Katie Driver, a Ph.D. student in the Al-Khatib Lab at UC Davis, was awarded the 2018 D. Marlin Brandon Rice Research Fellowship. Katie's work focuses on controlling bearded sprangletop in California rice fields. She has identified populations of bearded sprangletop that are resistant to the herbicide clomazone and is investigating the mechanism and level of this resistance. She is also conducting experiments to learn more about the biology of the weed,  including germination requirements, flooding tolerance, and competitiveness. 

The memorial fellowship was established to provide financial assistance to students pursuing careers in rice production science and technology. The award was presented at the...

From Brian German at AgNet West :: April 17, 2018

California rice growers will need to be on the lookout for two new problematic weed species this year.  One of the species is called rough barnyardgrass (Echinochloa muricata) and the other is known as coast cockspur grass (Echinochloa walteri).  The discovery of the weeds came after two growers having difficulty controlling weeds reached out to University of California researchers for assistance with identification.

“I took it to the Herbarium and they confirmed that both of the samples I took down there were Echinochloa muricata, which is related to the...

The $1 million UC Cooperative Extension Presidential Chair for California Grown Rice has been awarded to Whitney Brim-DeForest, UCCE rice advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Placer, Sacramento and Butte counties.

Brim-DeForest said she will use the funds generated from the endowed chair to hire a full-time technician to monitor a research study at UC Davis on weedy rice. Weedy rice is the same species as cultivated rice and it produces rice, however the grain falls off the plant before harvest.

She is part of a team of UC scientists that includes UCCE advisors Luis Espino and Michelle...