People gathered around equipment in a sunny agricultural field under blue sky

2026 Small Grains Field Day

  • by Xiaofei Zhang

2026 UC Davis Small Grains & Alfalfa Field Day

May 7, 2026 | UC Davis CAES Field Research Facility

On May 7, UC Davis hosted the Small Grains and Alfalfa Field Day, bringing together growers, industry partners, researchers, and students for a morning in the field. The event was supported by the California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA) and the California Wheat Commission (CWC). We are grateful for their continued support.

Small Grains Breeding at UC Davis

We work on five crops:

  • Bread wheat (for bread)
  • Durum wheat (for pasta)
  • Barley (for beer and feed)
  • Oat (for food and oat milk)
  • Triticale (mainly for forage)

All of these are grasses and play an important role in California farming systems, including dairy production.

This is a team effort:

  • Joshua Hegarty leads bread wheat, durum wheat, barley, and triticale breeding
  • Isabel Alicia del Blanco leads barley and oat breeding

New Lines and Collaboration Opportunities

Several new lines are moving toward release:

  • 4 triticale lines
  • 2 oat lines
  • 1 bread wheat line

We are actively looking for partners to help test these lines in real farm conditions.

Two wheat lines were highlighted:

UC1988 (hard red spring wheat)

  • 5–8% higher yield than UC-Central Red
  • Improved bread-making quality
  • Used to make the cinnamon rolls served at the event (thank you to CWC)

This variety has been approved for exclusive release through the California Wheat Commission. Foundation seed will be available in 2027.

UC1993 (high resistant starch wheat)

  • Up to 10 times higher resistant starch (dietary fiber)
  • About 10% lower yield than top lines
  • Good potential for health-focused food markets

Breeder seed is available in 2026, and we welcome interest from food companies and partners.

What We Focus On

Our breeding program is built on three main goals:

1. Yield
We test yield in the field across about 23 acres. We use different nitrogen and irrigation treatments to create stress conditions and evaluate yield stability.

2. Disease resistance
We focus on stripe rust. We set up nurseries with spreader rows to make sure disease pressure is strong every year. This helps us select lines with reliable resistance.

3. Quality
We work closely with the California Wheat Commission quality lab. Each year, more than 300 samples are tested for baking quality.
We also work with Dr. Jorge Dubcovsky on improving nutritional traits, including reduced gluten immunogenicity.

This Year’s Conditions

This season was different from usual:

  • Warmer winter led to faster crop growth (about 1–2 weeks earlier)
  • Stripe rust showed up early (February instead of March)
  • Leaf rust was observed for the first time in our fields
  • Rain during grain filling caused lodging in some plots

These conditions gave us a good opportunity to test how lines perform under stress. They also showed the importance of balancing yield with plant height and structure to reduce lodging.

Looking Ahead

The UC Davis small grains program continues to focus on:

  • High and stable yield
  • Strong disease resistance
  • Good processing and nutritional quality

We value input from growers and industry partners. Field days like this help us stay connected to real production challenges.

If you are interested in testing new varieties or working with us, please reach out. We also encourage students to get involved and learn more about plant breeding and field research.