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Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, PhD

Small Farms Advisor, Fresno and Tulare Counties

Address:
UC Cooperative Extension, Fresno County
550 E. Shaw Avenue, Suite 210-B
Fresno, CA 93710
Front Desk: (559) 241-7515
Direct Office Line: (559) 241-7513
E-mail: rdahlquistwillard@ucanr.edu

Education
PhD, Entomology, University of Idaho, 2008
BS, Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1998


Specialties
Subtropical fruits, vegetable crops, plants and their systems, plant management systems, insects, mites, and other arthropods affecting plants, integrated pest management systems, communication, education, and information delivery, food safety

Languages Spoken
English and Spanish

Fresno Small Farms and Specialty Crops Program

The Small Farms and Specialty Crops Program in Fresno and Tulare Counties conducts research and extension programs to benefit small-scale farming operations and specialty crops producers. We serve a diverse clientele including:

  • Small-scale family farms
  • Beginning farmers
  • Immigrant and refugee farmers, including Hmong and other Southeast Asian farmers
  • Specialty crops outside of traditional extension programs and commodity boards

Specialty crops in Fresno and Tulare Counties include Asian specialty vegetables and herbs, jujubes, moringa, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and any other crops grown for small-scale production

Bibliography

  • Fernández-Bayo, JD; Randall, TE, et al. (2018). Effect of management of organic wastes on inactivation of Brassica nigra and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae using soil biosolarization. Pest Management Science. 74:8, 1892-1902.
  • Oldfield, Thomas; Achmon, Yigal, et al. (2017). "A life cycle assessment of biosolarization as a valorization pathway for tomato pomace utilization in California." Journal of Cleaner Production141: 146-156.
  • Fernández-Bayo, Jesús; Achmon, Yigal, et al. (2017). Assessment of two solid anaerobic digestate soil amendments for effects on soil quality and biosolarization efficacy. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 65:17, 3434–3442. April 14.
  • Fernández-Bayo, Jesús; Achmon, Yigal, et al. (2017). Comparison of soil biosolarization with mesophilic and thermophilic solid digestates on soil microbial quantity and diversity. Applied Soil Ecology. 119, 183-191. October.
  • Achmon, Yigal; Fernandez-Bayo, Jesús D., et al. (2017). "Weed seed inactivation in soil mesocosms via biosolarization with mature compost and tomato processing waste amendments." Pest Management Science 73(5): 862-873.
  • Dahlquist-Willard, Ruth; Marshall, Megan, et al. (2016). "Development and validation of a Weibull-Arrhenius model to predict thermal inactivation of black mustard (Brassica nigra) seeds under fluctuating temperature regimens." Biosystems Engineering 151: 350-360.

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