Restoration and Weed Management

Dr. Mandeep Riar joined UCCE on September 1, 2023, as the Restoration Ecology and Weed Science advisor for Kern, Tulare, and Kings counties.

As water availability issues are causing dramatic shifts in agricultural land use in California, these ultimately cause a shift in the weed flora too. In her current role, Dr. Riar is focused on ecological restoration and weed management in fallowed, retired, and abandoned agricultural lands and natural areas. The overall goal is to enhance the restoration efforts while minimizing the impact of invasive weeds.

Dr. Riar earned a M.S. in Agricultural Meteorology and Agronomy from Punjab Agricultural University, India and a Ph.D. in Weed Science from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Her dissertation work was focused on environmental, cultural, and biological factors influencing the growth and geographical expansion of invasive weeds. As a post-doctoral research associate, Dr. Riar worked on abiotic stress evaluation in various field crops including soybean and sorghum and identified genotypes for superior drought tolerance.

Dr. Riar is based in UCCE Bakersfield and can be reached at (661) 868-6216 and mriar@ucanr.edu.

Title: Restoration Ecology and Weed Science Advisor
Specialty: Crop and weed physiology Land restoration
Address:
Cooperative Extension Kern County
1031 South Mount Vernon Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93307
Phone: 661-868-6216
Email: mriar@ucanr.edu

Dr. Mandeep Riar