Winters Horticultural Symposium

The Winters Horticultural Symposium on Aug. 26 will celebrate "The Legacy of John Reid Wolfskill," part of whose Mexican land-grant ranch is preserved as a UC Davis orchard experiment station.

The day's program is scheduled to begin with a 10 a.m. tour of the university's historic and productive Wolfskill property at 4334 Putah Creek Road. Professor Ted De Jong, a pomologist and the station's director, is set to lead the tour, which organizers said also will take in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Clonal Germplasm Repository.

Lunch is planned at the Buckhorn Steak & Roadhouse. The day's edibles also include olive oil tasting led by Dan Flynn, director of the UC Davis Olive Center, which produces UC Davis-branded oil from the fruit of trees that John Wolfskill planted in the 1860s.

The symposium is scheduled to get under way at 2 p.m. at The Palms in the historic Winters Opera House, site of a UC Farmers Institute in 1897. That institute, in fact, inspired the 2009 symposium. It is being presented by the Winters History Project.

Organizers said symposium presenters will discuss the Winters area's horticultural history and how it has influenced what is taking place today.

Besides De Jong and Flynn, other program participants are Mallikarjuna Aradhya, director, USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository; Carolyn DeBuse, horticultural farm adviser, Yolo County; Joann Larkey, Winters and Yolo County historian and author; Russell Lester, organic farmer; Marty Mariani, Mariani Nut Co.; Joe Martinez, Martinez Ranches; Craig McNamara, sustainable farmer; Karen Ross, president, California Association of Winegrape Growers; and Stan Tufts, Winters horticulturalist.

The moderator is listed as Winters farmer Richard Rominger, former director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is a UC Davis graduate and a former member of the UC Davis Foundation Board.

The day is set to wrap up with a wine reception at the Winters Center for the Arts, where guests can view historic photos and artifacts.

Tickets are available online. The cost is $45 for the entire program (tour, lunch, symposium and wine reception), or $20 for the symposium and wine reception.

Weed Science School 2009

The UC Weed Research and Information Center's Weed Science School 2009 is scheduled for Sept. 21-23 at the Bowley (Plant) Science Teaching Center at UC Davis.

Organizers said the intensive, 2 1/2-day course focuses on the mode and mechanism of herbicide activity in plants and the fate of herbicides in the environment.

The school is designed for people involved in consulting, research, development or sales of agricultural chemicals. Emphasis is on herbicides registered for use in California and important weeds within the state.

The registration fee is $550 before Sept. 4, or $600 after that date. The fees include handout materials, plus refreshments and lunch each day. Class size is limited.

Registration and more information. Or contact the Weed Research and Information Center, (530)752-1748 or wric@ucdavis.edu.

Fresh-Cut Products Workshop

Taste and aroma will get added focus at this year's Fresh-Cut Products Workshop, organizers said. The three-day course for food professionals also emphasizes quality and safety.

The 14th annual workshop, presented by the UC Davis Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center, is scheduled for Sept. 22 to 24 at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

Organizers said they will present the underlying principles that govern fresh-cut produce quality while providing practical tools for application in the processing plant.

Topics include product biology, quality and preparation; temperature management; microbiology; modified atmospheres; and marketing and consumer issues.

Also planned are product demonstrations and material on the biology of taste and aroma and how to set up a sensory panel to evaluate product quality.

The $1,050 fee includes all program handouts, as well as lunch and morning and afternoon snacks each day.

Registration and more information. Or contact Pam Devine, (530) 752-6941 or pwdevine@ucdavis.edu.