- Posted By: Jeannette E. Warnert
- Written by: John (Fr. Damascene) Christensen
Having grown up working in his parents' vineyard, Peter became an internationally renowned viticulture scientist, and was widely considered the world's leading authority on grapevine nutrition and fertility management. He received his BS in Viticulture from California State University, Fresno, in 1956, followed by an MS in Viticulture from the University of California, Davis, in 1959.
Following his graduation from UC Davis, he joined UC Cooperative Extension as a farm advisor in Fresno County, where he spent 23 years working with the local grape industries. In 1984 he advanced to the position of viticulture specialist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, stationed at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, where he retired in 1999. Working closely with colleagues in academia and industry, he conducted practical research on a broad range of topics. Much of this work had immediate and long-lasting impact. For example, the mineral nutrition and diagnostic and fertilizer recommendations for California vineyards are largely based on his research and extension activities. He authored or co-authored over 250 technical papers and research articles during his career, including several seminal publications on grapevine nutrition and the statewide UC production manuals on raisin production, wine grape varieties and grape pest and disease management. He received the Best Research Paper Award from the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture in 1986 and 1990, and also served as the President of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture in 1991-1992. In 1997 he was presented the James H. Meyer Outstanding Career Achievement Award from UC Davis, and in 2004 he was given the Merit Award of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. The latter is the highest honor given to a grape research scientist in the U.S. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the California raisin industry, the newly developed raisin grape variety "Selma Pete" was named in his honor in 2002.
In addition to his outstanding research contributions, Peter was a gifted, thoughtful and generous extension educator and mentor to young scientists. He presented hundreds of technical talks to Central Valley grape growers, and also trained many UC Farm Advisors during his career. His impact extended far beyond California, and he visited many different countries on sabbatical leaves and technical trips, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Italy, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Uzbekistan and 11 States in the USA.
Peter is remembered by his family, friends and colleagues, and by grape growers throughout the Central Valley and beyond, for his unfailing readiness to help and serve, for his humility, and for his good nature and sense of humor. He was a faithful member of the St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Orthodox Church in Fresno, where he was actively involved in the landscaping and maintenance of the church property. For many years he farmed the family vineyards that he inherited along with his sister. His interests included traveling, writing, cooking (including gourmet meals), gardening, boating, fishing and scuba diving. Family closeness was very important to him, and he frequently arranged family get-togethers and vacations in various parts of the state and in countries throughout the world. After a battle with cancer, he ended his earthly life with his characteristic positive attitude, saying that he could not have asked for anything more in life, that he had no complaints, and that he was deeply thankful to God for everything. In the meaningful time leading up to his passing, he received an outpouring of love from his family and from many others whose lives he had touched, and to whom he had always been a selfless servant.
Peter is preceded by John L. Christensen and Florence M. (née Andersen) Christensen.
He is survived by his wife, Eleanor; his sons, John (Fr. Damascene), Robert and Scott; his daughters-in-law, Bonnie and Lorraine; his grandchildren, Jonathan, Emily and Melina; his sister, Jane Hildebrand; and his godparents, Ron and Radmila Tarailo.
Contributions in Peter's name may be sent to the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, P.O. Box 70, Platina, Ca, 96076.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Dahlberg introduced San Joaquin Valley farmers to a new sorghum variety trial during the Alfalfa Field Day Sept. 8. The trial, which compares 80 varieties of forage sorghum, is also being conducted at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points, Calif. At Kearney, the 10- to 12-foot-high plants were grown in 84 days with just 8 inches of irrigation water.
"I'm going to push this to be a sorghum state," said Dahlberg, who came to California in January from Texas, where he was director of research for the United Sorghum Checkoff Board. "I'm not suggesting you take out all your corn forage, but experiment with this a little. There is no reason you shouldn't grow forage sorghum."
Dahlberg said the crop could be useful in rotation with traditional California crops, like cotton and corn.
"There are lots of acres on the West Side that I think could benefit with sorghum rotation," he said.
Alfalfa trials
Alfalfa Field Day participants also viewed alfalfa growing at Kearney as part of an extensive, statewide alfalfa variety trial. Similar plots are being maintained at UC's Intermountain Research and Extension Center, about two miles south of the Oregon border, at the Desert Research and Extension Center, about 10 miles north of the Mexican border, and at several locations in between.
UC Cooperative Extension alfalfa specialist Dr. Dan Putnam said the data gathered in these trials are provided to growers on the UC Alfalfa and Forage website to help them select a variety to grow, a decision Putnam admonished farmers not to take lightly.
"You are 'stuck' with your variety decision for many years," Putnam said. "So why not take a little care in choosing your variety?"
Putnam also described an alfalfa trial at Kearney where a Roundup Ready cultivar is growing across the road from a conventional crop. During the first year of the study, tests have shown that there has been no discernible gene flow between the two fields.
Alfalfa grown for seed requires honey bee pollination and has different isolation requirements than hay, he said. A three-mile buffer must be maintained for production of Roundup Ready seed and a five-mile buffer is required for seed grown for markets sensitive to a genetically-engineered trait. However, alfalfa hay crops can be grown in close proximity with very low risk of contamination if growers follow a few simple steps.
Putnam believes that non-GMO farmers can coexist with conventional farmers by using some of the same good-neighbor farming accords that have long been common in agriculture.
"There is a human factor involved," Putnam said. "Neighbors have to get along and respect each others' points of view."
One way for farmers and buyers to be certain a non-GMO crop doesn't have the Roundup Ready gene is with a simple, commercially available test that can be used in the field or on baled hay, shown below.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Farmers' rugged independence and tendency toward experiential learning make them the ideal candidates for conducting their own on-farm research. UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors will provide the basic tenants for conducting such studies during the Alfalfa Field Day, Thursday, Sept. 8, at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier.
Though farmers don't have to employ the rigorous scientific processes used by UC academics conducting agricultural research, following certain techniques in planning the study, gathering and evaluating data will help ensure valid results.
"We're encouraging farmers to take a scientific approach in a realistic way," said Carol Frate, the UC Cooperative Extension field crops farm advisor for Tulare County. Frate and Shannon Mueller, the Fresno County field crops farm advisor, developed the presentation. "We'll suggest that the farmer do some replication, take notes and follow through. We'll show them how to evaluate the economics of different treatments."
Frate and Mueller's presentation will be made in the classroom following a three-stop field tour with the following presentations:
- Alfalfa variety development and selection for high yields and pest management by Dan Putnam, Extension Agronomist and Forage Specialist, UC Davis
- "Forage sorghums: Not what your parents grew!" by Jeff Dahlberg, Director, Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center, Parlier
- Growing Roundup Ready and conventional alfalfa side by side without contamination - is it possible? by Dan Putnam, UC Cooperative Extension agronomist and forage specialist, UC Davis
In addition to the presentation on DIY on-farm research, the following topics will be covered during the classroom session:
- An IPM approach for controlling pocket gophers and voles in alfalfa by Roger Baldwin, IPM wildlife pest management advisor, Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center, Parlier
- What do you want to know and how do you want to know it? by Shannon Mueller
- "Got weeds? Let's talk." (Bring your weeds and questions) by Kurt Hembree, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Fresno County
- Sclerotinia crown and stem rot of alfalfa and date of planting – Carol Frate
- Optimizing small grain yields (herbicides, stripe rust) – Steve Wright, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Tulare County
Registration is at 7:30 p.m. The field tour will be from 8 to 9:45 a.m. and the classroom session from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The research aims to give vintners blending varieties that will make San Joaquin Valley wines with familiar names more interesting. Vintners may use up to a quarter of their grape volume to impart distinctive color, flavor and structure to a varietal wine without calling it a blend. Grapes being studied at Kearney may one day add a certain flavor note - such as cherry, tannin, black pepper or citrus - to fine San Joaquin Valley wine.
"High levels of color and tannin cannot compensate for a variety whose yield is far below the economic threshold," Wolpert said.
At another stop on the Grape Day tour, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture farm advisor Mark Battany demonstrated the "Paso Panel." Battany developed the tool - composed of an inexpensive, lightweight solar panel and digital meter mounted on an aluminum frame - to help farmers fine tune their irrigation scheduling.
The Paso Panel allows farmers and researchers to quickly and easily calculate the amount of canopy shade in a vineyard or a vineyard row. The data can be combined with climate data to calculate crop water needs.
Measuring soil moisture and using plant-based monitoring systems are other ways to determine plant water needs, but Battany said currently climate-based methods are underused.
"A lot of farmers guess when they need to irrigate," Battany said. "People tend to guess on the conservative side, and put on more water than necessary."
New York-based USDA-ARS plant breeder Peter Cousins was also at the field day to explain his grape root stock variety trials planted at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Cousins and his staff screen 3,000 to 4,000 seedlings a year. The best prospects are sent to California, where 140 experimental root stocks are growing.
"Here at Kearney, the vines grow so vigorously, we can get more than 100 cuttings per plant," said Cousins. "This is their last stop, where we determine whether you can grow them in a field and make wood that propagates vines."
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Some people say rabbiteye blueberries get their nickname from the circle on the blossom end the fruit. Others say the fruit's tendency to turn pink before going blue is reminiscent of a rabbit's eye. Whatever the reason, late ripening rabbiteye blueberries can provide San Joaquin Valley growers the ability to harvest fruit through the end of August, capturing a potentially lucrative market window, says UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Manuel Jimenez.
Porterville blueberry farmer Young Kwun attended the meeting with his farm manager Miguel Jaramillo Garcia. Kwun asked Jimenez how to replant blueberry bushes that had died.
"You can't do it," Jimenez replied. In the test plots, Jimenez and his staff replanted 60 blueberry bushes, and none of them survived. He tried a second time with the same result, and then inquired with blueberry growers around the country, finding that they also could not replant blueberries.
"Replanting is an issue with blueberries," Jimenez said. "We don't know what it is."
"You just saved me a bunch of money," said Kwun, whose 70-acre farm has a number of blank spots.
Kwun said he has missed the last few blueberry field days at Kearney, but that won't happen again.
"I'm thinking I should come every year," Kwun said. "I learned a lot."
