On Solid Ground

Food Science, Innovator, Bears, Meehan

New School of Food Science Crosses Borders An academic merger will draw together Washington State University and the University of Idaho food science departments. The new School of Food Science at the University of Idaho and Washington State University formalizes historic ties that have reached across the seven miles between them for decades. The partnership, […]

Pest Control, Ag Efficiency, Research Award

Greener Methods Control Key Pest of Cherries Thanks to the efforts of Extension educator Tim Smith, sweet cherry growers in central Washington are using new environmentally friendly materials and methods to control Cherry fruit fly. Washington is the nation’s leading producer of sweet cherries and a third of the crop is exported. The key quarantine […]

Native Plants, Family Forests, Corn Mazes, 21 Acres

New Greenhouse Encourages Return of Native Plants A new, 1,650-square-foot greenhouse dedicated to propagating native plants and environmental restoration was dedicated yesterday, Aug. 5, on the WSU Tri-Cities campus. The Native Plant Greenhouse and Nursery project will benefit environmental restoration efforts in the region, including at the Hanford Site and the Hanford Reach National Monument, […]

Climate Change Team, Farmers Market Week, Pierce Honored, Taste WSU

WSU Weighs in on Governor’s Climate Plan The Washington State Climate Advisory Team — created in 2007 — provides suggestions, ideas, and advice to the governor and Legislature about ways to manage human-induced climate change. Chad Kruger, interim director of the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, joined the team last year and […]

Hanford Clean Up, WSU Wheat

Research to Help Hanford Clean Up Markus Flury, WSU professor of soil physics, and Jim Harsh, WSU professor of soil chemistry, and colleagues from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, have received a three-year $1 million grant from […]

Smart Bark, Straw Value, Wild Side

Smart Bark Could Mitigate Environmental Bite Washington Technology Center has awarded $99,778 in research and technology development funding based on a proposal from WSU’s Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory in collaboration with Plant Care Technologies Corporation. Plant Care Technologies Corporation, a start-up nursery bioproducts company located in Pullman, is partnered with the Wood Materials and […]

Plant Biology, Farm Walk, Cacao Genome

WSU Plant Biologists Headline at Intenational Conference WSU scientists presented headline addresses at the 2008 conference of the American Society of Plant Biologists last week in Mérida, Mexico. Their presentations ranged from research on preventing diseases in crop plants to the invention of new tools to explore the inner workings of plant genomes. Vaccinating plants […]

Climate Change, Food Safety, Organic Ag

Exploring Climate Change Impact on Agriculture As Washington experiences longer summers, higher temperatures, reduced snow pack, and more extreme weather events, the state’s farmers and ranchers are wondering what the impact will be to their bottom line. As some of the most climate-dependent business owners in the state, farmers may have the most to lose. […]

Camelina, Winter Peas, Nash Huber, Food Safety

Taking the Biofuels Initiative with Camelina A 3,500-year-old crop may be the newest addition to the biofuel inventory in Washington state. Camelina, a false or dwarf flax first grown in northern Europe around 1500 B.C., was one of the crop trials featured at the annual Washington State University Lind Dryland Agriculture Research Station field day […]

Master Gardeners, Farrier School, Field Days

Focus on Food, Fuel as Master Gardeners Program Turns 35 Some 250 Master Gardener volunteers from across Washington state gathered at Fort Warden State Park near Port Townsend June 12 – 14 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the world’s first Master Gardeners program. There has never been a better time for the state’s Master […]