In the Southern California community of Irvine, vital water research is taking place at a 200-acre University of California research center. Darren Haver, the director of UC’s South Coast Research and Extension Center, is also a water expert. He serves as a Cooperative Extension advisor to agricultural producers. One of his research trials seeks to help boost the region’s blueberry production. “The goal, Haver said, is discovering just how little water it takes for the blueberries to be both economically viable for growers and tasty enough for consumers.”
Bradley Zint (@BradleyZint) reports for the Los Angeles Times:
“Part of my job as an advisor is to take that information and put it in a format that a farmer could use or the general public could use,” he [Haver] said. “It’s my job to distill it down.”
Haver also directs UC’s Master Gardener Program in Orange County, and has developed demonstration gardens at the research center that can help homeowners plant drought-resistant landscapes.
Haver’s work is part of the University of California’s Global Food Initiative (GFI), which seeks to harness the institution’s resources to address one of the most compelling issues of our time: how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a growing world population. Learn more about UC’s GFI by clicking here.
Related Links:
UC researcher uses technology to tackle global food security and climate change
Drought watch: a rogue’s gallery of water guzzlers
Q&A: UC’s Doug Parker on California’s drought
Scientists are engineering plants that can withstand drought