Posts Tagged: Gerry Spinelli

Celebration Corner

Holtz receives Almond Technical Achievement Award 

Brent Holtz, UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems advisor, received the 2024 Almond Board of California's Almond Technical Achievement Award on Dec. 11 at the Almond Conference, held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. 

Recognized as the "Grandfather of Whole Orchard Recycling," Holtz has revolutionized how almond growers approach orchard sustainability. As an alternative to field burning, the farm advisor for San Joaquin County researched shredding orchard prunings, finding multiple benefits. He has championed whole orchard recycling as a method to improve soil health by recycling entire orchards back into the soil before replanting.  

Williams honored for lifetime achievement 

The San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association presented UC Davis Professor Larry Williams with its lifetime achievement award in a Nov. 8 ceremony at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds. Over the course of his 36-year career at UC Davis, Williams, a plant physiologist, helped determine the nitrogen and potassium needs of raisin, table and wine grapes throughout the state. However, he is probably best known for his extensive research on grapevine water use and vineyard irrigation management.

Williams showed that vineyard water use (ETc) can be reliably estimated by multiplying reference evapotranspiration (ETo) by a crop coefficient. Reference ET can be obtained from private or public weather stations, such as the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS). The crop-coefficient (Kc) accounts for crop characteristics that differ from the reference crop, including the type of plant, growth stage and canopy architecture, and is usually determined experimentally.

Read more about Williams's research at https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/grapes/learning-more-about-optimal-grape-growing-made-in-the-shade.

Linquist named Soil Science Society of America fellow 

The Soil Science Society of America named Bruce Linquist, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, a fellow of the society. The honor recognizes Linquist's leadership and research excellence in cultivation techniques that reduce water use and farmers' expenses in the water-intensive crop of rice. He was recognized at the society's international annual meeting on Nov. 11 in San Antonio, Texas.

Linquist studies sustainability of rice systems, including nutrient management and fertility, the quality of water leaving rice fields and greenhouse gas emissions.

One of Linquist's areas of focus is the benefits of reducing or eliminating the tilling of land. While tilling is a common practice, reduced tillage helps preserve the soil's natural structure, conserves organic matter, boosts beneficial organisms in the soil and makes it more resistant to erosion -- plus, it reduces soil compaction by farm equipment. In addition to reducing tillage costs, farmers can also use less water, an increasingly valuable resource.

“In the near future, I hope to explore no-till in rice systems as an opportunity to reduce water use and input costs,” Linquist said. “I am happy that the work from my lab and of many students is being developed into a recognized climate-smart practice for California rice farmers that could help them with their bottom line.”

Read more about Linquist's work at https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/news/linquist-sssa-fellow.

Spinelli honored with nursery research award

Gerardo “Gerry” Spinelli, UCCE production horticulture advisor for San Diego County, was recognized bythe Plant California Alliance at the UC Nursery and Floriculture Alliance Nursery Conference in Watsonville in October. Spinelli received the 2023 Research Award for his outstanding contributions to the California nursery industry.

His research focuses on water and nitrogen management in horticultural container production, hydroponics and greenhouses. He works with nursery growers to improve the efficiency of irrigation water application, water distribution uniformity and correct scheduling of irrigation events, along with irrigation runoff, storm water management, nitrate and sediment management and erosion control.

Learn more about Spinelli's research and extension program at https://bit.ly/3YReQ0j. 

Niederholzer named Certified Crop Adviser of the Year 

Franz Niederholzer, UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems advisor for Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties, was named this year's Certified Crop Adviser of the Year by the Western Region Certified Crop Advisers. He received the award at the 2024 Crop Consultant Conference, hosted by JCS Marketing Inc. and Western Region Certified Crop Advisers on Sept. 25 and 26 in Visalia.

“It was a surprise and an honor to get that award from a great organization,” said Niederholzer, who specializes in prunes, almonds, pears, apples, cherries, olives, plums, citrus and pomegranates, and studies orchard mineral nutrition, rootstock evaluation, crop load management and airblast spray coverage and drift.

The Certified Crop Adviser of the Year award recognizes a certified crop adviser in the western region of the U.S. who has shown dedicated and exceptional performance as an adviser. The ideal candidate leads others to promote agricultural practices that benefit the farmers and environment in the western region.

Niederholzer served as a member of the WRCCA Board of Directors from 2006 to 2022. While on the board, he served on the WRCCA Testing and Continuing Education Committee, including 10 years as committee chair.

Floriculture and Nursery Workgroup members share knowledge in Watsonville

In mid-October, the University of California Nursery and Floriculture Alliance (UCNFA) hosted their annual California Nursery Conference in Watsonville, an opportunity to share research, discuss challenges impacting nurseries and greenhouses, and network with industry leaders. It was their first gathering of this kind since 2019.

Organized by UCNFA and the Western Region of the International Plant Propagators' Society, and co-sponsored by the Plant California Alliance, the conference attracted nearly 100 attendees from across California.

As a statewide partnership of researchers and educators, growers, floriculture associations and allied industries, UCNFA coordinates and implements outreach for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Floriculture and Nursery Workgroup. UCNFA's main goal is to provide essential information to growers and educate them on how to use their knowledge effectively to maximize production, improve resource use efficiency and ensure regulatory compliance.

“This support for growers is essential given the diversity of California agriculture and the rapid changes in methods, technology and regulatory pressures,” said UCNFA co-director Loren Oki. Oki has been co-directing UCNFA alongside David Fujino, executive director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture, since 2009.

UCNFA relies heavily on the expertise of UC Cooperative Extension advisors, specialists and other academics to provide education and technical training for nursery and greenhouse growers in California.

Oki explained that UCNFA allows workgroup members to share information and support each other's programs. "More seasoned members can support newer members, but the newer members also contribute their expertise to the workgroup,” he added.

New advisors leverage networking opportunity to identify programmatic goals

Serving areas ranging from San Diego to Sacramento, UC Cooperative Extension academics in attendance at the conference included Grant Johnson, UCCE urban agriculture technology advisor for Orange and Los Angeles counties; Chris Shogren, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Orange and Los Angeles counties; Johanna del Castillo, UCCE assistant professor and plant pathologist at UC Davis; and Aparna Gazula, UCCE small farms advisor for Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

Haramrit Gill, who became UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties this year, expressed gratitude for the guidance she's received from seasoned colleagues like Bruno Pitton, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Placer and Nevada counties; Gerardo “Gerry” Spinelli, UCCE production horticulture advisor for San Diego County; and Don Merhaut, UCCE specialist for nursery and floriculture crops based at UC Riverside.

“This kind of mentorship is really needed, because it's helpful to see how others manage their research programs and move forward in their career,” said Gill.

Unlike Gill's rural terrain, Jessie Godfrey is a UCCE environmental horticulture and water resources management advisor for Alameda, San Mateo, San Francisco, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties. Although her research program is still in its early development stages, Godfrey used the opportunity to present at the conference to discuss the connection between nurseries and urban tree planters.

“Particularly given that many of us are stepping into previously unfilled roles in our counties and there's a lot of unfamiliarity with urban clientele, I think regional events like this are a critical opportunity to introduce clients to their UCCE network and peers,” Godfrey said.

Attendees engage in live demos and tour of local nurseries

The conference also offered live demonstrations to teach attendees how to manage plant nutrition, irrigation, diseases and pests. At one table, Ana Pastrana, UCCE plant pathology advisor for Imperial, San Diego and Riverside counties, set up sanitation mats with disinfectant to demonstrate effective cleaning practices that prevent plant diseases.

On another table, Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, placed leaves under magnifiers to demonstrate how insect identification apps work.

Other demonstrations included measuring container capacity and water content in different substrates, electrical conductivity (EC) contribution of fertilizers, estimating nitrogen in liquid feed from EC measurements and more.

“I learned a lot from the talks and demonstrations, and the opportunity to present my work led to valuable conversations with nursery growers. The insights I gained will inform my program planning and outreach to nurseries in my counties,” said Joanna Solins, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties, who presented on California's recent urban water conservation legislation and the need for more climate-ready landscape trees.

To conclude the conference, participants toured nurseries in Watsonville, including Driscoll's, Griggs, Los Arroyos and Four Winds Growers. Each nursery welcomed the group and focused on highlighting unique aspects of their operation.

At Driscoll's, participants learned about plant tissue culture and clean stock procedures as part of a larger effort to produce virus-free plants. Four Wind Growers showcased their greenhouse, where the mother plants of their citrus trees remain planted in the ground. They shared their need for USDA-certified pest exclusion facilities to protect plants from Asian citrus psyllid, which vectors huanglongbing (citrus greening) disease.   

Considering participant feedback, UCNFA's administrative committee is looking forward to planning next year's conference and leveraging the new generation of advisors. “It's wonderful that we have so many new people who are young and energetic,” said Merhaut. “We need them. They're going to carry the torch when us old people can't anymore,” he said jokingly.

Learn more about UC NFA here: https://ucnfa.ucdavis.edu/

UCCE academics enliven Western Region International Plant Propagators’ Society meeting

In late January, the University of California Nursery and Floriculture Alliance co-hosted the 62^nd Western Region International Plant Propagators' Society (WR-IPPS) Annual Meeting in Temecula.

UCNFA, associated with the Nursery and Floriculture Workgroup of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, is a statewide partnership of researchers and educators, growers, floriculture associations and allied industries. It serves the educational needs of California's agricultural industries that produce greenhouse crops and nursery products including vegetable seedlings, ornamentals, fruiting trees, vines and shrubs.

“Up until 2007 and before almonds and grapes became a big deal, nursery and floricultural products were the top crop commodity in the state,” said Loren Oki, specialist emeritus of Cooperative Extension at UC Davis and co-director of UCNFA. “Nurseries and floriculture are a $3.6 billion industry in California, but not many people know about it.”

Since its inception in 1951, IPPS has sought and shared plant production knowledge globally with an emphasis on nursery production. Oki has been a member of IPPS since the 1980s. His father, George, who owned and operated Oki Nursery, helped establish the Western Region in the 1960s, paving a path for Oki who served as president of WR-IPPS in the 1990s.

Although this year was the first that UCNFA co-hosted, Oki is confident that it won't be the last. “We're already planning a conference for the fall in conjunction with WR-IPPS. Since the target audience of UCNFA are growers, it just makes sense to partner with growers for these events,” Oki said.

This year's meeting involved 145 attendees, 29 exhibitors and 23 speakers and occurred over four days – two of which were dedicated to grower tours and the other two offering educational presentations in both English and Spanish, another first for WR-IPPS.

Gerry Spinelli, UC Cooperative Extension production horticulture advisor for San Diego County and member of UCNFA's administrative committee, was instrumental in coordinating the event. When he wasn't moderating sessions or facilitating Q&A, Spinelli was sharing his expertise on measuring pressure, distribution uniformity and improving irrigation management in English and Spanish.

“It's rewarding to see so much statewide interest in nurseries and floriculture,” said Spinelli.  “WR-IPPS is a great opportunity to showcase the extraordinary San Diego nursery and greenhouse industry on an international stage, and a perfect occasion for clientele to meet our new UC Cooperative Extension advisors.”

Bruno Pitton, who became the UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Placer and Nevada counties in November, appreciated the increase in science-based talks compared to previous years.

“Before, there were more talks on production practices from grower to grower. This year, I noticed that there's more science extension talks – which is a good thing,” said Pitton, who also gave a presentation on nitrogen management in nursery production and irrigation training.

Recent UC ANR hires like Emma Volk, production horticulture advisor for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, had the opportunity to learn not only from industry leaders nationwide, but fellow ANR colleagues. For example, she heard Don Merhaut, UCCE specialist for nursery and floriculture crops based at UC Riverside, present on controlled release fertilizer dynamics in containers during a one-year growing cycle for Southern California.

UCCE advisors and specialists had a significant presence at this year's meeting, leaving a positive impression on attendees, including Tony Shireman, WR-IPPS president, who said that partnering with UC ANR experts helps IPPS achieve its mission to seek and share plant knowledge globally.

“We're fortunate to have connections to people like those joining us from Cooperative Extension. It allows us to expand our knowledge and extend our reach,” Shireman said. 

Johanna Del Castillo Munera and Kosana Suvocarev, two professors of Cooperative Extension at UC Davis, also attended and joined Spinelli for both English and Spanish sessions. Del Castillo Munera presented on disease challenges and management for nurseries, and Suvocarev talked about crop water requirements for irrigation scheduling in nurseries and greenhouses.

“There's a good sense of community here and there's a lot of passion from the speakers,” said Grant Johnson, UCCE urban agriculture technology advisor for UCCE Los Angeles and Orange counties, adding that he valued the opportunity to learn from growers and scientists simultaneously.

After attendees spent an entire day touring local nursery and floriculture operations and learning from growers in North San Diego County and Riverside County, they concluded the day with a dinner and keynote address from Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture secretary.

On the last day, Chris Shogren, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Los Angeles County and member of UCNFA's administrative committee, and Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties, talked about pest and pathogen management. The advisors offered fascinating visuals including photos comparing the size of agave mites to a penny, and led a stimulating Q&A session.

To learn more about the UC Nursery and Floriculture Alliance, visit https://ucnfa.ucanr.edu/.

 

 

Social media campaign shows how ANR is improving lives

To increase awareness of how UC ANR research and extension is improving life for Californians, Strategic Communications has been posting about UC Cooperative Extension activities across social media.

Inspired in 2022 by the state government boosting ANR's budget to allow the hiring of more than 100 academics and support staff, Doralicia Garay, social media strategist, wanted to show legislators and other Californians how they benefit from ANR.

“The ‘Improving Lives in California' campaign is designed to showcase ANR research as well as those who deliver it by featuring compelling content and UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists,” Garay said. 

She targeted Californians who were interested in agriculture, pests, environment, wildfire, water, youth development, and nutrition with paid campaigns as well as regular posts on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

Between March 2022 and December 2023, UC ANR's “Improving Lives in California” campaign has reached more than 600,000 people and more than 21,000 people have engaged with the posts by sharing, liking or commenting across all platforms.

“The per-post engagement rate averaged 3.5% across all social media channels, which is almost twice the average rate per post,” Garay said. 

Key elements of the campaign:

• Employee spotlights: Through a series of engaging profiles, we highlight our extension experts' unique journeys and expertise. By featuring their skills and contributions to research projects, we humanize our staff and inspire a sense of connection with our online community.

          Examples:

          tinyurl.com/23bjz4xr Brooke Latack

          tinyurl.com/yxbmybp5 Ian Grettenberger

          tinyurl.com/rndcn6uz AtefSwelam 

• Short videos: Bite-sized videos featuring Cooperative Extension advisors are intended to simplify complex research projects and explain their relevance to all Californians. It's also a great opportunity for our audiences to get a sense of our researchers' personality. 

          Examples:

          tinyurl.com/mr46w65s Srabani Das

          tinyurl.com/bdf68sh5 Ramiro Lobo

          Series of videos: instagram.com/ucanr/reels/?hl=en 

• Social media takeovers: We take our audience on a virtual tour behind the scenes of our research facilities. Through carefully crafted multimedia content, we share what makes research and extension centers and county office locations unique, and how the infrastructure enables scientists to bring innovation to life.

         Example:

         tinyurl.com/272xh9h7 South Coast REC

• Research impact stories: We bring our research to life by illustrating its real-world impact on California communities. Through compelling narratives, we demonstrate how the dedication of UC ANR employees to research translates into positive change with advancements in agriculture, wildfire mitigation, water issues and more.          

         Examples:

         tinyurl.com/5y2vn4rs Hamutahl Cohen

         tinyurl.com/2e3bafh3 Houston Wilson, Jhalendra Rijal and David Haviland

• Interactive Q&A sessions: Live Q&A sessions on social media platforms encourage direct interaction between our experts and online audiences. Although social media reach has recently dipped for this type of content on Facebook, we successfully engaged with our Facebook audience in 2022 during a nutrition Q&A by retaining 80% of our live audience from start to finish. 

          Example:

          tinyurl.com/52e7jy6s Mary Blackburn, JavierMiramontes andAba Ramirez 

• Employee-generated content: Encouraging employees to share their own perspectives, experiences and insights on social media platforms promotes a sense of ownership and inclusivity. It also creates a vibrant online community that encourages our audiences to participate in conversations about research initiatives. 

         Example:

         tinyurl.com/587jcxvf GerrySpinelli 

• Hashtag campaign: "#ImprovingLivesinCA is a unique campaign hashtag that serves as a unifying element, allowing us to gather user-generated content and track the campaign's reach and engagement.

“By strategically highlighting our employees in the narrative of our research efforts, #ImprovingLivesinCA strengthens the UC ANR brand identity and positions our organization as a collaborative partner at the forefront of innovation,” Garay said. “This campaign represents a comprehensive approach to leveraging the power of social media to drive reach and engagement and serve our online community.”

You can follow UC ANR on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter),LinkedIn and YouTube.

Names in the News

Spinelli named UCCE horticulture advisor

Gerardo Spinelli joined UC Cooperative Extension in San Diego County as a production horticulture advisor on Oct. 12, 2020. He will work with nurseries, floriculture and controlled environment plant production.

Prior to joining UCCE San Diego, Spinelli worked for the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz county since 2015 in irrigation and nitrogen management for strawberry and lettuce. He collaborated with Michael Cahn, UCCE advisor and technical expert for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency's conservation program, to promote the adoption of CropManage to optimize nitrogen and irrigation in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

He has also worked on nutrient and pest management in vegetables, lettuce hydroponic production and anaerobic soil disinfestation in banana at University of Hawaii, Manoa, and was a UCCE farm advisor for irrigation and vegetables in Stanislaus County. He also worked in Honduras on an irrigation development project providing technical assistance for smallholder corn and watermelon growers, and in London designing and installing landscape irrigation systems. He also lived in Lebanon, where he introduced integrated pest management in apple and olive production, rebuilt irrigation channels for tobacco and vegetable growers, began a queen bee breeding program and built sewage lines for the Wavel refugee camp.

Spinelli grew up in Italy on an olive and vegetable farm on the hills overlooking Florence and is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish.

He earned a B.S. in agronomy, an M.S. in tropical agriculture at the University of Florence, and a Master of International Agricultural Development and Ph.D. in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis, focusing on plant physiology and water stress in almond orchards.  

Spinelli is based in San Diego and can be reached at (858) 822-7679 and gspinelli@ucanr.edu.

Amaral named pomology, water and soils advisor

Douglas Amaral joined UCCE in Kings and Tulare as pomology, water and soils advisor on Oct. 1, 2020.

Before joining UCCE, Amaral was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. His research has focused on the physiology and biochemistry of plant nutrient uptake, and molecular and genetic aspects of nutrient acquisition and tolerance in citrus, almonds, pistachios and other crops.

Amaral, who was born and raised in Brazil, is fluent in Portuguese and English. He earned a Ph.D. in plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, an M.S. in plant nutrition and soil fertility at Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, and a B.S. in biological sciences at University Center of Lavras, Brazil.

Amaral is based in Hanford and can be reached at (559) 852-2737 and amaral@ucanr.edu.

UCCE poster, newsletters win NACAA awards

Three California state winning entries received national recognition at the recent annual meeting and professional improvement conferences of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) held virtually in late September and early October.

Michael Rethwisch, UCCE field crops advisor for Riverside County, and student assistant Kassandra Allan won a national NACAA award for their applied research poster, “Dingy cutworm pheromone lures are not highly attractive to the closely related granulate cutworm.” Rethwisch was also selected to give a presentation on comparative insecticide efficacy for lygus bug control.

The UC Dairy Newsletter was a national finalist entry and western regional winner in the Team Newsletter competition. UCCE advisors Jennifer Heguy, Daniela Bruno, Joy Hollingsworth and Betsy Karle collaborate on the newsletter.

The University of California Cooperative Extension Subtropical Horticulture News by Sonia Rios, UCCE subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties, was the western regional winner for individual newsletter.  

CAPCA honors Wilen for "Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture" 

Cheryl Wilen, UCCE integrated pest management advisor emeritus for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, received the 2020 Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award by the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA).

The Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant contribution to California agriculture. The former leader of UC ANR's Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases Strategic Initiative is known for her research and development of integrated pest management strategies for the turf, ornamental horticulture and nursery industries. Over the course of her career, Wilen has helped reduce the use of toxic pesticides, cut the cost of pest control and promote the use of environmentally sound methods in production.

Wilen, who retired from her 25-year UC ANR career in July, received the award during CAPCA's virtual annual conference on Oct. 12. She is currently on recall to serve as interim director for UCCE in San Diego.

4-H Youth Retention Study Team receives national award

The 4-H Youth Retention Study Team received the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Professionals' “Susan Barkman Award for Research and Evaluation” Oct. 20, during the association's virtual conference.

The Youth Retention Study examined the retention and drop-out rates (nearly 50%) of first year 4-H members over a seven-year period to understand why youth leave the 4-H program. They found a lack of communication and the inability to understand and navigate the 4-H program contributed to attrition. These findings led to development of a handbook for families to navigate the 4-H program and a Project Leader Checklist for implementing the 4-H project experience. 

While the study focused on California, the team has engaged multiple states in an effort to document the national scope of this issue, and used the data to develop tools and strategies for addressing and extending that information through peer-reviewed articles, workshops and training.

The Youth Retention Study Team includes

• JoLynn Miller, UCCE advisor for the Central Sierra
• Kendra Lewis, University of New Hampshire State Specialist for Youth & Family Resiliency and former UCCE academic coordinator for evaluation for UC ANR Statewide 4-H Youth Development Program
• Marianne Bird, UCCE advisor for the Capital Corridor
• John Borba, UCCE advisor in Kern County
• Claudia Diaz-Carrasco, UCCE advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties
• Dorina Espinoza, UCCE advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties
• Russell Hill, UCCE advisor for Merced, Mariposa and Madera counties
• Car Mun Kok, UCCE advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties
• Sue Manglallan, UCCE advisor emeritus in San Diego County
• Kali Trzesniewski, UCCE specialist in UC Davis Department of Human & Community Development

Ronald becomes first woman to receive World Agriculture Prize

Pam Ronald, a UC Davis distinguished professor, whose work has revolutionized plant molecular genetics, has become the first woman to receive the World Agriculture Prize.

Ronald is recognized for her history of major discoveries in plant molecular genetics. In 1995, she isolated a key immune receptor that revealed a new mechanism with which plants and animals detect and respond to infection. Her discovery in 2006, with UC Davis plant scientist David Mackill, of a rice submergence tolerance gene facilitated the development of high-yielding, flood-tolerant rice varieties that have benefited millions of farmers in South and Southeast Asia.

The award ceremony will be virtually held at 5 p.m. on Nov. 30 from Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, China.

Read the full story by Amy Quinton at https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/plant-pathologist-pamela-ronald-named-gchera-world-agriculture-prize-laureate.

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