Meet The Expert: Mohammad Yaghmour
April 6, 2016 
Mohammad Yaghmour
Mohammad Yaghmour recently joined UCCE as Orchard Systems Advisor for Kern and Kings counties. Prior to his appointment, he completed his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on plant pathology, particularly fungal disease research of orchard crops. American Fruit Grower® and Western Fruit Grower® magazines caught up with him to find out what he’s most interested in researching further, and what he can bring to the table to help nut growers succeed.
Q: How did you become interested in agriculture?
Yaghmour: I became interested in agriculture at a very young age. My grandfather is an avid grower. He had approximately 5 to 6 acres of table grapes and other fruit trees as a backyard orchard. Spending the summers in the vineyard, eating fresh fruit off the trees, and learning about different fruit trees piqued my curiosity about plants and how they grow.
My father has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, and I grew up listening to him talk about plant breeding, diseases of plants, and other agriculture-related topics. Early in his career, he worked as a researcher on different wheat breeding programs in Jordan, and I still have that memory visiting a research station with him.
Later we grew potatoes under center pivots. After my graduation (from The University of Jordan), I attended a training program on growing vegetables and field crops in southern Jordan under center pivots, getting hands-on experience. During this year of training, I also got the chance to work with one of the fruit experts in Jordan, learning about how to prune peaches and nectarines, among other fruit trees. Later, after finishing the training, I joined the family business growing mainly potatoes and other vegetable crops until I decided to come to the U.S. for my graduate studies.
Q: What interests you about nuts specifically? Why?
Yaghmour: Nut crops are part of fruit tree crops that fall under my responsibilities, except for pistachios. I have always been interested in postharvest physiology and pathology due to the fact that famers face losses of perishable commodities to postharvest diseases and disorders. Nut crops and nut products present the opportunity for growers to diversify their crop portfolio by including a high-value crop.
Where I grew up, people consume a lot of nuts, whether in cookies and sweets or just as snacks during the day. I grew up eating green, raw immature almonds very early in the spring. Young and old enjoy eating green almonds in the spring in my home country, Jordan.
Q: You’ve studied fungal diseases in the past. Are there any particular diseases you’re interested in studying more?
Yaghmour: Yes, we are now living in a very dynamic world where the globe has become more of a small village. National and international trade allow products to move more easily from all over the world. People also travel more often for business or leisure. This may contribute to the introduction of new diseases and pests that may carry diseases. I am interested in studying and understanding the biology, epidemiology, and management of newly emerging diseases in California to mitigate their effect on agriculture and growers.
Besides understanding newly emerging diseases, I am also very interested in extending the knowledge and research results to the growers. My other interest in this area is to contribute to educating the general public about the importance of agriculture in California, specifically, educating the general public about the risks of moving plant material to California or even from one county to another without proper permit and inspection, and how that can affect agriculture and growers. I believe that a well-informed and educated public is one of the most important tools in our fight against newly emerging diseases and spreading of diseases to places where they have not been previously reported.
Other diseases I am interested in studying are diseases of concern to the growers of Kern County, such as wood canker diseases and hull rot, among many others. I am also interested in diseases that are more prevalent on predisposed trees from abiotic stress due to drought or salinity issues.
Q: Being in Extension, you’ll likely do both research and work with growers. Both are valuable and necessary. Do you think of yourself more as a researcher or a hands-on advisor?
Yaghmour: I like to think of myself as a balanced orchard systems advisor. Both research and outreach have equal importance because we need to be out there working closely with the growers and understanding the challenges that face the industry to be able design a successful research program to address those concerns.
One of the first things a new advisor does is perform a needs assessment to understand the needs of the growers and the industry to design a successful research and Extension program geared toward those needs. The mission does not stop at the local level. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources believes in designing a research and Extension program that will be also recognized at the state level through collaboration and excellence. That’s what I strive for in my current position.
Q: Have you set any short-term goals as of yet? Any long-term goals?
Yaghmour: My short term goals are to meet as many growers and representatives of the fruit and nut industry here in Kern County and the southern San Joaquin Valley as possible to understand the challenges that face them and design a research and Extension program to meet their needs.
One of my important short-term goals is to increase and expand my knowledge about the different aspects of growing fruit trees in California and specifically here in the southern San Joaquin Valley. I have already attended meetings and workshops related to my Extension and research program. However, I am looking to learn more from my fellow growers, as they are a very valuable source of information.
Q: What can you offer to help ensure growers’ continued success?
Yaghmour: I can offer many years in research experience I gained during my studies and work here in California. I was very fortunate to get the chance to study at the best agricultural university in the world here in California (UC-Davis) and carry with me the knowledge I learned under California conditions.
I practiced farming earlier in my career, and I believe I understand what it takes to be a farmer. I know about the challenges farmers can face and the critical importance of agriculture not only from an economic viewpoint, but from a social viewpoint.
Q: California has had a decent amount of rain this year, but experts say it will be a while until the state’s aquifers refill. What’s going to be your message to growers regarding water/irrigation this crop season?
Yaghmour: Growers in California and specifically in Kern County adopted new technologies and switched to more efficient irrigation management techniques by using micro irrigation. While it is important to be efficient when irrigating fruit tree orchards, it is also very important to achieve balance between being efficient and implementing the proper amount of leaching to prevent salt accumulation in the root zone and avoid adverse effects of salt accumulation on tree general health and production.
Q: If you could have dinner with one well-known person, who is either alive today or from the pages of history, who would it be? Why?
Yaghmour: Dr. Norman Borlaug. He is an icon in agriculture, and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Dr. Borlaug is the father of the “Green Revolution,” and his great research and work had a tremendous impact on food production and growers worldwide to prevent hunger and famine. In his acceptance speech, he recognized the importance of agriculture and its contribution to food security, ending hunger, and world peace.
Having agriculture as a profession and a lifelong career – whether we are growers, researchers in public or private sector, educators, etc. – is a noble profession that aims to find solutions to feed the growing world population. It can sometimes mean the difference between prosperity and starvation or famine.
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