WSU Researchers Win $15 Million in USDA Specialty Crop Research Grants WSU research teams have been awarded approximately $15 million in USDA grants aimed at specialty crops such as tree fruit, wine grapes and potatoes. They will receive nearly a third of the $47.3 million awarded nationally, which places WSU scientists among the top recipients […]
WSU Scientists Win $1 Million Grant to Explore Organic Dryland Cropping Systems Replacing costly chemicals with new crop rotations and no-till technology to raise dryland crops such as wheat and barley organically will be the focus of a team of WSU scientists thanks to a $1 million grant from USDA’s Integrated Organic Program. “This adds […]
Remembering Borlaug and Celebrating Our “Amber Legacy” We recently lost one of the world’s great heroes. Plant scientist and green revolutionary Norman Borlaug died last week at the age of 95. Borlaug, a recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, worked tirelessly to help ensure that people the world over have enough to eat. Borlaug […]
New WSU Ag Degrees More Focused, Rigorous, Built to Serve Industry Needs Newly configured agriculture degree programs at Washington State University are refocused and ready to produce graduates especially able to meet the emerging needs of the industry in Washington and beyond. “Our ag programs have always been strong as far as content and hands-on […]
WSU Names New Spring Wheat Breeder Michael Pumpfrey, a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Manhattan, Kansas, is WSU’s new spring wheat breeder. After visiting the Palouse to attend the Spillman Agronomy Farm in July, Pumpfrey made his appointment official earlier this month. He will assume his new responsibilities […]
Developing a Wheat Safe for Celiac Disease Patients Thanks to the research of Diter von Wettstein and a grant of nearly $1 million from the National Institutes of Health, millions of people around the world suffering from celiac disease have new reasons for hope. Von Wettstein, who is R.A. Nilan Distinguished Professor in the Department […]
Tiny Tubers Pack Powerful Punch Nutritionally When it comes to nutritional value, baby potatoes are proving to far outstrip their adult counterparts, according to Roy Navarre, USDA Agricultural Research Service research geneticist and adjunct professor with Washington State University. In preliminary trials at WSU’s potato research center here, Navarre and his team are harvesting 71 […]
New Potato Institute Bringing in Dollars for Research, Product Marketing Before 2005, administering and marketing potato varieties developed in Washington, Oregon and Idaho was primarily the purview of research universities in each of those states. Today, a new organization charged with those tasks — the Potato Variety Management Institute — is turning new varieties into […]
Sweet Pickings – State-of-the-Science Tools Enhance Cherry Breeding Program Nnadozie Oraguzie and the WSU sweet cherry breeding program have been working hard to get new cherry varieties ripe for the picking. Two varieties scheduled for release this year are bred for resistance to powdery mildew. Currently, growers are spending up to $2.3 million per year […]
Irrigated Pasture Procedures Pump Profits for Cattle Producers A little water and an annual planting of the right grass seed can go a long way toward increasing the bottom line for cattle producers, especially if they are part of an irrigated pasture practice incorporating the latest technology and methods. Frank Hendrix, WSU Extension educator in […]