Extension

Research into practice for impact

Much of the research we do involves working alongside people who are trying to manage plant diseases and, in addition to helping with those efforts, studying the process of disease control.  In this way we don't so much do extension in the traditional sense, as much as carry out research and extension in a completely integrated activity with our stakeholders in an approach in which it's hard to draw a sharp division between the two activities.

Extension examples

TSWV/Thrips risk for processing tomato

A large team of UC researchers and UCCE advisors collaborated over several years to develop and IPM program to help the processing tomato industry in the Central Valley manage tomato spotted wilt virus.  You can read a paper summarizing the effort here.   Each season we run a thrips development model based on degree day accumulation a post updates to give growers an idea of how vector pressure is developing in different areas of the valley.

Grape virus management strategies for nurseries and production vineyards

We work closely with multiple stakeholders in the value chain for grape production in California to help mitigate the impacts of vectored viruses on wine grape quality and productivity.