PULLMAN, Wash. – Bioenergy research and development will be featured this June at Washington State University’s three major small grains and cropping research field days.
Research on winter wheat and spring wheat breeding, camelina as a dryland oilseed crop, the WSU biofuels research project, winter peas, fusarium crown rot resistance in wheat, and downy brome control in winter wheat will be featured at the 92nd annual WSU Lind Dryland Research Station field day on June 19. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the field tour starting at 9 a.m. A complimentary lunch program will follow honoring Edward Heinemann for establishing the Edward and Arlene Heinemann Lind Dryland Research Station Endowment Fund.
Heinemann, a 1939 graduate of Washington State, worked for a short time as a county extension agent in Lincoln County before being appointed to the Washington State Horse Breeder’s Association where he worked for 28 years as field secretary. His last position was as director of the Washington Horse Racing Commission. He met his future wife Arlene at college. They were married nearly 60 years before her death.
WSU administrators, state legislators, wheat industry leaders, and new WSU faculty will also provide brief updates. An ice cream social follows the noon program.
Researchers will discuss Beyond herbicide in a crop rotation; winter canola fertilization and weed control; dryland alfalfa varieties; undercutter tillage and weed sensing technology for fallow management; and protein wheat fertilization at the WSU Wilke Farm field day set for June 25.
Tours will begin at 9:30 a.m. The morning program will also include an update on the 3-year and 4-year crop rotation encompassing the Wilke farm and much more, followed by a complimentary lunch. Application has been made for pesticide credits.
“Bioenergy Cropping Systems Research” will be the theme at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Palouse Conservation Field Station field day set for June 26. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with field tours scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon.
Field stops will highlight oilseed variety trials, including 18 spring camelina lines; economics, energy, and rotation analysis of canola; residual herbicide effects on canola and weed control options for canola and other potential oilseed crops; green bridge and sprayout herbicide timing effects on Rhizoctonia and other root diseases; added value from oilseed crops—canola and mustard meal profiles and marketing opportunities; and wheat/straw composition and amount of residue needed to maintain soil quality.
In addition, research of the USDA-ARS Land Management and Water Conservation Research Unit, located at the WSU Pullman campus (which oversees the field station), will be showcased throughout the field day.
The unit was not included in President Bush’s 2009 fiscal year budget recommendations to Congress and is targeted for closure. Unit representatives will address past, present, and future directions. A wind tunnel demonstration is also planned in order to demonstrate its use in testing tillage, cover, and other treatments on wind blown dust and in improving air quality.
The morning field tour will be followed by a hosted lunch program paying tribute to Dennis Roe, Natural Resources Conservation Service conservationist and agronomist. He retired last June after 41 years of service in the Inland Northwest.
The field days are free and open to the public. Maps to these locations are available online at http://css.wsu.edu/overview/facilities.
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