The annual UC Davis Small Grains and Alfalfa Field Day will take place on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at the Agronomy Field Headquarters (2400 Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA 95616). Registration opens at 7:45am, and lunch is provided between the small grains morning program and alfalfa afternoon program. The event is free and open to the public, and continuing education credits will be available. Directions are as follows: 

The field day is located on Hutchison Drive, just west of Davis. Take the Hwy. 113 exit north from I-80, or Hwy. 113 south from Woodland. Exit west on Hutchison Drive. Take a right at the first roundabout, a left at the second roundabout, and the Agronomy Headquarters is about ¼ mile down in a clump of trees and buildings on the left. 

Agenda

7:45  Registration (no charge)

Small Grains Program

8:15     Welcome and Introductions—Mark Lundy, CE Grain Cropping Systems Specialist

8:20     Overview of wheat breeding—Jorge Dubcovsky, UC Davis wheat breeder

8:25     California Wheat Commission remarks—Claudia Carter, Executive Director

8:30     California Crop Improvement Association remarks—John Palmer, Executive Director

8:35     Depart for field

Field Tour

9:00 – 11:30 Small grain variety evaluations, breeding, and management research

9:00     Common Wheat, Durum and Triticale variety evaluations: productivityanddiseaseresistance—Mark Lundy and Nicholas George, UCCE/UCDavis

9:30     Barley breeding update—Alicia del Blanco, UC Davis

9:45     Wheat breeding update—Oswaldo Chicaiza, UC Davis

10:00   Common wheat lines with increased resistant starch, positive and negative effects on agronomic traits— André Schönhofen, UC Davis

10:15   Triticale breeding for breadmaking quality—Josh Hegarty, UC Davis

10:30   Root differences favoring flooding and drought tolerance—Tyson Howell, UC Davis

10:45   Research progress in grain yield components—Alejandra Alvarez/Junli Zhang, UC Davis

11:00   Barley & Common Collaborative variety evaluations: productivity and disease resistance— Mark Lundy and Nicholas George, UCCE/UC Davis

11:10   Malting barley market prospects—Konrad Mathesius, UCCE Sacramento Valley Agronomy Advisor

11:15   Research update: Nitrogen management for productive & high quality malting barley—Taylor Nelsen, UC Davis

11:25   Seeding rates in grain sorghum—Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE Delta Farm Advisor

11:35   Return for lunch

12:00 Barbeque Lunch

Alfalfa and Forage Program

12:30   Welcome and Introductions—Dan Putnam, UCCE/UCD Alfalfa Specialist

12:35   Appreciation for the Field Station Staff—Brad Hanson & Ted Dejong, UCCE/UC Davis

12:45   Key Activities for California Alfalfa & Forage Association—Jane Townsend, CAFA, Sacramento, CA

Field Tour

1:05     Near-loss of Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban) – The story isn't over yet: pay attention to stewardship in alfalfa IPM! – Pete Goodell, UC IPM Program, Kearney Ag Center, Parlier, CA

1:20     Implementing IPM in Alfalfa Production for insects, weeds and diseases –Rachael Long & Larry Godfrey, UCCE Yolo-Solano-Sacramento Counties, Woodland, CA

1:35     Alfalfa Blogs- Electronic Communications on Pest Management of Interest to you!— Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, Delta Region, CA

1:40     Developing cropping systems to maximize protein from alfalfa for human consumption – Dan Putnam, UC Davis, Davis, CA

2:05     Identifying the Bad Guys—Identifying Weeds Common in Sacramento Valley&What strategies makes sense Q&A –Brad Hanson, Weed Specialist, UC Davis

2:20     Poisonous weeds in alfalfa – Nitrates, alkaloids and tannins: What are the keyones that affect animals?—Birgit Puschner, UC Veterinary College, UC Davis

2:35     Estimating the true water needs of alfalfa and using ET to schedule Irrigations–Daniele Zaccaria, Irrigation Specialist, UC Davis, CA

2:50     Kura Clover – Introduction of a new crop – the importance of being patient–Dan Putnam, UC Forage Specialist, UC Davis, CA

2:55     Switchgrass Plantings for Biofuels—Dan Putnam, UC Davis

3:00     Choosing Alfalfa Varieties for Maximizing Pest Resistance and Yield—Dan Putnam, UC Davis

3:15     Low Lignin Alfalfa – A New Technology coming along - Current and Future UC Experiments – Brenda Perez, UC Graduate Student, UC Davis

3:30     Drip Irrigation Studies in Alfalfa—Ali Montazar, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

3:45     Breeding and Evaluation of Fall Dormancy in Alfalfa – Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

4:00     Deficit Irrigation of Alfalfa and Interactions with varieties—James Radawich, Graduate Student, UC Davis

4:20     Return to Base