Ranunculus – TriCal, Inc.

Protecting the Roots of Success: How TriCal Inc. Helps Keep the Carlsbad Flower Fields Blooming

Posted on August 25, 2025August 22, 2025 by Mark Lauman

North San Diego County was once the flower capital of the U.S., with over 1,000 acres dedicated to field-grown and greenhouse cut flowers. Today, much of that land has given way to development, but one bloom still stands strong: ranunculus. The roots of this success date back to the 1930s, when Frank Frazee and his […]

Ag News: A blog by Dr. Mike Stanghellini, Dr. Kristi Sanchez & Guests

Our Authors

Dr. Mike Stanghellini
Director of Research & Regulatory Affairs Dr. Mike Stanghellini received a dual-major Ph.D. in Entomology and Horticultural Science with a minor in Plant Pathology from North Carolina State University. Since 2005, he has served as the TriCal liaison to federal, state, and international regulatory agencies, agrochemical companies, grower organizations, and third-party research entities. Mike directs and supervises our research on product defense, new product registration, and lab/field research on soil fumigants, novel products, and non-fumigant soil pest control tactics.

Dr. Kristi Sanchez
Senior Researcher and Nematologist Dr. Kristi Sanchez received her Ph. D. in Plant Pathology, specializing in Nematology, from the University of California, Davis. She has over a decade of combined research and field experience with UC Davis, the agrichemical industry, and the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Kristi’s expertise includes pest management of nematodes, morphological and molecular diagnostics of plant parasitic nematodes, and the development of experimental assays for nematode studies in the lab and field. Kristi is a regular invited speaker on topics related to soil health, nematode control, and integrated pest management in orchards.