John Roncoroni retires from ANR

John Roncoroni (right) and Clyde Elmore. Credit: Gale Perez, UC Weed Research and Information Center. Photo by: Gale Perez, UC Weed Research and Information Center. UC Regents
John Roncoroni (right) and Clyde Elmore. Credit: Gale Perez, UC Weed Research and Information Center.

Happy retirement John Roncoroni! Although retired, Roncoroni continues to work with UC IPM, training UC Cooperative Extension personnel on the regulations and best practices for safely applying pesticides as part of their research.

In 2008, Roncoroni joined ANR as a UC Cooperative Extension weed science advisor in Napa County and affiliated advisor with UC IPM, focusing on vegetation management issues in perennial crops. In addition to working in Napa County, he provided support to farm advisor programs in neighboring counties with perennial crop production including Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties. Roncoroni worked in several areas of vegetation management including conventional, sustainable, and organic weed control practices; vineyard cover crops; vegetation management in riparian plant communities; and aquatic weed control in irrigation ponds.

Roncoroni was essential in developing and directing several key UC IPM products. As a long-standing member of the Pest Management Guidelines Advisory Committee, he helped determine the direction for updates in content, format, and processes to ensure the UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines remained the University’s IPM guidelines for commercially grown agricultural crops. He was one of only a handful of Pest Management Guidelines weed science authors and crop leadership team members for the 16 perennial crop guidelines. In 2010, Roncoroni was instrumental in the overhaul of the Weed Gallery. He reviewed and updated the identification tutorials and biology information for more than 150 weeds within the Gallery. Additionally, Roncoroni authored UC IPM Pest Notes, the pest management guidance for pests in gardens, landscapes, and other community growing spaces: Dandelion and Poison Hemlock. UC IPM valued his entertaining approach to teaching UC Master Gardeners about weeds and weed management.

Roncoroni earned his bachelor's degree in environmental policy analysis and planning and his master's degree in horticulture from UC Davis. He has more than 20 years' experience in weed science at UC Davis. From 1985 to 2003, he served as a research associate to UC Weed Specialist Clyde Elmore. Their work involved weed control strategies throughout California, including vineyard and tree crops, turf and ornamentals, and alternatives to methyl bromide. After Elmore's retirement in 2004, Roncoroni was field research director for the IR-4 program UC Davis Field Research Center where he conducted residue studies for the registration of new pesticides for use in specialty crops.

"Advice John gave me: “under promise” and “over deliver.” Example: agree to a Friday deadline and complete and deliver the project on Thursday (early). I miss him!” —Gale Perez
"John has been a great colleague and good friend since I started working in weed science in California and I have lots of great stories and memories from attending meetings, going on farm calls, and travelling with John over the years. He has a great way of interacting with people and delivering extension information with enough entertainment to keep people engaged. Usually. One of my favorite stories of John at a field day was on a 100 degree day in a “premium grape” weed control field day down in the Delta. On that day, a teenager standing in the audience with his Dad passed out in the heat while John was talking (the kid was ok, John barely broke stride); to this day I still enjoy reminding John of how anyone can put an audience to sleep but you have to be really gifted to take them right of their feet! I wish John the very best in retirement and am very appreciative of his support, cooperation, and friendship as a UC Weeder.” —Brad Hanson
“John and I have known each other for about 30 years, though I have taken about 50 years of ribbing from him. Loved it all though and am still good for another 10 or 20 years of making fun of each other. As I told him many times, I will be his wingman on field trips and I only work for wine now.” —Joe DiTomaso