairy manure-management plans and dairy inspections throughout the state. Deanne Meyer, Cooperative Extension livestock waste-management specialist, explained: "Managing livestock manure is not always easy, especially in California where 1.2 million dairy cows help make the state the top milk producer in the nation." Collectively, those cows produce 22-24 tons of liquid and solid manure annually. "It's all a question of management," said Meyer. Meyer designed and presents workshops throughout the state aimed at helping dairy farmers and other livestock producers better manage the manure from their operation. More than 1,100 California dairy producers have attended the workshops, with more than 500 completing the three-class series. She also has distilled state and federal regulations down to a simple checklist that livestock producers can use to make sure they are in compliance with the many laws governing manure management. "People need to treat manure like a resource instead of a waste," Meyer said. "Cows actually make two products, milk and leftover nutrients. Those leftover nutrients in the manure are fertilizer."


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Weed Education and Awareness Workshop
A statewide informational workshop and general brainstorming session on the subject of noxious and invasive weed education and awareness programs will be held Friday, October 15, 1999, from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Sacramento Inn. The workshop, which is being held in conjunction with the California Exotic Pest Plant Council Weed Symposium, will review existing weed education programs and identify ways to coordinate, share and avoid duplication of effort.


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Sierra Nevada Workshop on Wildland Fire
The Sierra Nevada Workshop on Wildland Fire will be held Wednesday, October 20, 1999, in Chico. It brings professionals together to strengthen the implementation of the California Fire Plan's goals of reducing loss of life, property and resources resulting from wildland fire. Workshop objectives are to inform participants about the scope, scale and current status of fire hazard problems in California's wildland and wildland-urban interface areas; identify the roles of UC Cooperative Extension personnel in implementing the California Fire Plan; provide participants with tools for effectively working with communities to mitigate fire hazards and reduce fuel loads in residential areas; provide participants with a forum for discussion of current problems, solutions and research; and develop action plans to help participants implement locally based strategies to help resolve fire hazard issues in the wildland-urban interface and wildland areas.


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Federal Nutrition Research Center
Construction of a federal Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California, Davis, is the subject of a draft initial study recently released for public review and comment. Copies of the draft study and a proposed mitigated negative declaration are available at the reserve desk at Shields Library on campus, Yolo County Library in Davis and the Fairfield-Suisun Community Library in Fairfield. The deadline for written comment is Friday, Oct. 15. One of six such centers in the country, the Western Human Nutrition Research Center had to move from the Presidio in San Francisco because the National Park Service is planning to raze Letterman Army Institute of Research where the center has been located since 1980. About 40 center employees moved to UC Davis last April and are temporarily located in five buildings on campus. Up to 60 employees may be added after the building opens in 2004. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would build the new center on 2.4 acres of land leased from the university. The site is southeast of the intersection of Highway 113 and Hutchison Drive, along West Health Science Drive in the campus's health sciences district. The 49,000 square-foot, two- to three-story center would include office and laboratory space and a human studies area where up to 16 people could live while participating in dietary studies. A 25-space reserved parking lot would be built next to the center and another 60 new spaces would be added to an adjacent campus parking lot. The draft initial study found that the planned building is consistent with growth anticipated under the UC Davis 1994 long-range development plan.


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Development Highlight: Captain Ed Student Prize Fund
Edgar S. Carlson entered into a $100,000 charitable gift annuity agreement that will be used to establish an endowment known as the Captain Ed Student Prize Fund. The fund will support undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. It may be used for student recruitment purposes. For 10 years, Captain Ed and his family lived in Panama where he was a ship pilot. The working arrangement allowed liberal time off after strenuous time on duty. Captain Ed saved his time off until he accumulated enough for one semester of school. THEN, he would bring his family from Panama to Davis so that he and his wife Lorraine could complete their education - semester at a time - as part-time students.They graduated together in 1963. For more information about Captain Ed, about charitable gift annuities or about how you can support undergraduate students in the college, call Rick Swantz, director of development, 530/752-7961

Rick A. Swantz
Director of Development
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
raswantz@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-7961

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Initiative: Gifford Center for Population Issues
The Gifford Center for Population Issues is sponsoring an initiative to provide seed money for research that links the issues of population growth, food production and consumption, environmental impact and human health with an emphasis on developing countries. The goal of this small grants program is to foster interdisciplinary efforts that directly address at least two of these four issues simultaneously. Up to $7,000 will be awarded for each one-year pilot project. Potential uses for the funds include development of collaborative arrangements, collection of preliminary data and preparation of grant proposals for full-scale projects. Alternatively, applicants may propose to use the funding to write a working paper on a key topic. Applied research activities that are directly relevant to policy development are of particular interest. All UC Davis faculty, affiliated researchers and graduate students are eligible to apply. Letter of intent deadline: November 15, 1999 Application deadline: November 30, 1999


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Call for Papers: Fruit and Vegetable Quality
Papers are invited for the University of Georgia's Integrated View of Fruit and Vegetable Quality conference in Griffin, Georgia, May 1-3, 2000. Deadline: November 15, 1999


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Natural Reserve System Student Research Grants
The annual competition has been announced for the Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants to support UC graduate student research on Natural Reserve System sites. Reserve use by non-traditional disciplines, such as engineering, social sciences and the humanities, is encouraged. Applicants must be enrolled in UC while conducting their research. Studies must be conducted on reserves in the Natural Reserve System. Deadline: October 25, 1999


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RFP: Cherry Research
The California Cherry Advisory Board is soliciting proposals for new or continuing research and extension work addressing the needs of the cherry industry in California. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Both single- and multiple-year projects will be considered for funding. Research areas might include improved postharvest handling procedures/techniques/practices/strategies to improve fruit quality, alternatives to traditional methyl bromide treatment, as well as techniques to reduce production costs or improve efficiency of orchard management. Integrated pest management/alternative pest control strategies and sustainable cherry production practices are additional suggested areas of research. Deadline: December 1, 1999


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RFP: Rice Research
The California Rice Research Board operates under jurisdiction of the California Marketing Act, Section 58892. One objective of the program is to support applied and basic research programs conducted by qualified academics in the UC system. The board has established priorities for university rice research in the general areas of improving productivity, enhancing product and co-product marketability and building technical competencies.


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RFP: Pear Research
Research committees of the California Pear Advisory Board and the Pear Pest Management Research Fund are soliciting research proposals. Project leaders funded in 2000 are expected to briefly discuss their proposals with the committees at their January meetings. Deadline: December 1, 1999


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RFP: Pest Management Alliance Program
The Department of Pesticide Regulation invites you to submit proposals for the Pest Management Alliance Program. To be eligible for funding, interested groups must attend or send a representative to a mandatory workshop on October 19, 1999, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Sacramento. The PMA program is designed to encourage the development and demonstration of pest management systems that reduce pesticide use and risks. Projects should address problems that the industry recognizes as important and may contain a mixture of applied research, demonstration, implementation and outreach. Up to $5,000 is available to help in the development of a pest management evaluation. Funding is available for approximately 20 proposals.


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RFP: Statewide Integrated Pest Management
The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project is soliciting new proposals for integrated pest management (IPM) research for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. Proposals may be submitted for any commodity or pest management situation but should address one or more aspects of the UC IPM mission: Reduce the pesticide load in the environment; increase the predictability and, thereby, the effectiveness of pest control techniques; develop pest control programs that are economically, environmentally and socially acceptable; marshal agencies and disciplines into integrated pest management programs; and increase the utilization of natural pest controls. Proposals will be reviewed in five research areas: applied field ecology; biological controls; biorational use of biotic agents or chemicals; cultural controls; and decision support. Deadline: January 14, 2000

Donna Connolly
UC Statewide IPM Project
(530) 752-5336

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RFP: California League of Food Processors
Research project proposals are being solicited for funding by the California League of Food Processors. Deadline: November 12, 1999


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Visit CA&ES Currents online at http://caes.ucdavis.edu/NewsEvents/News/Currents/default.aspx

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CA&ES Currents, the faculty/staff newsletter of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, is distributed every other Friday. News deadline is noon Monday preceding Friday publication. Send inquiries to Ann Filmer, afilmer@ucdavis.edu

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Rhoda McKnight

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Contributors: Donna Gutierrez, Thomas Kaiser, Susan Kancir, Rhoda McKnight, Neal Van Alfen, John Weston.

 

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