For many years, berry growers from all around Oregon and Washington—have gathered at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center each summer to hear the latest information they need to grow their crops, examine in the field the new berry cultivars being developed, and provide feedback on tasting preferences for the different berries grown at NWREC. This summer’s visitors even included grow- ers from Bulgaria! “2016 was much more comfortable weath- er for our berry field days,” said Bernadine Strik, Extension Berry Specialist and organ- izer of the berry field days.” This past sum- mer featured a Strawberry Open House on June 8; Caneberry Field Day on June 29; and the Blueberry Field Day on July 6. Over 200 growers attended these events. “We moved the field days up on the calen- dar this year since the seasons have been so early the past two years.We didn’t miss the 90 to 100 degree heat this year, for sure! But, the seasons were all still early and we were well into harvest—or about done—for some of our crops by the time we had our field days scheduled.” Commercial berry growers, industry field representatives, consultants, researchers, and Extension faculty participate in these field days each year.Technical presenta- A Newsletter for Friends of North Willamette Research and Extension Center SUMMER 2016 oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC Berry Field Days Provide Important Outreach Berry Extension Specialist, Bernadine Strik, leading the discussion at Blueberry Field Day. About 100 attended this year. Long-standing Donation Appreciated by Berry Program Littau Harvesters Inc., a company based in Stayton, has generously donated an “over- the-row” machine harvester to the berry program at the NWREC for over 15 years. Bernadine Strik, NWREC’s Berry Research Program Leader, uses the machine har- vester to pick various blueberry and caneberry research trials and to help eval- uate whether advanced selections in the Littau Machine harvester being used to pick blackcaps at the NWREC. One of the highlights this year, was a peregrine falcon demonstration for bird control in blueberry fields. ......................continued on page 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .continued on page 2
Transcript
For many years, berry growers from allaround Oregon and Washington—havegathered at the North Willamette Researchand Extension Center each summer tohear the latest information they need togrow their crops, examine in the field thenew berry cultivars being developed, andprovide feedback on tasting preferencesfor the different berries grown at NWREC.This summer’s visitors even included grow-ers from Bulgaria!
“2016 was much more comfortable weath-er for our berry field days,” said BernadineStrik, Extension Berry Specialist and organ-izer of the berry field days.”This past sum-mer featured a Strawberry Open House onJune 8; Caneberry Field Day on June 29;and the Blueberry Field Day on July 6.Over 200 growers attended these events.
“We moved the field days up on the calen-dar this year since the seasons have been
so early the past two years.We didn’t missthe 90 to 100 degree heat this year, forsure! But, the seasons were all still earlyand we were well into harvest—or aboutdone—for some of our crops by the timewe had our field days scheduled.”
Commercial berry growers, industry fieldrepresentatives, consultants, researchers,and Extension faculty participate in thesefield days each year.Technical presenta-
A Newsletter for Friends of North Willamette Research and Extension Center SUMMER 2016
oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC
Berry Field Days Provide Important Outreach
Berry Extension Specialist, Bernadine Strik, leading the discussion at Blueberry Field Day. About 100attended this year.
Long-standingDonationAppreciatedby Berry ProgramLittau Harvesters Inc., a company based inStayton, has generously donated an “over-the-row” machine harvester to the berryprogram at the NWREC for over 15 years.Bernadine Strik, NWREC’s Berry ResearchProgram Leader, uses the machine har-vester to pick various blueberry andcaneberry research trials and to help eval-uate whether advanced selections in the
Littau Machine harvester being used to pickblackcaps at the NWREC.
One of the highlights this year, was a peregrinefalcon demonstration for bird control inblueberry fields.
Each summer, the NWREC staff nearlydoubles as we welcome 20-30 summerstudents. This year’s group includes 22summer workers—11 college students, 10high school students, and 1 volunteer.
Below is a listing of summer folks by theprogram where they are working.Students assisting with research programsare hired and funded by the Extension andResearch faculty at NWREC. Farm Crewstudents work for our Farm Manager andare funded out of our Center budget anddo a wide variety of tasks including mow-ing, berry picking, rodent trapping, tillage,painting, and event setup/cleanup, andsupporting the tractor training classes foryouth and adults.
We are fortunate to have several return-ing students, again, this year. Studentswith one or more years working atNWREC are noted with an asterisk (*).
Berry Research:
Kaylee Shearer—Canby High School
Sophia Rutz*—Canby High School
Matt Robinson*—North MarionHigh School
Kara Guttridge*—Canby High School
Derek Estrada—North MarionHigh School
Eliza Smith—Oregon State University & Chemeketa Community College
Trevor Wood*—Clackamas Community College
Cameron Watson—Oregon State University
Branch Experiment Station Intern:
Amanda Serven, Oregon State University
Tree Orchard Crops:
Kylie Mendoca—California Polytechnic State Univeristy
Kody Transue*—Clackamas Community College
Chase Unger*—Oregon State University
Farm Crew:
Cole Anderson—Canby High School
Ethan Schroeder—Tualatin High School
Logan Wood*—Canby High School
Olivia Parker*—Portland Community College
CJ Sullivan—Canby High School
Danner Sullivan—Canby High School
Nursery/Greenhouse Interns:
Grant McKinney—Chaminade University,Hawaii
Harley Sikes—Chemeketa Community College
Small Farms:
Casey Wilson*—Oregon State University
Douglas Ashby—Volunteer
Students Back for Summer at NWREC
• PA G E 2 •
breeding program will succeed ascommercial cultivars.
According to Strik,“All of our raspber-ry and blackberry cultivars need to bepicked by machine. Growers justcan’t afford to hand pick for theprocessed market. So, we need culti-vars that machine pick well.”
Littau harvesters are the most com-mon type used by Willamette Valleygrowers. Their machines are in suchdemand that it’s incredibly generousthat Littau provides a machine to theprogram for the berry picking seasonat no cost.
“We simply couldn’t have the berryprogram that we have without theirsupport,” said Bernadine. Berry grow-ers also greatly appreciate the sup-port Littau provides the program, asit helps us get information of use tothe industry much faster than wewould otherwise.
tions are provided by Oregon State andWashington State University faculty, staff,and graduate students.
“These events are an important time for
those involved in the berry industry to seeand hear what’s new and to bring themup-to-date on the latest information toimprove production and profitability,”according to Strik.
Berry tasting, along with vanilla ice cream of course, is used to compare new cultivars with olderstandards and is always a popular part of the berry field days.
By Robin Rosetta, Nursery IPM ExtensionAgent
Local greenhouse and nursery growersleaped at the opportunity to jump ontothe Biocontrol Bus with two days of work-shops and tours held in June for begin-ning and advanced users of biologicalcontrol. NWREC’s Extension Faculty RobinRosetta worked with Sharon Selvaggio ofthe Northwest Center for Alternatives toPesticides (NCAP) and SuzanneWainwright-Evans, Buglady ConsultingInc., to organize the two-day series.“Theinterest in using biological control hasgrown so much our beginner’s tour regis-tration at the NCAP website was sold outwith a waiting list before I could evenadvertise it,” said Rosetta.
The workshop was led by the popular“Buglady,”Wainwright-Evans, who consultswith nurseries and teaches nationally on thesubject of biological control. Indoor classsessions were held at NWREC. Field toursites included Fessler Nursery andWoodburn Nursery and Azaleas. A very pop-ular addition to the format of the tours werethe many onsite demonstrations by repre-sentatives from BASF, BioBest, Bioworks,Evergreen Growers Supply, and staff atFessler, Monrovia, and Woodburn Nurseries.
“With these workshops and tours we showgrowers that the use of biological controlfor greenhouse and nursery pests is eco-nomically feasible and highly effective.Participants learn from both experts andtheir peers about how to implement a bio-
logical control program for a range ofpests,”said Rosetta. Additionally, growerslearned about crop insurance options fornurseries, including a new crop insuranceprogram,Whole-Farm Revenue Protection(WFRP), from George Harris, with NorthwestFarm Credit Services.
“Many growers have been pleasantly sur-prised in recent years to discover how
effective their biocontrol programs canbe,” says Sharon Selvaggio, healthy wildlifeand water program director with theNorthwest Center for Alternatives toPesticides. “This is exciting work at a timewhen so many consumers want to knowthat their ornamental plants have beenproduced in a sustainable manner.”
The workshop was sponsored in part by agrant from USDA Risk ManagementAgency and by industry sponsors.
All Aboard the Biocontrol Bus!
August 23 Dry Farm Field Day (4:00-7:00pm). No registration. Contact: HeidiNoordijk
August 26 NWREC Public Farm Tour (2:00-4:00pm). Registration required—nofee. Please call 503-678-1264.
September 8 NWREC Summer Vegetable Variety Field Day (1:00-4:00 pm). Noregistration. Contact: Heidi Noordijk
September 13 Adult Advance Tractor Safety Training and Winter Maintenance(8:30am-4:00pm). Registration required. See NWREC website home page.
September 15 Small Farm School (8:00am-4:30pm). Registration information:http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/small-farm-school. Contact: Heidi Noordijk
September 30 NWREC Public Farm Tour (2:00-4:00pm). Registration required—nofee. Please call 503-678-1264.
September 30 NWREC Annual Harvest Dinner (5:30-8:30pm). Registration required.See http://oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC/
October 6, 13, 20, 27 Oktoberpest (9:00am to Noon, each day). Registrationrequired. See NWREC website home page. Topics vary throughout the month anddesigned for nursery and greenhouse growers.
Calendar of Events
Kelly Vance, Fessler Nursery, discusses how banker plants are used for bio-control.
Jana Lee, Researcher Entomologist with theUSDA Agricultural Research Service in Corvallis,sharing beneficial insect specimens with pro-gram attendees.
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NWREC’s annual Community Open Houseis a real harbinger of summer—fun activi-ties for kids, burgers and dogs on the grill,berry tasting from our research trials, haywagon tours of the farm, fresh veggies,tractor driving—and, of course, our facul-ty and staff showcasing what they do.
“We really like putting this event on eachyear,” said Mike Bondi, NWREC Director.“We believe it’s important to share ourwork with the community. And, we’reproud of what we do and the differenceour work makes in the lives of many whorely on local farmers.”
Bondi was disappointed in this year’sattendance at the Open House. “We onlyhad 200 people attend—down about 1/3from each of the past two years—despitean incredibly beautiful summer evening.”The 2014 and 2015 Open Houses wereconducted during very hot weather—wellinto the 90s. “We didn’t miss the heat thisyear, but we did miss the crowd,” saidBondi. “Five or six years ago we wouldhave been ecstatic to think we could get200 people to come out to the farm.Now, our expectations are a lot different.We need to keep growing and reachingout in the community.”
One of the highlights of this year’s OpenHouse was a special appearance by OSU’sBenny Beaver—a hit with both kids andadults.
Open House—another successful event
Chal Landgren, Extension Christmas Tree Specialist (right), joined by Nursery Interns Harley Sikes andGrant McKinney at the Christmas tree program display.
Jan Egli, NWREC Office Specialist, posing withBenny Beaver.
New BMSB LeaderDavid Lowensteinjoined the NWREC fac-ulty on July 1 as a post-doc researcher and aleader in the state-wideBrown MarmoratedStink Bug project(BMSB). Nik Wiman,NWREC Tree Orchard Crops ExtensionSpecialist, held this position for threeyears prior to his new position nearly ayear ago.
Lowenstein will work with Wiman andother OSU faculty to coordinate OSU’sresearch and outreach efforts focused atunderstanding the stink bug’s life historyand biology and develop effective controlprograms. His research will focus onTrissolcus japonicus, a promising para-sitoid wasp that attacks the eggs of BMSBthat was recently discovered in Portlandand Vancouver. The BMSB was introducedinto the Pacific Northwest in 2004 and hasbecome a damaging pest in agriculturalcrops, and a nuisance in landscape plant-ings and around the home.
• PA G E 4 •
By Nick Andrews, Metro Small FarmsExtension Agent
We are building a new small-scale pack-ing shed at the NWREC Learning Farmthat will help us demonstrate good har-vest, handling and storage methods forsmall-scale local produce growers. Wehope to complete construction of thewashing and packing area by September,2016, and to add a storage area in 2017.
Small and mid-sized farmers have manyquestions about how best to harvest, han-dle and store produce to ensure greatquality and limit the cost of harvest andhandling. For example, variable costs togrow an acre of organic lettuce are in therange of $5,000, with about half of thesecosts related to harvest, handling andshort-term storage.The fixed costs of pack-ing and storage facilities are not clearlydefined. Poor storage conditions can alsoaccount for substantial losses on somefarms.We hope to address these and otherconcerns on small-scale local farms.
Outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in
recent years, especially in large scale foodsystems, has stimulated the federal gov-ernment to enhance food safety regula-tions by passing the Food SafetyModernization Act (FSMA). The federalFood and Drug Administration has nowreleased the final rules that will impactthe way all farmers grow produce andhopefully reduce the size and frequencyof outbreaks.
The new packing shed at NWREC will helpus provide practical hands-on workshopsfor new and experienced farmers andtheir employees.
We are seeking contributions from com-munity partners to help pay for construc-tion costs, and plan to apply for grantfunding to support curriculum develop-ment. In the future, the packing shed mayalso be used for small applied researchprojects relevant to farmers supplyinglocal markets.
Please email [email protected] call him at 503-913-9410 if you areinterested in this project.
Pack House Going in at NWREC
Dr. Lloyd Nackley has accepted an offer tobecome the new Nursery and GreenhouseCrops Production and Management facultymember at the NWREC. Nackley will beginhis work on September 16 after relocatinghis family from Davis, California where he iscurrently a post-doc researcher.
Nackley’s appointment culminates a fiveyear vacancy in this key position atNWREC—following the resignation of JimOwen when he accepted a new position atVirginia Tech University in 2011.
“We are very excited to make thisannouncement and, finally, get this impor-tant faculty position hired,”said Mike Bondi,NWREC Director. “We appreciate everyone’spatience with the process. It has been along road with the recession, tight budgets,and failed searches along the way. But, theimportant thing is that we had excellentcandidates in our last recruitment pool andwe are very pleased to have someone withLloyd’s experience joining our staff atNWREC.”
Dr. Nackley has a PhD from the University ofWashington (2012) in Plant PhysiologicalEcology and a B.S. in EnvironmentalHorticultural Science at CaliforniaPolytechnic State University (2003). In addi-tion, he is completing his second post-docresearch position.
Nackley has a broad background and experi-ence that should provide him with an excel-lent foundation to address the needs ofnursery and greenhouse growers in theWillamette Valley. Nackley has researchedbioenergy crops for the National ScienceFoundation, developed garlic growing prac-tices for the Korean Department ofAgriculture, investigated how climatechange and invasive species were threaten-ing citrus growers in South Africa, and pro-vided research-based solutions for specialtycrop growers challenged with water short-age, pollutants and pathogen issues in theCalifornia Central Valley.
Welcome to Oregon, Lloyd!
New Nursery/Greenhouse Faculty Hired
SAVETHE DATE:
Harvest DinnerSept. 30
The popular NWREC Harvest Dinnerhas been scheduled for Friday,September 30 on our North Lawn.We’ll begin with social time at5:30pm, dinner served at 6:30pm, anda program following. We are justbeginning the planning for the event,but we are expecting another greatevening—as we showcase this sum-mer’s food crops from NWREC’sresearch and educational trials andlocal farmers. Each year is a specialmeal—don’t miss out!
The Harvest Dinner is an invitationthank you event for our Friends, sup-porters, and contributors. We use ourtime together to reflect on majoraccomplishments at NWREC over thepast year and look forward to what’sahead. We showcase agriculture andwhat the university is doing to nurtureand sustain this important industry.Last year’s Harvest Dinner was attend-ed by 175 and we believe this is aboutbig enough to manage. So, get yourreservation in quickly when it arrives.We hope to hold 25 tickets for sale tothe public, if space is available.
Invitations are expected to go in themail by mid-August.
We are now recruiting Table Sponsorsfor the Harvest Dinner. Individuals,businesses and organizations areinvited to participate and be recog-nized in our advertising and out-reach. Sponsorships begin at $250 (2complimentary tickets); $500 (4 tick-ets); $750 (6 tickets); $1,000 (8 tick-ets—full table); and $2,500 (specialevent sponsor). Join the NWRECTeam! Contact Mike Bondi for moreinformation and how you can beinvolved.
• PA G E 5 •
By Robin Rosetta, Nursery IPM ExtensionAgent and Ryan Contreras, AssociateProfessor—Ornamental Plant Breeding
Prior to joining the faculty of Oregon StateUniversity in 1984, Richard Regan earned aBS degree in Ornamental Horticulture anda MS degree in Soil and Water Science atCalifornia State University, Chico where hetaught classes for the Department of Plantand Soil Sciences following graduation.Rich started his career at OSU as anExtension agent in Marion County. He relo-cated to the North Willamette Researchand Extension Center where he providedregional Extension education and con-ducted nursery research on key issues inproduction such as tip dieback, lygus bugs,Phytophthora syringae and Verticillium. Richalso provided service to the industry in avariety of roles including President of theWestern Region of the InternationalSociety of Plant Propagators, OSU Liaisonto the Shade Tree Growers Association, andFarwest Show moderator.
Rich’s recent work has focused on studenttraining including some of the mostimportant courses a Horticulture studenttakes during their collegiate career such asPlant Propagation and Plant Nutrition.
Rich is a natural teacher and his impact onOregon agriculture will be felt for years asthe students from his courses go on to beleaders in Oregon agriculture and beyond.His expertise and experience has been ahuge asset and colleagues, students, and
industry is better for him sharing hisknowledge over the years.
All good things come to an end and sowe say goodbye to our very knowledge-able and impactful colleague, Rich Regan.Enjoy your retirement!
Rich Regan co-hosts visitors to NWREC from the Lushan Botanical Garden in China.
• PA G E 6 •
Rich Regan Retires after 32 Years Helping the Nursery Industry
For the past five years, the Clackamas and4-H Extension Service District has provid-ed a pool of resources to annually stimu-late new and creative projects thataddress community needs. Each year$100,000 of funds are offered in a com-petitive granting process. In 2016, nineprojects were funded with nearly $91,000allocated. Five projects supported workat NWREC. Four projects supported workat the Clackamas Extension office.
Results from the Innovation Program areshared at a joint staff meeting withNWREC and Clackamas Extension inDecember—and later with our advisorycouncil.
ClackamasInnovation FundSupports New andCreative Ideas
CLACKAMAS EXTENSION FACULTY STAFF PROJECTS
Oregon IPM Website; Weston Miller; $5,000
4-H STEM–WeDo Lego Robotics; Jan Williams; $6,500
4-H Fish Stewards Program Expansion & Replacement of Aging Equipment;Trisha White; $8,350
Forest Management Alternatives—Sharing Hopkins Demonstration Forest Results;Glenn Ahrens and Peter Matzka; $8,000
NWREC FACULTY STAFF PROJECTS
Developing a Douglas-fir Seed Orchard and Testing New Provenances;Chal Landgren; $7,884
Development of a Pollinator Species Inventory in the Willamette Valley;Nick Andrews; $12,140
Assessing Collaborative Research Efforts Between Clackamas Community College Students & NWREC Programs Through On-Farm, Food Safety Research;Luisa Santamaria; $10,750
Modifying the “Easy Harvester” to Harvest Fresh Quality Blueberries; Wei Yang; $15,644
Cider Apple Demonstration Orchard: Addressing Education Gaps in aNovel Oregon Industry; Nik Wiman; $16,439
Total Funded $90,707.00
By Wei Qiang Yang1, Fumi Takeda2, HeatherAndrews1, and Changying Li3
Rising labor costs and the lack of fieldworkers are big challenges facing blueber-ry growers who sell their fruit to the freshmarket. Current machine technology doesnot do an adequate job of harvesting freshquality berries because it causes internalfruit bruising by its hard plastic or metalcatch surface and parts. In experimentsconducted with a modified ‘EasyHarvester’, purchased with funding sup-port from a Clackamas County InnovationGrant in 2016, we demonstrated that usinga mesh-net and “No-Bruze” padding as fruitcatch surfaces could significantly reduceinternal berry bruising. Combined with apneumatic shaker, we were able to harvestfresh market quality blueberries by usingthe “Easy Harvester”. Research will continueto focus on refining the catch surfacedesign and reducing fruit dropping dis-tances to the catch surface therefore fur-ther reducing fruit bruising.
A Blueberry Impact Recording Device (BIRD)sensor was also used to assess the fruitbruising with different fruit catch surfaces.An aluminium catch surface on the “EasyHarvester”had the most internal fruit bruis-ing compared to the “No-Bruze”paddingand mesh-net. The BIRD sensor can also beused in packing houses to assess the bruis-
ing impact resulting from fruit dropping atvarious heights during the packing process.The specific improvement of the packingline suggested by a BIRD evaluation willimprove fresh packing quality.
1North Willamette Research and Extension Center,Aurora, OR 970022USDA-ARS-AFRS, Kearneysville, WV 254303College of Engineering, University of Georgia,Athens, Georgia 30677
Will an “Easy Harvester” Work forHarvesting Fresh Quality Blueberries?
Branch Experiment Station Intern, Amada Serven (left), and NWREC Bio Tech, Heather Andrews, workingin the field with the EZ Harvester and pneumatic berry shakers during evaluations.
• PA G E 7 •
With the hiring announcement of thenew Nursery Production andManagement faculty member at NWREC,we can say,“One down and two to go.”
Next up in hiring, is the replacement for JoeDeFrancesco, our long-time Field CenterDirector for the IR-4 program. This is thepesticide registration research position andis responsible for the maximum residuedata collection and efficacy research onnew pesticides for use on Oregon crops.Joe has announced his retirement for theend of October and we have been scram-bling to try an hire a replacement ASAP—with hopes of having a transition betweenJoe and the new person.
Ed Peachey, a weed scientist and vegetableExtension faculty member on campus, ischairing the IR-4 Search Committee. Anational search was conducted. 19 candi-dates applied for the position and thecommittee selected seven for phone inter-views prior to inviting 4 candidates for siteinterviews. It is expected that the siteinterviews will be held in late Augustand/or early September.
The Vegetable and Specialty Seed CropExtension position is in the queue, too.The position description has beenapproved and the advertisement is wait-ing to be approved by the university.This, too, will be a national search that
hopes to identify several outstandingcandidates that can be brought in forinterviews—hopefully in October.
By the end of 2016, NWREC should havefour new faculty members added sincethe autumn of 2015—Tree Orchard Crops,Nursery Production and Management, IR-4 Field Center Director, and Vegetable andSpecialty Seed Crops.
According to Mike Bondi, NWREC’sDirector,“This is all good! But, it has beena crazy year. We haven’t seen hiring likethis before at NWREC. But, we’ll definitelytake it. With all these new people, we willhave a new culture and excitementaround the Research Center. I look for-ward to what’s ahead!”
Hiring Updates—status report
Dr. Fumi Takeda measuring blueberry bruisedamage in the field with the BIRD sensor.
Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDSIPRINTOregon State University
North Willamette Research & Extension Center15210 NE Miley RoadAurora, Oregon 97002-9543
Oregon State University–North Willamette Research & Extension Center15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, OR 97002 • Phone: 503-678-1264 • Website: oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC
Chal Landgren, Christmas Tree Extension Specialist
Nick Andrews, Metro Small Farms Extension Agent
Chip Bubl, Extension AgricultureAgent
Joe DeFrancesco, Pesticide Registration Research
Nik Wiman, Orchard Crops Extension Specialist
Research and Program Staff
Amanda Vance, Berry Research
Pat Jones, Berry Research
Heather Andrews, Berry Extension and Orchard Crops
David Lowenstein, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Research
Gina Koskela, Pesticide Registration Research
Peter Sturman, Pesticide Registration Research
Judy Kowalski, Christmas Tree, and Pesticide Registration Research
Gilberto Uribe, Nursery Pathology and Bilingual Program Assistant
Heidi Noordijk, Small FarmsProgram Assistant
Become a Friend of NWREC Today!
Membership forms for the Friends of North Willamette Research and Extension Centerare also available by contacting the NWREC office at 503-678-1264 or downloading from
the website at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC.Contact Director, Mike Bondi, for more information or to discuss life or deferred gifts options.
