WSU Tree Fruit

WSU IAREC intern to spend year exploring the science behind agriculture

When Alfredo “Freddy” Reyes was working in Yakima Valley orchards as a youth, he didn’t know he’d someday be studying the science behind tree fruit crops. Now he’s gaining valuable agricultural experiences in the field and lab through an internship with WSU IAREC.

A young man fastens a net to a tree in an orchard, with blue sky in the background.

Student researcher seeks roots of apple resistance to fire blight

Named for the crooked, blackened branches it leaves behind, fire blight can wreck entire Northwest apple orchards in a single season. Growers depend on antibiotics to keep the fire blight bacteria, Erwinia amylovora, in check, but the pathogen has already developed resistance in many growing areas. It’s only a matter of time before antibiotics won’t […]