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September 30, 2016 Subscribe to our weekly California email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters CapitalPress.com 9 California UC endowed chair to boost rice research By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Courtesy of Calif. Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program California Citrus Mutual president Joel Nelsen talks to growers during a meeting in Ventura County on the Asian citrus psyllid earlier this year. The state and Citrus Mutual are planning another series of meetings to train crew bosses on how to train their workers to stop the spread of the psyllid, which can carry the deadly citrus disease huanglongbing. Meetings to train crew bosses on preventing spread of psyllid By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Farm labor contractors and crew bosses who work in California citrus groves are invited to attend a series of training workshops on mea- sures to control the Asian cit- rus psyllid. Two-hour sessions are of- fered Oct. 3 in Mecca and Oct. 4 in Thermal, both in Imperial County, and a separate meet- ing for growers and packing- house managers is slated for Oct. 3 in El Centro. Other training sessions throughout Southern and Cen- tral California will be sched- uled, noted oficials from the state Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program. The sessions for crew bosses will aim “to teach them how to train their ield crews to stop the spread” of the psyl- lid, event spokeswoman Jessi- ca Northrup said in an email. The psyllid can carry the deadly citrus disease huan- glongbing, which has devas- tated the citrus industry in the Southeast and has been found in nearly two dozen trees in California. The afternoon session will cover enforcement and effec- tiveness of the trainings out in the ield, according to the state citrus program’s website. The trainings were devel- oped by the state program and California Citrus Mutual, a growers’ group with more than 2,500 members. The meetings are only the latest hosted by the state as the quarantine for the psyllid has grown to cover nearly one-third of California’s total land mass. Oficials from the state program met earlier this year with growers and pack- ers about a proposed region- al quarantine structure under which fruit moving between regions within California would have to undergo a wet wash. As it is now, fruit in the state’s quarantine zone simply has to be clear of leaves and debris before it can be sent out. Industry leaders have de- scribed the psyllid as a “hitch- hiker” that can latch onto vehicles, storage bins and equipment and move from re- gion to region. Past meetings have instructed growers on how to avoid bringing psyl- lids home if they travel, such as by washing vehicles and equipment. The Imperial County meet- ings for crew bosses will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 at Gless Ranch, 95300 Avenue 70, Mecca, and at 10 a.m. Oct. 4 at Youngs Nursery, 68461 Har- rison St., Thermal. The Oct. 3 meeting for growers and pack- inghouse managers will begin at 3 p.m. at the Imperial Coun- ty Farm Bureau, 1000 Broad- way St., El Centro. For more information or to RSVP, call (559) 592-3790. DAVIS, Calif. — An in- dustry group has joined the University of California in setting up a $1 million en- dowed chair to pay for re- search into improving rice production and quality. The UC and the Califor- nia Rice Research Board are splitting the cost of the en- dowed chair, which will have ive-year terms. The earnings from the en- dowment — which will aver- age $40,000 to $50,000 a year — will help UC Cooperative Extension and UC-Davis rice researchers who focus on such issues as weed, disease and pest management, nutri- ent management and water conservation, oficials said. “There’ll be a process where different academics can submit proposals on what they would intend to utilize those resources over a period of ive years,” said Chris Greer, the UC’s vice provost for Cooper- ative Extension. “In most cas- es, we’re going to expect some sort of collaborative project. “My guess would be we’re going to have one person who’s the chair-holder and the funds will be utilized to sup- port collaborative, multidis- ciplinary work on a speciic issue,” he said. Endowed chairs are ix- tures at Harvard University and other top institutions as a way to fund speciic types of research. UC President Janet Napolitano announced in 2014 that she would seek endowment partners for all of the university’s campuses and for Cooperative Extension. Last fall, the UC and the California Pistachio Research Board established two en- Tim Hearden/Capital Press Different types of rice grow at the industry-supported Rice Experi- ment Station in Glenn County, Calif., which often collaborates with the University of California on projects. The UC is setting up a $1 million endowed chair for rice research. dowed chairs of $1 million each to fund studies on tree nut genetics, soil science and plant-water relations. Glenda Humiston, the UC’s vice president for agri- culture and natural resources, said at the time she was hav- ing discussions with several other groups about establish- ing similar funding streams for other areas of agriculture. Getting the highest quality and yields and dealing efi- ciently with pests and disease could be critical for a rice industry whose acreage has declined in recent years be- cause of drought-related wa- ter shortages. Rice growers in California have long been committed to research, having established the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs more than a centu- ry ago and investing more per unit on research than other rice-producing states. The Rice Research Board is funded through a grower as- sessment of 8 cents per 100 pounds of harvested rice. Dana Dickey, the research board’s manager, said he hopes the endowed chair will help the industry respond to issues that arise. “Over the long term, this provides a constant source of research funds that we can use for things that concern the in- dustry,” Dickey said. “We’ve speciically narrowed the ield of people who can apply … to farm advisers and specialists who work on rice. It’s a fair- ly small group of people who we are already committed to funding. This is an additional funding source for them.” 40-4/#7 ROP-38-8-1/#4
