Rachel Vannette: Unlocking the Mysteries of Flower Microbes

Rachel Vannette Seeks to Unlock the Mystery of Flower Microbes

By Kathy Keatley Garvey, Communications Specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Community ecologist Rachel Vannette of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seeks to unlock the mysteries of flower microbes: how do plants protect against them, and can bees benefit from them?

“I am interested in understanding and predicting how microbial communities influence interactions between plants and insects,” she says. The Vannette lab “uses tools and concepts from microbial ecology, chemical ecology, and community ecology to better understand the ecology and evolution of interactions among plants, microbes and insects.”

Now the UC Davis assistant professor has two more opportunities that will enable her to pursue her research: she recently received two National Science Federation (NSF) grants.

One is a five-year Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award, titled “Nectar Chemistry and Ecological and Evolutionary Tradeoffs in Plant Adaptation to Microbes and Pollinators.” NSF grants CAREER awards to early career faculty “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization,” a NSF spokesman said.

The other is a three-year collaborative grant, “The Brood Cell Microbiome of Solitary Bees: Origin, Diversity, Function, and Vulnerability.”

Vannette serves as a co-principal investigator with professor Bryan Danforth, Cornell University; research entomologist Shawn Steffan of the USDA’s Agricultural and Research Service, University of Wisconsin; and assistant professor Quinn McFrederick, UC Riverside.

Of the CAREER grant, Vannette explained in her abstract:

“Plants interact with a variety of organisms. The flowers and the nectar plants produce are adapted to attract beneficial organisms like bees or hummingbirds. However, microbes like bacteria and fungi also inhabit flowers and can reduce plant reproduction.

Plant traits can reduce microbial growth in nectar, but this may also reduce pollinator visitation. This project will investigate if plants that are pollinated by different organisms (e.g. birds vs bees vs flies) differ in their ability to reduce microbial growth and if nectar chemistry is associated with microbial growth.

This project will examine if nectar traits can be used to breed plants to be more resistant to harmful microbes without reducing attraction to pollinators. Resistance to microbes is beneficial in agricultural contexts where floral pathogens can limit food production but crops still rely on pollination.

“This research will link variation in plant phenotype to microbial abundance and species composition, and microbial effects on plant-animal interactions,” she noted. “This project will use a tractable system: the microorganisms growing in floral nectar, which can influence floral visitors and plant reproduction.

The underlying hypothesis tested is that plant traits can facilitate or reduce microbial growth, and the community context (e.g., presence of pollinators) influence ecological and evolutionary outcomes.”

Vannette will perform the research activities using 1) a community of co-flowering plant species and 2) genotypes within California fuchsia (Epilobium canum). “Experiments will characterize variation in microbial growth, nectar chemistry, and microbial effects on plant reproduction and floral visitor behavior and the interactions of these factors,” she related in her abstract. “ Experiments and analysis will reveal how variation in nectar chemistry is associated with microbial growth and species composition in nectar, and subsequent effects on plant-pollinator interactions including plant reproduction. Experiments across Epilobium genotypes will elucidate how microbes affect microevolution of floral traits in a community context.”The project “will engage students from a large undergraduate class to participate in practitioner-motivated research projects,” she wrote. “Students from the Animal Biology major, including in the class ABI 50A will participate in outreach on pollinator-friendly plantings for horticultural and landscaping.

The project will support students recruited from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to participate in independent projects related to project objectives, including hosting students through the Evolution and Ecology Graduate Admissions Pathway (EEGAP), a UC-HCBU program.” The program connects faculty and undergraduate scholars at both UC (University of California) and HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) campusesCollaborative Grant

The collaborative grant will enable the researchers to do cutting-edge research as they investigate the diverse community of bacteria and yeasts in the pollen and nectar diet of bees.

“Bees are the single most important pollinators of flowering plants worldwide,” the co-investigators wrote in their abstract. “Over 85% of the 325,000 flowering plant species on earth depend on animals for pollination, and the vast majority of pollination is carried out by bees.

Annually, bees are estimated to contribute $15 billion to US crop production and $170 billion to global crop production. High-value bee-pollinated crops include apple and other early spring tree fruits, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes, almonds, and many others. The economic viability of US agricultural production is dependent on stable and healthy wild and domesticated bee populations.”

“However, bee populations are threatened by a variety of factors, including habitat loss, pathogen spillover, invasive plants and animals, and pesticide use, which can disrupt the normal microbial symbionts essential for bee larval development (the ‘brood cell’ microbiome),” they pointed out in their abstract.

“This research project focuses on understanding what role microbes play in the larval nutrition in a wide variety of bee species. Previous research has documented a diverse community of bacteria and yeasts in the pollen and nectar diet of bees. As larvae consume these pollen/nectar provisions they are ingesting microbes, and our preliminary results indicate that these microbes form an essential component of the larval diet.

This project has the potential to significantly modify how we view the 120 million-year-old partnership between bees and flowering plants, and will provide essential information for developing long-term bee conservation efforts. Project outreach efforts include educational activities on solitary bees for K-12 students and interactive demonstrations of bee-microbe-flower interactions for broad audiences.

The co-principal investigators said that the project will use cutting-edge methods to (1) document the microbial diversity in flowers and pollen provisions, (2) determine the nutritional role of microbes in larval development and health, and (3) understand how alterations in microbial community impact larval development.

To document microbial diversity in both host-plant flowers and pollen provisions, the research team will use amplicon sequencing and microbial metagenomics. These methods will document the microbial species present in pollen provisions as well as the metabolic activities these microbes perform during pollen maturation. Screening the pollen and nectar of host-plant species will provide key insights into the source of the brood cell microbiome. To determine the nutritional role of the microbial community the research team will use two methods from trophic ecology: compound specific isotope analysis and neutral lipid fatty acid analysis. These analyses will permit the research team to track the origin (floral or microbial) of amino acids and fatty acids in the larval diet of 15 focal bee species.

Finally, through manipulative laboratory experiments, the research team will determine how modifications of the microbial communities impact larval development. They hope by combining the results of these studies, the researchers will provide a comprehensive understanding of how bees and flowering plants interact via their shared microbial partners.

The collaborative project is funded jointly by the Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences Cluster (Division of Environmental Biology) and the Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition Program (Division of Integrative Organismal Systems).

Vannette, a Hellman Fellow, joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in 2015 after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s biology department. As a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow from 2011 to 2015, she examined the role of nectar chemistry in community assembly of yeasts and plant-pollinator interactions.

A native of Hudsonville, Mich., Vannette received her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan, in 2011. Her dissertation was entitled “Whose Phenotype Is It Anyway? The Complex Role of Species Interactions and Resource Availability in Determining the Expression of Plant Defense Phenotype and Community Consequences.”

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00December 16th, 2019|

Nutria Swamp Rats Need Control

$7 Million Legislation Announce to Battle Nutria Swamp Rats

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

The nutria swamp rat, similar in size of the common beaver, with a very high reproduction rate, is capable of wide destruction to farm waterways. It has gotten so bad in California that Congressman Josh Harder of Modesto has introduced legislation in order to get funding in an attempt to eradicate the invasive pests.

Congressman Harder

These swamp rats are taking over California. And for those who aren’t familiar with what a nutria is, it is a giant 40-pound rodent that causes flooding, divert water and eat through farm canals destroy the entire wetlands that the Central Valley relies on.

One of the challenges is that they grow exponentially and one female can have 200 offspring a year. “If we don’t nip this in the bud within a couple of years, they’re going to go from seeing one or two here and there to 250,000 of them in the next five years if we don’t nip it in the bud. So that’s why it’s so critical to get this done early,” noted Harder.

Harder is trying to invest $7 million to eradicate this while it is still early. “While we still have time, we’ve seen this nutria problem in two different states. In Louisiana, they did not nip this problem in the bud and now these nutrients are everywhere. You can’t go two yards without seeing one of these rodents in ag country. It’s really disruptive and they have destroyed a lot of the levies and a lot of the wetlands and, and wrecked-havoc on farms all over Louisiana,” Harder explained.

“On the other hand, Maryland has had an eradication program that has been quite successful, now there are no nutria left in that state. What my bill is trying to do is take that Maryland program and extend it into California because we know it works,” he said.

Controlling nutria is done mostly by trapping right now. But what Maryland has done is they catch one, they sterilize it, and then they throw it back into the population. That female then sniffs out all of its mates and then once we have identified the entire den, all the nutrias are eradicated, with an air gun dart, in a humanly way. “It’s actually a pretty clever program to make sure that you’re getting every single last one because the issue here is because of that exponential reproduction and growth rate, If we don’t get every animal, it’s never going to end. We have to make sure we’re getting down to zero,” Harder said.

And while nutria is similar looking to beavers, beavers do not have 200 offspring a year. Beavers create their own dams. They’re living their peaceful life, but beavers aren’t out there destroying almonds. They’re not out there destroying canals. So, they may look similar, but the nutria is an invasive species and because it grows so quickly, it’s much more important to make sure we’re rooting them out early.

Optimistic the Legislation Will Pass

“I’m very optimistic about it because we have a really strong precedent for this issue. This is a bipartisan issue supported by Republicans and Democrats. We can point to the federal program that has been successful in Maryland.

“And you know, the biggest thing I hear from folks is they say, why should we spend $7 million on this program? And I say, if we don’t spend $7 million today, our farmers are going to be spending hundreds of millions, if not billions,” said Harder, “Over time, because if you look at how much Louisiana is spending right now, they have no hope of eradication. This is a fiscally responsible measure because it’s going to prevent major problems and expenses.”

Nutrias were originally introduced to the United States as part of the fur trade in the late 1800s but were eradicated from California in the 1970s. The species was rediscovered in the Central Valley in 2017. There have been 531 nutrias removed from the Central Valley since this first sighting.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00November 26th, 2019|

Mating Disruption For NOW Works

Trials Show that Mating Disruption Works Well to Offset NOW Damage

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Mating disruption for navel orangeworm works. David Haviland is a UCANR, farm advisor, Kern County. “We all know navel orangeworm is not a simple pest to control and it takes an integrated pest management approach. We know the base of that sanitation—getting rid of all the mummies in the winter to make sure that we reset the clock when navel orangeworm comes back in the spring,” noted Haviland.

“We know that the earlier you harvest, the better you’re going to be. So early and timely harvest is going to help. We know insecticides helped. They’ve been around a while and they’re effective and, certainly, people are using them,” said Haviland. “At the same time, those three things alone don’t always control the pest to the level you need. And that’s where mating disruption can come in as the other leg on the IPM chair.”

Haviland has tested the mating disruption products. Currently, there are three different groups of products registered. There are the aerosol products that releases pheromone throughout at certain intervals throughout the season. The second group, what we call the Meso emitter, that’s a rubber strip that’s hung in the trees that passively releases the pheromone all year and the third group, which is new, is as a sprayable pheromone. It’s one that you put in the tank and you spray it along with an insecticide or fungicide.

“In 2017 trials the big take-home message this that all three of the aerosol products were effective. They all work well, as does the Meso emitter, so all those work about the same,” noted Haviland.

In 2017/2018 Haviland had larger trials that confirmed their previous results. “The earlier trial showed a 40 to 50% reduction in damage, while the later trial on larger acreage showed a 60 to 70% reduction in damage, which was a positive return on investment to the grower,” he said. In 2018, Haviland conducted the first UC trial on sprayable pheromone products. They did not work very well.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00November 15th, 2019|

Orchard Sanitation Will Reduce Navel Orange Worm

Sanitation is Foundation of Navel Orange Worm Pressure

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Now that almonds and pistachios are harvested there is needed break on the farm. But soon it is recommended by experts that orchard sanitation is needed to remove any mummy nuts from the trees to reduce to reduce Navel Orange Worm next year

Joel Siegel is a USDA ARS entomologists and Parlier in Fresno County

“Yes, and again, in a perfect world, if everybody could sanitize perfectly, you could argue there’d be very little need for spraying because there wouldn’t be any navel orange worm,” Siegel said. “The reality is far uglier than that. We’re dealing with difficulties and getting into the orchard because of weather. And again, people have to make that commitment towards sanitation and the cost has gone up. So I’m hearing talk of $300 per acre and higher. So again, people have to factor that their worlds has changed,” he said.

Sanitation is a numbers game. The higher the population at the beginning of the season, the higher the damage expected at the end of the season. The most effective way to reduce overwintering populations of navel orange worm is sanitation. For every mummy left on the tree, that’s equal to its percent damage. One mummy nut, 1% damaged, five mummy nuts per tree, that’s 5% damage. So the ultimate goal is to leave less than one mummy nut per tree, and then those nuts must be removed from the orchard or disced into the ground.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00November 13th, 2019|

Volunteers Need for CDFA Citrus Pest Prevention

CDFA Announces Three Vacancies on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing three vacancies on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee. Committee member vacancies exist for one grower representative each from Tulare and Ventura Counties, and one citrus nursery representative from Southern California. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a brief resume by November 1, 2019 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Asian Citrus Psyllid Evidence on New Growth (Source: California Ag Today)

The Committee advises the CDFA secretary on activities associated with the statewide citrus specific pest and disease work plan that includes but is not limited to outreach and education programs and programs for surveying, detecting, analyzing, and treating pests and diseases specific to citrus.

The members receive no compensation but are entitled to payment of necessary travel expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration.

Committee member vacancies exists for one grower representative each from Tulare and Ventura Counties, and one citrus nursery representative from Southern California. All three member terms expire on September 30, 2023. Applicants should have an interest in agriculture and citrus pest and disease prevention. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a brief resume by November 1, 2019 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division, 2800 Gateway Oaks Dr., Suite 200, Sacramento, California 95833, Attention: Victoria Hornbaker.

For additional information, contact: Victoria Hornbaker, Director, Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division at 916-654-0317, or e-mail victoria.hornbaker@cdfa.ca.gov.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00October 30th, 2019|

BioConsortia Moves Multiple New Products into Registration Phase

Field tests show 15% yield increases from new biostimulants and nematicides

BioConsortia, Inc., innovator of microbial solutions for plant trait enhancement and yield improvement, has moved multiple new products into the registration phase.

BioConsortia has an innovative and powerful R&D platform for the discovery of beneficial microbes and a development model to produce agricultural products with superior efficacy and higher consistency in three areas of research:

Biopesticides: a pipeline of several biofungicides and nematicides with superior efficacy
Biostimulants: growth promoting products that further increase yields in standard, high-yielding as well as stressed, agronomic conditions
Fertilizer use efficiency and nitrogen-fixation: developing products for major non-leguminous row crops (such as corn and wheat)

BioConsortia has raised over $40 million from Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital to invest in its R&D platform and team of 35 scientists to develop biologicals with superior efficacy and higher consistency. With these resources BioConsortia has developed a pipeline of products that prove the power of its Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) platform. BioConsortia is in the registration phase with a number of biofungicide and biostimulant products, and has a series of nematicide products that will be submitted for registration in 2020.

BioConsortia is pioneering the use of directed selection supported by microbiome analysis and machine learning to identify teams of microbes that improve plant performance, increase crop yields, and enhance and/or decrease the use of conventional pesticides and fertilizers. Once leads are identified BioConsortia uses a range of microbial R&D techniques, including tagging and root colonization robustness to ensure its products are efficacious across a wide range of crop, soil and environmental conditions.

The products that are moving to registration have demonstrated efficacy in extensive field trials. BioConsortia has identified a remarkable number of biofungicide leads that are numerically better in efficacy than the best biofungicide products on the market today; two of which are entering the registration phase of development. The biostimulants moving to registration have shown yield increases of over 15% in tomatoes, potatoes and green beans. Similarly the nematicide products in early field trials have significantly decreased the number of nematodes infecting the crop plants and have increased yield by 15%.

“We are very excited by the progress that we have made in product development, for both biopesticides and biostimulants.” says Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO “We look forward to bringing these new, enhanced products to market via partners to benefit both grower profitability and the environment.”

About Us

BioConsortia, Inc. is developing effective microbial solutions that enhance plant phenotypes and increase crop yields. We are pioneering the use of directed selection in identifying teams of microbes – working like plant breeders and selecting plants based on targeted characteristics, then isolating the associated microbial community. Our proprietary Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) process enriches the crop microbiome, allowing us to identify organisms that influence the expression of beneficial traits in plants. We are focused on developing products with superior efficacy, higher consistency, and breakthrough technologies in 3 key areas: biopesticides; biostimulants; and fertilizer use efficiency and nitrogen-fixation products. Our products are foliar, drench, seed treatments, liquid in-furrow and granule products for a wide range of crops.

For inquiries and further information, please contact info @bioconsortia.com.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:01-07:00October 26th, 2019|

Preemergent Herbicides Pay off

Preemergent Herbicides will Insure Clean Berm This Spring

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

While the tree crops are completing their harvest, it will be time on preemergent weed control. Kurt Hembree is a UCANR Weed Management Farm Advisor in Fresno County.

“For nut crop growers particularly, as the rains may approach, this is an opportunity to make sure your spray rig in in operation at its strongest point Make sure there are no leaks and that it has been calibrated,” Hembree said. “Pay attention to the spray nozzles. Have your guys check them and replace them if they are worn. If they are damaged, they do not do you any good on the spray rig.”

Good maintenance will help not only in the coverage standpoint, trying to get the herbicides to the ground to weeds where they need it. It will also reduce some of the drift potential.

Hembree also recommended the appropriate combination of herbicides. “It needs to include two different chemistries and modes of action in the tank. This will help starve off weed resistance on some of the tough weeds. And you tend to get more weed when you have more modes of action in the tank,” he said.

“If you need a postemergent herbicides at the time the preemergents go out then it must go into the tank this time of year as we go into winter,” Hembree said.

If growers want a clean berm come springtime, you need to start it out clean by getting the appropriate mixes in the tank. “Growers should target the toughest weeds that you know you have to battle,” noted Hembree.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:45-07:00October 22nd, 2019|

New Computer App To Help Fight HLB Disease

Computer App Available To Aid In HLB Fight in Southern California

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

A computer app is now available to anyone curious about how close a HLB infected tree was found near his or her home.

The fight to reduce the incidence of Southern California trees infected with the fatal Huanglongbing disease takes many different strategies, in Southern California, particularly in Orange and LA Counties, where the disease continues to spread in trees in the yards of residents.

UC Scientist and others in the citrus industry are suggesting that homeowners remove citrus trees in their yards and replace them with non-citrus trees.

Beth Grafton-Cardwell

“One of the things we’re suggesting that homeowners do is if they’re near where a tree has been removed because it’s been declared positive, that, the homeowner consider removing their citrus trees proactively implanting non citrus,” said Beth Grafton-Cardwell a UCANR Entomologist based at the Lindcove Research and Extension Center.

And if homeowners want to know how close a positive has been found to their home, they can now find out. The information can be found by going to ucanr.edu/hlbapp. By zooming in, the site gives recommendations as to whether a homeowner should replace a tree or not.

It’s not a downloadable app for a smart phone but the web address can be access on the phone and be bookmarked.

“The point of this is because we can’t tell in an early infection which trees are infected,” said Grafton-Cardwell. “If a homeowner is near a known infected tree, there is a good chance that your trees are already infected and we just can’t tell yet.”

“So you help your neighbors and the industry by just taking those trees out and then you don’t have to have CDFA knocking on your door to spray pesticides or to ask to test your tree, if you just get the tree out,” she said.

Already more then 1,600 citrus trees in Southern California have been tested positive for HLB disease, and those trees have been removed.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:46-07:00October 21st, 2019|

New DPR Chief Along with Other Directors

Val Dolcini is New DPR Chief

Other DPR Directors Announced

Val Dolcini, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed director at the Department of Pesticide Regulation, where he has served as acting director since June 2019. Dolcini has been deputy secretary for agriculture at the California Environmental Protection Agency since 2019.

He was president and chief executive officer at Pollinator Partnership from 2017 to 2019. He was an administrator for the Farm Service Agency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2014 to 2017, and state executive director for California for the Farm Service Agency from 2009 to 2014.

Dolcini was a senior manager at Accenture LLC from 2004 to 2009, director of policy in the Office of Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante from 2003 to 2004 and deputy legislative secretary in the Office of Governor Gray Davis from 2001 to 2002. He held several positions in the Office of Congressman Vic Fazio from 1995 to 1999, including legislative assistant and district chief of staff, and was legislative assistant in the Office of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi from 1994 to 1995. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Golden Gate University School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $177,516.

Jesse Cuevas, 32, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy director at the Department of Pesticide Regulation, where he has been assistant director in the Pesticide Programs Division since 2017. He was director of legislation and policy at the Department of Pesticide Regulation from 2015 to 2017 and legislative director in the Office of California State Assemblymember Henry T. Perea from 2010 to 2015. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $179,868.

Raybon Johnson, 53, of Tehachapi, has been appointed warden of California State Prison, Lancaster, where he has been acting warden since 2018 and was chief deputy warden from 2017 to 2018. He served in multiple positions at the California City Correctional Facility from 2013 to 2017, including associate warden, correctional administrator and correctional captain. He held multiple positions at California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi from 1993 to 2013, including lieutenant, sergeant and correctional officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $162,024.

Jared Lozano, 44, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed warden of California Medical Facility, Vacaville, where he has been acting warden since 2018. Lozano was chief deputy warden at Folsom State Prison from 2015 to 2018 and a correctional administrator at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Headquarters in 2015 and from 2012 to 2013.

Lozano was acting chief deputy warden at California Health Care Facility, Stockton from 2013 to 2015 and acting correctional administrator and facility captain at Deuel Vocational Institution from 2014 to 2015 and from 2008 to 2012. He was a lieutenant and captain at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Headquarters from 2006 to 2008, a lieutenant at California State Prison, Solano from 2004 to 2006, a sergeant at Deuel Vocational Institution from 2000 to 2004 and a correctional officer at California State Prison, Solano from 1997 to 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $162,024. Lozano is a Republican.

Marion Spearman, 56, of Janesville, has been appointed associate director of general population male facilities in the Division of Adult Institutions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Spearman has been warden of High Desert State Prison since 2016. He was warden at Correctional Training Facility, Soledad from 2012 to 2016, where he was chief deputy warden from 2011 to 2012.

Spearman held multiple positions at Pleasant Valley State Prison from 1994 to 2011, including the associate warden, correctional administrator, facility captain, lieutenant and sergeant. He was a correctional officer at Mule Creek State Prison from 1987 to1994. Spearman earned a Master of Science degree in criminology from California State University, Fresno. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,004. Spearman is registered without party preference.

Tammatha Foss, 50, of Soledad, has been appointed associate director of reception centers in the Division of Adult Institutions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. She has been acting warden at Salinas Valley State Prison since 2018, where she was chief deputy warden in 2018.

Foss was chief deputy warden at High Desert State Prison from 2016 to 2018. She was a chief in the Program Support Unit at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Headquarters from 2014 to 2016 and correctional administrator in the Division of Adult Institutions from 2013 to 2014. Foss was a business manager and community resource manager at San Quentin State Prison from 2009 to 2013. She served in multiple positions at Pelican Bay State Prison, including procurement officer, budget analyst and correctional officer from 1996 to 2009. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,004.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:46-07:00October 16th, 2019|

UC Offers Almond Production Short Course Nov. 5–7

Almond Short Course For Growers To Learn More

By Pam Kan-Rice UCANR News and Information Outreach

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources will host the UC Almond Short Course Nov. 5-7, 2019, at the Visalia Convention Center.

UC faculty, UC Cooperative Extension specialists and farm advisors and USDA researchers who will provide in-depth, comprehensive presentations of all phases of almond culture and production. An optional field tour will be offered on Nov. 8 in Parlier.

The program is based on the latest information and research and will cover the fundamental principles that form the basis for practical decisions. Each session will include Q&A, quality time with instructors and networking opportunities. The full agenda is at https://ucanr.edu/sites/almondshortcourse/2019_Agenda.

This year’s short course offers an in-depth field tour at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center on Friday, Nov. 8. For an additional fee, participants can learn firsthand about topics ranging from orchard establishment and management to integrated pest management. See the tour agenda at https://ucanr.edu/sites/almondshortcourse/2019_Field_Tour.

Registration is $900, discounts are available until Oct. 21. On-site registration will be $1,000.

Registration includes: