Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) was detected on lettuce in the desert growing region of Southwest Arizona in the spring of 2021. This disease did not have a significant impact in most fields, but the impact of this disease in subsequent seasons cannot yet be predicted.

Paul Brierley, YCEDA Executive Director, and Juli Jessen, Gowan Company CEO, highlight the progress and assets of Arizona’s agricultural bioscience industry in Yuma County and the impact of Yuma agricultural research in this video presentation for the Flinn Foundation’s annual Arizona Bioscience Roadmap event.

Water and salt management are critical to agricultural sustainability in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Crop production in the area utilizes various irrigation application methods over the cropping system. The Quantitative Assessments of Water and Salt Balance for Cropping Systems in Lower Colorado River Irrigation Districts project, coordinated by The Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA), aims to answer questions that arose after the release of a 2015 report addressing agriculture and water use in the Yuma area.

YCEDA is a donor-funded and donor-focused public-private partnership created to be uniquely responsive to the needs of the Ag industry. We connect the crop production industry and top scientists, and together we develop solutions to the pressing problems of desert agriculture. Donor funds enable us to initiate research projects and are leveraged by obtaining grant funding to maximize the impact of our work. This video shares the ongoing projects that were funded in Fall 2020.