New Methodology Speeds Improvement of Favorite Wheat Varieties Wheat growers may have access to new and improved versions of their favorite varieties much sooner than usual thanks to new methodology developed by Kulvinder Gill, WSU professor and the Vogel Endowed Chair in Wheat Breeding and Genetics. Other WSU collaborators on the project are Drs. Kim […]
New Grant Focuses on Stabilizing Orchard IPM Practices Government-mandated reductions in organophosphate pesticide use have left orchard owners working to re-stabilize integrated pest management systems that have been in place for decades in the production of apples, pears and walnuts. A collaborative project led by WSU scientists is aimed at just that – stabilizing the […]
WSU Scientist Tackles Ug99, a New Threat to Global Wheat Production Tim Murray, a WSU plant pathologist, is collaborating with scientists around the world to address Ug99, a fungus that threatens wheat production worldwide. Ug99 is a virulent new race of stem rust first found in research plots in Uganda in 1999. The new race, […]
WSU Releases Two Stripe Rust Resistant Wheat Varieties Two new spring wheat varieties will soon be available to state growers, thanks to scientists at Washington State University. JD is a new soft white, spring club variety. Babe is a soft white, common spring wheat. Both varieties were bred by professor Kim Kidwell, wheat breeder and […]
Cougar Cattle Feeders Finish Strong with Co-op Venture With the semester quickly coming to a close, Washington State University students in the Cougar Cattle Feeders are working to finish their herd of 120 for market. Starting in October, the group received 20 donated calves and 55 custom fed calves from 10 producers, each with 5 […]
WSU Co-sponsors 16th Annual Bull Test Sale Cattlemen from throughout the Pacific Northwest gathered at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center at Prosser late last month for the 16th annual All-Breed Bull Test Sale. Co-sponsored by WSU and the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, the test sale has become one of the premier sales […]
Organic Acreage, Farmgate Sales Up Again in Washington The latest annual profile of Washington state’s organic acreage and crops is out, and the numbers are rosy. Compiled by the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources since 2002, the number of certified organic acres in the state appears to have increased by183 percent between […]
Reducing Costly Fruit Rot The old saying about one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch is based on a real concern. For Washington’s tree fruit industry, postharvest rot of fruit in storage costs the industry millions of dollars of losses annually. Chang-Lin Xiao, an associate professor of plant pathology and extension specialist at the Washington […]
World-class Apples with IPM Washington is known worldwide for its apples. To remain globally competitive, it is crucial for the state’s apple industry to continue producing quality, pest-free fruit despite the phase-out of widely used organophosphate (OP) insecticides. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is phasing out the use of azinphos-methyl, the pesticide most used to […]
Protecting Poplars Hybrid poplars are among the fastest-growing trees in North America and are well suited for the production of bioenergy (e.g., heat, power, transportation fuels), fiber (e.g., paper, pulp, particle board, etc.) and other bio-based products (e.g., organic chemicals, adhesives). Because poplar trees have so many economic, environmental and agricultural advantages, it is important […]