A new $7 million competitive grants program to support research on specialty crops grown in California was announced today at the University of California, Davis.

The competitive grants program, funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, will fund 51 research projects, including several projects at UC Davis.

This program is part of the $72 million Buy California Initiative, financed by a combination of federal and state money. Specialty crops are defined by Congress as any crop other than wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts and tobacco.

"Buy California is an extremely innovative investment program into market promotion, crop research, food safety, nutrition education and other progressive measures," said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "Because the program was developed in consultation with growers, industry representatives, government officials, educators, researchers and consumers, these research funds are now directed toward projects that will help meet the practical needs of the people of California."

Seven UC Davis-coordinated projects are receiving $925,000 from the Buy California program for research related to a variety of crops ranging from plums to potatoes. These grants include:

• $175,000 to develop the tools and information needed for increasing the carbon in the soils for specialty crops, thus improving soil health and reducing erosion and the need for chemical applications;
  
• $150,000 for research on lettuce diseases in California, which produces 70 to 75 percent of the nation's lettuce crop;
  
• $150,000 for developing a new sensor, based on magnetic resonance imaging technology, that will enable growers to evaluate fruit damage and other quality characteristics in the field;
  
• $150,000 for field-testing an automatic, tractor-mounted weed control system that relies on video and Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance to locate and thermally treat weeds in the field;
  
• $100,000 to develop new methods for controlling citrus tristeza disease;
  
• $100,000 to develop new potato varieties, production practices and packaging; and
  
• $100,000 to evaluate the shelf life and characterize the flavor of new nectarine, peach and plum varieties.

Two more grants of $100,000 each also will go to the UC Davis-based University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. One grant will be used to help producers of dried plums, walnuts, citrus and forage crops adopt environmentally sound agricultural practices. The other grant will support expansion and redesign of the program's Web site for organic growers, and development of organic production manuals for strawberries, olives, wine grapes, vegetables, artichokes and small-scale organic farming.