WENATCHEE, Wash. – Stefano Musacchi, an internationally recognized leader in pomology (the science of fruit and fruit growing), will join the faculty at Washington State University in August 2013 as the endowed chair in tree fruit physiology/management. The chair is funded by the state’s apple and pear growers through their historic partnership with WSU by investing […]
Modeling Drought Resistance to Improve Biofuel Production From the number of tomatoes in a backyard garden to the yield of wheat on commerical cropland, the availability of water significantly influences a plant’s productivity. But an equally critical factor is how a plant reacts to the available water supply. Even within the same plot, individual plants […]
Viruses Aid and Abet to Overcome Plant Defenses WSU researchers have found that viruses will join forces to overcome a plant’s defenses and cause more severe infections that an individual pathogen. “These findings have important implications in our ability to control these viruses,” said Hanu Pappu, Sam Smith Distinguished Professor of Plant Virology and chair […]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tree fruit growers in Washington, Michigan and New York will be receiving a survey from Haley Consulting Services asking growers about their horticultural practices and orchard characteristics. Responding to the survey is critical, as growers’ responses will help guide the Solid Set Canopy Delivery System for Apples and Cherries, a two-year, USDA-funded […]
WSU Scientists Use Flower Power to Combat Orchard Menace Apple orchards are intricate webs involving a delicate balance between trees, soils, water, insects, and more. To manage the pests that can potentially damage a crop of apples, growers often apply pesticides. There are several problems associated with pesticide use, though, including risks to environmental and […]
WENATCHEE, Wash. — Apple orchards are intricate webs involving a delicate balance between trees, soils, water, insects and more. To manage the pests that can potentially damage a crop of apples, a grower might apply a pesticide. There are several problems associated with pesticide use, though, including risks to environmental and human health; the costs […]
Plant Communication Breakthrough Traditional thought holds that a disease-causing organism has to penetrate a plant to initiate resistance. Now, two Washington State University scientists have established that a barley plant recognizes an invader and begins to marshal its defenses within five minutes of an attack. The discovery, along with the scientists’ successful cloning of barley’s […]
WSU Scientist Advocates Fungicide Stewardship It’s every doctor’s worst nightmare. Whether a healthcare practitioner for people, animals or plants, discovering that a disease (pathogen) has evolved resistance to your front-line defense is bad news. We’ve heard about it with a form of Staphylococcus that is resistant to multiple antibiotics, making it tough for doctors to […]
WENATCHEE, Wash. – Washington State University researchers and their collaborators are hosting a field day to present advances in automation for specialty crop production. The field day is slated for Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. at the WSU Sunrise Research Orchard near Rock Island, Wash.
Entomologists Open New Frontiers to Aid Sustainable Future for Fruit Growers In response to a study that found seven years to be the average period from the finish of research to its implementation, WSU entomologist and behavioral ecologist Vince Jones shook his head. “We just don’t have that kind of time.” Jones’ urgency is based […]