Research conducted by the University of California (UC) is playing a key role in supporting Central Valley farmers as they address challenges related to crop development, water use, and environmental sustainability.
Nancy Lange, a citrus grower in Tulare County, developed the Rosy Red Valencia orange after discovering a mutated limb on one of her trees. She collaborated with UC Cooperative Extension advisors at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center and the Citrus Clonal Protection Program (CCPP) at UC Riverside to ensure the new variety was safe and viable. “Terrible diseases like HLB [Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease], if allowed to infect citrus nursery trees, could wipe out California citrus. The job CCPP does is critical,” Lange said. After three years of testing, Lange received a patent for the Rosy Red Valencia in 2018. “There would be no Rosy Red Valencia without CCPP,” she added. The fruit is now available in stores across California.
Lange also expressed appreciation for university support: “I am grateful that this vital service is funded to allow for the growth of new varieties in California and continues to promote the innovation of the California citrus industry.”
Bowles Farming president and CEO Cannon Michael relies on partnerships with UC scientists to optimize operations on his Merced County farm. He credits late UC Cooperative Extension advisor Bill Weir with improving nitrogen use practices that resulted in cost savings and regulatory compliance benefits for his farm. Michael’s team hosts research trials led by faculty from several UC campuses, including studies on composting textile waste with Professor Rebecca Ryals from UC Merced and soil microbiology analysis with Professor Kate Scow from UC Davis.
Michael described this collaboration as essential: “It’s a marriage in my mind between academia and the practical, on-the-ground work; they have to work together.” He emphasized that unbiased scientific research helps farmers make informed decisions about adopting new technologies or farming methods.
He also highlighted broader impacts: “Long-term research is part of the backbone of the whole industry. Cutting off research is going to slow progress… All those things get impinged upon when you don’t have a good marriage of scientific research with the daily work.”
In Firebaugh, Joe Del Bosque uses data developed by UC researchers to schedule irrigation more efficiently during periods of drought. “We schedule our irrigations of our crops largely based on data developed by the UC system,” Del Bosque said. He values how Cooperative Extension brings theoretical knowledge into practice: “They know the issues at the ground level. They’re taking theory or studies and putting them to practice to test them to see how well they work.”
Del Bosque has participated in panel discussions at UC Merced about agriculture’s future and water management challenges. He noted that conducting independent research can be difficult for individual farmers: “Farmers can’t do the research on their own… It takes someone like UC to do that type of research for us so we can be better at growing crops and also taking care of our people.”
The University of California’s involvement extends beyond laboratory settings into direct fieldwork with growers statewide, providing scientific expertise aimed at enhancing productivity while addressing environmental concerns.
