Spring 1994 (v6n2)
Ten continuing research and
education projects focusing on production and social, economic and public
policy issues in sustainable food and agricultural systems have been awarded
$117,021 in additional grant money from UC SAREP this year.
Steve Temple, Agronomy
& Range Science, UC Davis: $25,000. This interdisciplinary comparison
of conventional, low-input and organic management of a processing tomato-based
cropping system is entering its sixth year, funded by SAREP and the USDA's
SARE program. See Sustainable Agriculture Vol. 5, No. 4 (Summer
1993) for a recent update.
Peter Lehman and Susan
Toms, Engineering and International Development Technology, Humboldt
state University, Arcata, CA: $14,487. The Arcata
Farm and Education Project has created a student-operated, community-supported
two acre farm in the city of Arcata to be used for sustainable agriculture
projects by students, community members and local farmers.
Monica Moore, Pesticide
Action Network, San Francisco, CA and Angus Wright, Dept. of Environmental
Studies, California state University, Sacramento, CA: $9,500. This project
has drafted a pesticide use reduction policy for California in consultation
with 46 people throughout California, based on European and other relevant
experiences. This year's funding is being used to broaden the discussion
beyond the initial 46 cooperators, and to further develop approaches to
financial incentives for growers, and funding mechanisms for implementing
a pesticide reduction policy.
Desmond Jolly, Extension
Agricultural Economist, UC Davis and Stan Dundon, Dept. of Philosophy,
California state University, Sacramento, CA: $7,340. This project has
reviewed literature, programs and projects on applied ethics, and begun
drafting a text on agricultural ethics, including case studies. Second-year
funding will be used to complete the text, instructor's manual and related
articles, and to hold several workshops with producers, farm advisors,
and others.
Steven Koike, Monterey
County farm advisor: $4,530. Koike and his colleagues have tested several
cover crop species for their susceptibility to the lettuce drop pathogen,
and the effects of cover crop incorporation on subsequent lettuce plantings.
Preliminary findings from the first year showed that vetch, Phacelia and
Austrian pea may increase soil inoculum and disease in the subsequent
crop. A second year of research is necessary to confirm or refute these
findings.
Kent Daane, Laboratory
of Biological Control, UC Berkeley and Kearney Agricultural Center: $14,487.
This project is studying the effects of cover crops, time of cover crop
plowdown, and trellis system on spiders and other predators of the variegated
leafhopper, a critical pest in Central Valley vineyards. Pests and beneficial
insects are being monitored in large, replicated plots in two commercial
vineyards.
Bill Williams and
Craig Thomsen, Agronomy and Range Science, UC Davis: $8,700. Dryland
legumes are being evaluated for pasture, range, vineyard and farming systems
in Northern California. Dozens of legumes (annual medics, subterranean
clovers, and others), replicated three times, are being evaluated at ten
or more sites for establishment, vigor, percent cover, weed suppression,
recovery following grazing, and/or regeneration.
Elizabeth Mitcham,
Pomology, UC Davis: $11,730. Postharvest hot water immersion treatments
are being explored for their potential as a non-chemical alternative for
control of certain diseases and physiological disorders of fruits. See
p. 8 for details.
Donald Phillips, Agronomy
and Range Science, UC Davis: $15,000. Flavonoids are natural compounds
which have recently been found to promote the growth of beneficial soil
bacteria and fungi. This project looked for flavonoids and other natural
chemical signals in soil from California, Oregon, and Great Britain where
different crop and soil management practices have been in place for many
years. Year Two funds will be used to identify the chemical structures
of signals extracted from soil during Year One, and to develop a microbial
assay to define the biological activity of plant signals in soil.
Lonnie Hendricks,
Merced County farm advisor: $5,750. Building on his previous SAREP funded
research, Hendricks continues to monitor six innovative almond orchards
for leaf nutrient levels, beneficial insects, pests, insect damage to
nuts, soil organic matter and earthworms. Ten cover crop mixes are being
evaluated in one of the orchards for effects on soil organic matter, tree
nutrient status, pests and beneficials.
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