Research

The Student Farm has been a center for research in sustainable agriculture and the plant sciences for over 25 years. With approximately 20 acres of land (including greenhouse space) under organic management, the farm's research fields and greenhouse facilities have proved to be ideal for conducting agro-ecological research in areas such as biological control of insects, cover cropping, composting, crop resistance to pests and other aspects of sustainable agriculture.

Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty are welcome to conduct research at the Student Farm. Experiments conducted range from relatively simple greenhouse pot experiments to multi-disciplinary, multi-year projects looking at complex soil phenomena under different management practices.

Current research projects at the Student Farm include:

Curtis, M. W. Kleiner, M. Grismer (UC Davis LAWR, Soils) Measuring composting efficiency for three compost methods as a function of mixing and aeration.

Langellotto, G. & J. Rosenheim (UC Davis Entomology) Terrestrial arthropod community structure: insights from stable isotopes.

Mondor, E. & J. Rosenheim (Canadian NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow & UC Davis Entomology) Evolutionary ecology of ant-aphid-natural enemy interactions.

Pickett, C. and J. Ball, (Biological Control Program, California Department of Food and Agriculture) Biological control of Lygus hesperus.

Schreiber, J. (UC Davis Nature and Culture Program) Establishment of hedgerows for beneficial insect habitat.

Van Horn, M., J. Umble and J. Leap (UC Davis, Oregon State University, UC Santa Cruz). Studies on the biology and management of the garden symphylan (Scutigerella immaculata)

Zink, A. & J. Rosenheim (UC Davis Entomology) A new look at an old pest: what makes Lygus hungry for cotton squares?