Integration in Action: Third in a Series
Members of the Western Cereal Leaf Beetle Team from Washington State University are not only integrated in terms of CAHNRS and Extension. They are also interdisciplinary and physically dispersed throughout the eastern part of the state. Team leader Diana Roberts is an Extension agronomist headquartered in Spokane County. Keith Pike is a WSU entomologist located in Prosser. David Bragg is an Extension entomologist and director of WSU Garfield County Extension in Pomeroy. Terry Miller worked formerly with the Department of Entomology in Pullman.
Because they have managed to work across all of those lines, as well as with colleagues in six other states and three Canadian provinces, we are featuring the team in the third installment in our series celebrating excellence in Extension-CAHNRS integration.
The cereal leaf beetle, an insect pest of wheat, barley, oats and Timothy hay, was detected in Washington state in 1999. The beetle has reduced spring wheat grains by up to 25 percent, which, in the absence of control, would mean a statewide loss of approximately $39 million per year. Managing the beetle with chemicals costs farmers $15 per acre.
Working together, the team led an effort that dispersed a tiny wasp species that parasitizes the cereal leaf beetle. Harmless to humans, pets, livestock and other plants and animals, the wasps lay their eggs in the larvae of the cereal leaf beetle and prevent further development of the pest. The biological controls replace expensive chemical management, potentially saving Washington growers nearly $7 million per year. Because of the team’s work, growers in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain region have been able to minimize negative impacts resulting from the beetle, as well as reduce insecticide application.
The team has been so successful that it is being honored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Team members recently received the Deputy Administrator’s Safeguarding Award for 2009.
Fulbright Opportunities
The Fulbright Scholars program offers awards to scholars and professionals to promote mutual understanding between the people of the US and those of other countries. The Middle East and North Africa are areas where this goal is of particular importance. There are numerous opportunities available through Fulbright in 2011-2012 for US faculty who are interested in teaching or carrying out research in the MENA region. Further details about these opportunities, as well as the 2011-2012 application, are currently available on the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) website (http://catalog.cies.org/). The application deadline is Aug. 2, 2010.
Pullman Farm Fresh Market kicks off May 19
The Pullman Farm Fresh Market kicks off its second year at the Old Post Office in Pullman on May 19. The shaded parking lot at 245 SE Paradise will again host local bakers, growers and ranchers bringing their products to the Pullman community. The market has many confirmed vendors from last year, and some new ones as well. Producers looking to sell at the market can still apply for season-long spaces, or come in at the walk-on rate. The market is supported by the Pullman Chamber of Commerce as well as the Whitman County Health Department, and offers a great mid-week opportunity to pick up or sell fresh and local products. Current vendors include Seven Springs Farm (veggies, seedlings, eggs), Sage Baking Company (bread, pastries), Palouse Organics & Natural Beef (organic vegetables, natural beef), Turnbow Flat Farm (eggs, order forms for chicken, beef, pork, turkey), Joseph’s Grainery (soft white wheat, hard red wheat, barley, lentils), Omache Farm (vegetables & farm produce, fleeces & handspun yarns from sheep), Panhandle Artisan Bread Co. (bread), Bill Myers-Soft white wheat, hard red wheat, barley, lentils), WSU Organic Farm (produce for sale in addition to a CSA pick-up site). Live music is on hand most days, and we are currently seeking additional acts for the summer. If you have an interest in the market, in vending or in performing- please contact us at PullmanFarmFreshMarket@gmail.com. For information contact the Chamber at 509-334-3565 or find us on Facebook.
Kudos
Jolie Kaytes, associate professor in horticulture and landscape architecture, was awarded the Mt. St. Helen’s Field Residency. This creative writing residency is part of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program, in which writers visit ecology field sites to record their reflections about relationships between people and landscapes changing together over time. For more information, visit http://springcreek.oregonstate.edu/programs.html#LTER