UC ANR academics and the world

She is launching four major projects on mango with the University of Agriculture Faisalabad aimed at decreasing postharvest losses; diversified cultivation; and to develop value added products including mango leather, and editable mango seed oil. She said that Pakistan is the fourth largest mango producing country in the globe. 

She is also interested in helping Afghans reestablish their broken-down pistachio production system. Traditionally, pistachios were gathered from wild trees owned and guarded by villages. Because of ongoing conflicts in the region, many of the trees were cut down for firewood. An Italian NGO is working on reforestation, and Ferguson wants to make sure the pistachios used in the process will produce a substantial crop. (Male trees provide pollen, female trees grow the pistachios. You don't need many male trees, so you can graft in more female trees to boost the harvest.) Ferguson said she always learns from her work in other countries information that helps the California industry. For example, she saw in Iran that farmers were growing pistachios with low-quality water. That observation was the basis of salinity research on pistachios in California.

Over the years, Natwick has continued to work with Saudi farmers in controlling insect pest problems. He is regularly called upon to consult with farmers in other countries as well.

In September 2014 he travels to Colombia to advise farmers on citrus production.

In 2011, Kaiser worked for two months in Chile to help nutrition faculty at the Universidad de Valparaíso on their childhood obesity prevention program.

May 2014 Bali and Snyder trained visiting scholars from Egypt & Algeria on setting up weather stations to estimate crop water requirements of alfalfa and other field crops.

October 2013 Bali, Snyder, Cayle Little conducted a workshop on irrigation management in Baja California.

July 2013 Jim Hill, Snyder, Steve Grattan and Bali worked on a proposed UC Davis/USDA International water resources project in Jordan to implement Water Certification Program to promote water conservation and improve water use efficiency.

June 2012 UC Davis international water project in Egypt to promote water conservation. Bali conducted training on a) shallow water table contribution to crop ET, b) salinity management and control in semi-arid regions, and c) subsurface drip irrigation of alfalfa.

September 2012 Graham Fogg, Michael Cahn, Bali helped the Universidad de Concepción in Chile improve the University’s research and extension model and develop a water resources center.

Michael Cahn

UCCE Irrigation and Water Resources Advisor

Brazil, Chile, New Zealand

May 2013 Invited speaker and consulted on drip irrigation of vegetables. LandWise Conference, Napier, New Zealand

Sept 2012 Consulted on developing an extension program for irrigation and water management Centro de Agua para Agricultura, Universidad de Concepción, San Fernando, Chile

March 2012 Consulted on drip irrigation of processing tomatoes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In 2013, Michailides traveled to Australia to visit farms and consult with pistachio growers about diseases that impact pistachio production. Over a week's time, he presented three research lectures.

In 2012, Argentina was looking into developing a pistachio industry. Michailides presented lectures at a pistachio symposium on two major challenges researched for decades, botryosphaeria (a fungal disease that damages the plant and robs yield) and aflotoxin, a naturally occurring toxin produced by certain species of fungi.

In 2010, Michailides presented research findings on botryosphaeria in Spain, where growers battle the same type of disease.

In 2010, Wright traveled to Uzbekistan to give presentations at the local Cotton Research Center. The country is adjusting to production changes driven by a reduction in labor and subsequent move to mechanical harvesting. Wright also gave presentations in Peru where agronomists are buying older cotton pickers from the San Joaquin Valley and need information on the proper preparation of the cotton crop for harvest.

In 2012, Wright worked with extension staff in Congo. He observed serious weed problems that mainly women workers were tackling with short-handled hoes. Progressive farmers are interested in using herbicides to take the drudgery out of farming. One woman in particular had acquired safety equipment for herbicide application, including overalls, boots, and a backpack sprayer. Wright continues to be in contact with this Congo farmer.

In Punjab, Pakistan, they identified a natural enemy, Tamarixia radiata, worked to bring it to California, and released it in areas infested with ACP. The beneficial insect is now established in California and providing ACP control, mainly in urban areas.

The Hoddles studied the red palm weevil, a native of Asia that established itself in Laguna Beach. Experts believed the weevils posed a significant threat to California’s date and ornamental palm industries. The Hoddles studied red palm weevil flight dispersal and field ecology in the Philippines, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. (The weevil population in Laguna Beach has been eradicated.)

When glassy winged sharpshooter was accidentally exported from California to French Polynesia, the Hoddles successfully introduced a natural enemy, Gonatocerus ashmeadi, which resulted in permanent suppression of the highly invasive pest in the island nation within seven months.

In Guatemala the Hoddles were involved in identifying the sex pheromones of an important moth species, Stenoma catenifer. This pheromone is now commercially available and can be used in exotic pest surveillance programs in exporting countries and in California for early detection of S. catenifer incursions.