Throughout the month of March, the review committee labored over the 50 applications received for the 2013 Postharvest Technology Short Course scholarship.  The goal of the scholarship, funded by the Leonard and Marseille Morris Trust, is to provide an individual from a developing country the opportunity to learn about managing the postharvest handling of horticultural crops with an intent to take that information back to their home country and utilize it to benefit others in their region.

After a systematic evaluation and ranking of the applicants, they selected Hussein Yunus Alhassan from Tamale, Ghana. In his application he shared that his reason for interest in attending the Postharvest Technology Short...

With the sudden death of Adel Kader, December 10, 2012, the postharvest and horticultural development community mourns the loss of a leader, teacher, mentor, colleague and friend.  His big heart, which he shared so willingly with everyone, finally failed him while travelling home from a postharvest conference in South Africa. 

Adel was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1941. He earned his B.Sc. in Horticulture in 1959 from the Ain Shams University in Cairo, and then enrolled at UC Davis where he earned his M.Sc. in Vegetable Crops in 1962, and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology in 1966.  He then returned to Egypt where he served as an Assistant Professor at Ain Shams University for five years, followed by work as a lecturer...

I first tasted a feijoa (fay-zho-uh, or pineapple guava) as a student here at UC Davis many years ago. A friend showed me her secret trees (south side of Wellman in Davis — tons on the ground right now!), and I was hooked. I didn’t think much of it at the time, other than thinking this is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. It tastes better than candy, and ripens right around Halloween - sweet!  I had never seen or heard of a feijoa. You likely haven’t either, so I’m writing to introduce you.

First a little history. This subtropical plant originated in the higher altitude regions of central South America, but has since been introduced and grown...