NWREC Spring/Summer 2024 Newsletter

Spring/Summer 2024 Edition

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Director’s Message

While summer is off to a questionable start in regard to weather, our faculty programs at WSU NWREC are going forward with our usual energy and enthusiasm, which you will see in our program updates. It was a quiet winter at NWREC, which allowed us to focus on facility upgrades and improvements. We completed upgrades to the Olson House graduate student housing—we installed new kitchen flooring and appliances, and added two downstairs bedrooms and a full bathroom. On-campus housing is important for our graduate students who benefit from having a place to land as they find their way around the area before choosing where to live longer term. This is especially important for our international students, most of whom are not able to drive when they arrive at NWREC and there is limited public transportation in our area. We also upgraded our farm shop and adjacent buildings with funding from WSU; we completed installing a bathroom, a utility sink, rain gutters, downspout connections to storm system and septic connections. This was a somewhat large work task that took our farm crew several weeks to excavate and install underground drainage pipes. While we had the excavator on site, we installed a new irrigation system from a new meter in the northwest corner of the farm to help meet the expanding irrigation needs on the farm as our field research programs and projects continue to expand each year. Thank you to the Soil Health Initiative and WSU Turf Grass Research Program for providing funding for the irrigation system upgrade. We replaced the two original boilers in our 1948 greenhouses with energy efficient modern units, thanks to funding we received from WSU last year. This winter we successfully managed the new heating system, and we will continue to upgrade the greenhouse heating, cooling and environmental control systems as well as the roofing, as funding becomes available. These greenhouses are solid structures and we continue to find ways to upgrade them as the plant growth facility research needs of our faculty continue to grow.

The past year has brought changes to our staffing, and we now have a new Administrative Assistant, Sarah Sonnenfeld, in the front office, and a new Maintenance Mechanic, Roger Parkey, for our farm and facilities. Sarah has student recruitment experience and has taken the lead for the many high school and college student tours at NWREC. Student recruitment is important for WSU overall and especially for NWREC as our faculty teach in the Organic and Sustainable Agriculture undergraduate major at WSU Everett. Sarah is also in charge of the auditorium rental and events, and is doing an outstanding job managing these along with all the day-to-day activities at NWREC. Roger has expertise in automotive mechanics and maintenance, and has one of the most important skills of all—a willingness and interest in learning new skills. In addition to the many daily and weekly routine tasks he is responsible for, Roger is taking on new responsibilities such as greenhouse systems, and he is learning about HVAC systems and operations. After several years of interim staffing, our NWREC staffing is once again complete, and though we miss those who have retired and left us, we are extremely grateful to have new employees who add their enthusiasm and unique skill sets to NWREC. Two of our NWREC staff members were recognized for awards this year: Dan Gorton received his 25 years of service award, and Jennifer Buckles was selected as the recipient of this year’s Classified Clerical/Fiscal Staff Excellence Award!

Looking ahead in 2024, the WSU Horticulture Department is recruiting a new Raspberry Breeder who will be based at NWREC. We thank the Washington red raspberry industry for their support of this endowed position and their good work to screen and interview applicants, and we all appreciate that we want to hire the best person possible that we all feel will meet the needs of both of the industry and WSU. Lisa DeVetter is the head of the search committee, and questions or potential applicants should be directed to her.

We look forward to seeing you at summer field days and other events at NWREC, and sending best wishes to all for a productive and rewarding summer season.

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Roshani is writing her master’s thesis and plans to graduate this summer. She conducted several in vitro, in vivo, and in silico analyses to study Botrytis fungal populations from Washington and Oregon blueberry fields for resistance to several fungicides. Of note, Roshani’s poster titled “Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Botrytis cinerea from blueberry fields in the Pacific Northwest for tolerance to SDHI fungicides” won first prize in the student poster competition at the 2024 Joint Meeting of the APS Pacific Division and Conference on Soilborne Plant Pathogens in Corvallis, OR (March 26–28, 2024).

After completing required on-campus coursework, Mary returned to NWREC in January. She continued screening Botrytis isolates from WA and OR blueberry fields for resistance to several fungicides. She also initiated a new screenhouse trial to determine critical phenological stages for Botrytis infection in blueberries.

Purnima is conducting the third year of field studies to study location effects on the development of silver scurf disease of potatoes. Purnima’s artworks “Tuber Trouble: When Potatoes Feel Unwanted” and “Blueberry’s Fungal Makeover: When Mycelia Play Dress-Up” won the Art in Phytopathology Contest in Humor and Nature categories, respectively. Her artwork will be displayed at the Plant Health 2024 Conference (July 27–30 in Memphis, TN).

Cristina is fine-tuning molecular assay protocols to detect soilborne pathogens of potato and is all geared up to work on viruses impacting blueberries.

Finally, Chakradhar is thankful to all the technicians at NWREC for stepping in and guiding Adam with all tasks related to potato planting and plot maintenance—an example of amazing teamwork at NWREC!

The Entomology program at the NWREC is led by Dr. Louis Nottingham (‘Louie’, he/him/his), who started in October 2022. Louie was previously at the Wenatchee TFREC since 2017, where he served as a research assistant professor and the pear entomologist. The current entomology team consists of technical staff Ben Diehl, Chris Sater, and Charles Coslor and students Molly Sayles (PhD), Adriana Barsan (MS), Claire Winslow (MS), Robert Czokajlo (MS), and Julia Gray (undergrad intern).

Ongoing projects in the Entomology lab include:

• Novel Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools for blueberry and raspberry pests including ovipositional baits and repellent clay.
• Effects of rotational crops and soil health on arthropod communities.
• Efficacy of at-plant insecticides for control of seedcorn maggot in spinach planted for seed.
• Reflective and biodegradable mulches for management of strawberry pests including aphids, mites, and thrips.
• Regional surveys of pests and beneficial insects in potatoes.
• Monitoring spread and impacts of newly establish parasitoid wasps of spotted wing drosophila.

Working with perennial crops means the Small Fruit Horticulture program remains continuously busy! Our technician team—Brian Maupin, Emma Rogers, and Ed Scheenstra—continue to provide amazing support in the field and lab. We also value the contributions of our communication specialist, Dr. Nataliya Shcherbatyuk, and new project manager, Wendy Britton. Nataliya has kicked off an amazing podcast called “Mulch Matters” (available on Spotify and Apple podcast) and is worth a listen if you have an interest in sustainable agriculture. Dr. Givemore Munashe Makonya is poised to start evaluating raspberry heat mitigation treatments in Prosser, WA and has completed promising work on biostimulants that we hope to advance. PhD graduate students Salena Helmreich (co-advised by Dr. David Crowder) and Nayab Gull (co-advised by Dr. Deirdre Griffin LaHue) are progressing on with their research on blueberry pollination and soil-biodegradable plastic mulches, respectively. Salena will soon be completing a comprehensive guide to northern highbush blueberry pollination, which should be impactful to growers and beekeepers that seek to improve pollination in this globally significant crop. Former MS graduate student, Kayla Brouwer, will also soon have her work published on the impacts of honey bee hive placement on blueberry pollination. The program is overall pleased with the collaborative work that has advanced the science and practice of blueberry pollination. MS graduate students, Ben Weiss and Aidan Williams, are likewise making contributions on mulch research and outreach with an emphasis on biobased alternatives that could be suitable for organic crop production.

In March, the Soil Health program welcomed Dr. Luis Reyes Rojas as a postdoctoral scholar to work on our State of the Soils project, funded through the WA Soil Health Initiative (WaSHI) and Climate Commitment Act. Luis is a soil pedologist with significant expertise in pedometrics (the use of statistical and mathematical approaches to understand why soils developed how and where they did). Luis’s work with us will use the State of the Soils Assessment data to create soil health capacity models and maps for Washington’s diverse soils and to understand the role of management in soil properties. Learn more about Luis in the WaSHI newsletter. We are excited to have him on board!

Our State of the Soils project team, which also launched a new open access R software package called {soils}, which allows for automatic generation of interactive soil health reports. The {soils} package code is publicly available so scientists, technical assistance providers, extension staff, etc. comfortable with using R can import data and automatically generate custom soil health reports with colorful, informative figures and descriptions of the soil health indicators. Former Soil Health postoc Dr. Teal Potter, former MS student Molly McIlquham, and PhD student Kobby Sarpong were all integral to creating the soil health report template and {soils} R package.

The rest of the Soil Health program has been hard at work with field work this spring, with our amazing technician Liz Myhre keeping things on track. PhD student Annah Young is investigating the relative soil health and weed suppression benefits of alternative rotational crops and launched a new trial comparing annual wheat to perennial wheat lines (developed by the WSU Breadlab), alfalfa, and a grass-clover cover crop. This will inform potential rotations with potatoes in our LTARE site, which is going into its 4th season.

You can get updates and resources on all of our projects at our new program website!

Spring is always a crunch time between teaching responsibilities at the end of the semester and the start of the field season, so it’s quite satisfying once grades are submitted and the crops are in the ground. Our program’s research trials have been planted on both sides of the Cascades—onions, potatoes, quinoa, spinach, and winter wheat—as has the Mount Vernon Long-Term Agroecological Research and Extension site. I’m particularly excited about the first year of our trials for a new WSDA Specialty Crop Block Grant, one looking at the relationship between soil physical health, soil moisture, and irrigation scheduling for fresh-market potatoes, and the other comparing irrigation methods for potatoes, including subsurface drip irrigation (SDI).

I’m pleased to share two new academic journal articles from my program, both led by my former graduate students. Cheyenne Sloan, who is now a Blueberry and Small Fruit Educator at Michigan State University, published our collaborative work with Dr. Lisa DeVetter on nitrogen supply from soil organic matter and implications for nitrogen management in northern highbush blueberries. Our results suggested that soil organic matter can supply a substantial amount of nitrogen, even early in the season, and that blueberry yield and quality was not very sensitive to nitrogen fertilizer application rates, even at sites with relatively lower soil organic matter. Harmony Varner, who is now a Carbon Farm Planner with New York Textile Lab, published our collaborative work with Dr. Lindsey du Toit on irrigation scheduling in spinach seed crops. We showed that vegetative growth of spinach seed crops is much more sensitive to moisture stress than seed yield, and that moisture stress can increase the severity of diseases caused by opportunistic pathogens like Stemphylium spp.

Current graduate students and undergraduates had an opportunity to present their work in the WSU Everett Showcase at the end of the spring semester. One of my current MS students, Sahil Thapa, presented his work on how nitrogen application rates impact marketable yield and bacterial bulb rot in Columbia Basin onion production. A highlight of the day was the WSU Everett Horticulture Club’s first ever plant sale, which raised over $700, and was the first thing prospective students and industry personnel saw when walking through the doors.

Our research has shown that sweetpotatoes can be grown successfully in northwest Washington, and the release of the new cultivar Cascade by USDA sweetpotato breeder Phil Wadl based on our research results provides growers with a much-needed wireworm resistant option. Cascade has red skin and unique pale yellow, dry flesh, and was rated top in tasting trials at NWREC the past few years. PhD student Laura Schulz has provided 1500 slips of several sweetpotato cultivars to 36 growers throughout our region to support farmer testing of this new crop for our region, working in collaboration with Laurel Moulton, WSU Clallam County Extension. MS student Jordan White has joined my program and her research will evaluate new sweetpotato breeding lines for suitability in our region and organic production systems.

PhD student Srijana Shrestha has propagated 14 tea plant varieties, provided by USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) and the tea research program in Mississippi. MS student McKenzie Shelton will join my program this summer and as part of her project, we will provide 2-year-old plants to Extension programs in Thurston and Snohomish counties to test suitability for forestry understory plantings, and to farmers in the region to evaluate establishment and harvest potential.

I traveled earlier this summer to Alaska along with my PhD student Alex Cornwall (Curator, USDA Plant Introduction Center, Pullman) and collected 17 new rhubarb varieties to add to the NPGS collection. Ann Kowenstrot (completed MSAg degree in my program 2023), University of Alaska, leads this project. Rhubarb is the only food crop that survives -50 °F, it is grown on homesteads throughout Alaska, and is a good source of vitamin C.

In our cider apple research orchard, MS student Seth Brawner found mechanical summer pruning by hedging successfully creates a fruiting wall suitable for the over-the-row harvester that was custom-made by Oxbow (formerly Korvan) in Lynden, WA. Mechanized pruning and harvest significantly reduce labor costs associated with growing cider apples in Washington.

See my webpages for more information on our vegetable research and cider apple research programs.

• Vegetable Horticulture
• Cider Apple Research

In December of 2024, the Vegetable Seed Pathology program celebrated two students completing their degrees:

1. PhD student, Kayla Spawton, whose dissertation was on “Ecology and Management of Stemphylium Leaf Spot of Spinach”. Dr. Spawton is now employed at the University of Idaho where she manages the Idaho Seed Potato Germplasm program. You can read about Kayla’s new position in the April 9, 2024 issue of Spudman.
2. MS in Ag student, Stephanie Crane, who’s thesis was on “Seed Transmission of Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata, and Efficacy of Bactericides for Control of the Pathogen in Beet and Swiss Chard Seed Production”. Stephanie is an Assistant Plant Pathologist at Sakata Seed America in Burlington, WA.

In fall 2023, Lindsey du Toit co-led a 12-part, online course titled ‘Seed Pathology Fundamentals: Regional to Global Implications’ that was attended by 422 registrants from 51 countries for 75 minutes each week, and which had a waiting list of >200. The recorded course continues to be offered online through the American Phytopathological Society.

The Vegetable Seed Pathology program completed the 15^th Annual Kirby Johnson Spinach Fusarium Wilt Soil Bioassay in February 2024, in which soil samples from 47 spinach seed growers’ fields in Washington were tested to quantify the risk of Fusarium wilt for seed crops planted in 2024. The team also screened 45 spinach parent lines to help seed companies understand the susceptibility of their lines to the two races of the spinach Fusarium wilt pathogen. Results of these assays were used by growers and companies to select fields in which to plant spinach seed crops in 2024. The VSP program has screened 649 fields in western Washington over 15 years.

In January 2024, Lindsey du Toit gave a keynote presentation titled “Conquering recalcitrant diseases using the art and science of plant pathology” at the 53rd Congress of the Southern African Society of Plant Pathology in Golden Gate National Park, South Africa. Lindsey gave an additional 7 presentations to vegetable farmers and stakeholders in South Africa the week after the congress, many of whom she had worked with during her 6-month sabbatical there in 2010-11.

On March 5-7, 2024, the VSP Team was pleased to host ~25 members of a USDA NIFA Specialty Crops Research Initiative project on onion bacterial diseases, called “Stop the Rot: Combating Onion Bacterial Diseases through Pathogenomic Tools and Enhanced Management Strategies”. This was the fourth annual team meeting for this team of researchers and extension specialists from 11 states and one other country, as well as onion stakeholders (growers and industry) that serve on an advisory board for the project. The team shared a year of results and discussed plans for wrapping up this $4M, 5-year project led by Lindsey du Toit. After the meeting, the team enjoyed a whale-watching tour in the Salish Sea led by Captain Trevor Derie, who has worked part-time on the Stop the Rot project.

Dr. Molly Darr was hired in October 2022 as WSU’s new Forest Health Extension Specialist. Over the last year, Molly has worked towards building her forestry Extension program in northwest Washington. Specifically, her goal is to help educate stakeholders about forest health, invasive species, and forest management in Washington. As an Extension specialist, Molly uses various forms of communication webinars, popular and peer-reviewed publications, social media, in-person visits, and online and in-person workshops to meet landowner needs. Molly is also director of the Washington chapter of the Women Owning Woodlands network.

Over the last year, Molly has focused on the following objectives:

1. Provide forest health management information to landowners/forestry professionals.
2. Improve programming access for novice and under-served forest landowners.
3. Enhance Christmas tree IPM education and support.

During the winter season, the staff operating Washington’s weather network were busy with many in-house tasks. This included the repair and recalibration of hundreds of sensors in preparation for a busy 2024 maintenance season, as well as the manufacturing of many parts needed for site construction. Time was also spent working with landowners to survey and prepare for the next ten to twelve Mesonet site builds. Our aim for 2024 is to increase the number of these sites to 60.

In the spring of 2024, we completed maintenance on all 225 weather stations that we manage. A trip was made to Pullman, to install the second weighing style rain gauge at the test bed located at Spillman Farm. Work was performed retrofitting and installing several new air quality sensors at sites in Seattle, Montesano, Tumwater, Vancouver, Sequim, and Plain. One new Mesonet site was constructed in Clyde, WA in May. And a property issue forced the removal of the Sunnyside site.

Work on our website redesign is ongoing. The table and meteogram portion of the site has been consolidated into a single webpage and the meteogram improved to conform to emerging standards. A timelapse satellite image and a gradient map of the surface weather data has been added to the front page. Outreach on many of these changes has been conducted with users and stakeholders during monthly informative online sessions.

The USDA-ARS Small Fruit Pathology Program (USDA-ARS SFP) located at the WSU-NWREC in Mt. Vernon, WA, conducts research on diseases of small fruits in northern Washington, with a focus on diseases of red raspberry and blueberry. This research program also provides enhanced technical support and services to multiple USDA-ARS scientists in the Horticultural Crops Disease & Pest Management Unit and the Genetics & Plant Improvement Unit co-located in Corvallis, Oregon.

We have a lot to highlight moving rapidly into this 2024 field season! Our work on berry diseases continues with the support from the Washington State Red Raspberry and Blueberry commissions, the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research and regional growers. Throughout this season we continue to test samples from our curated Botrytis collection, (the fungus that causes gray mold of red raspberry and blueberry) for resistance to specific fungicide chemistries. This information benefits growers as they design their disease management programs. We have deployed fungal spore-collection traps in cooperative growers’ fields throughout Northwestern Washington and are studying the role of overwintering Cane Botrytis lesions as a primary inoculum source for Botrytis in red raspberry fields. This collaborative work involving USDA-ARS Corvallis, OR (V. Stockwell), Pacific Berries Inc. (L. Jones) and WSU-Mount Vernon (C. Mattupalli), uses DNA markers as tools to track and compare Botrytis lineages found in spores produced from sclerotia on Cane Botrytis lesions in the winter to early spring months to the fungus found in flowers and seen as gray mold of red raspberries later in the season. Understanding the early-season sources of Botrytis in fields may lead to new intervention methods to improve control of gray mold.

In addition, we continue our collaborative Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) of current and upcoming red raspberry cultivars in respect to disease response. Working closely with researchers from WSU-Puyallup, WSU-Mt. Vernon (W. Hoashi-Erhardt), British Columbia Berry Cultivar Development Inc. (M. Dossett), and USDA-ARS Corvallis, OR (I. Zasada, M. Hardigan), the study aims to develop genomic prediction and high-throughput phenotyping technologies to assist with the breeding efforts to mitigate root lesion nematode pathogen pressure in commercial red raspberry fields. We are also pleased to announce additional grant funding for this research has been provided through the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Lastly, we bid farewell and say thank you to our full-time lab assistant William Bieker, who is leaving our lab to begin graduate studies at the University of New Mexico.

In October 2023, we hired Dr. Charlie Coslor, Pest Biologist with the Skagit County Horticultural Pest Control Board, to initiate weed control studies at NWREC and address immediate grower needs. In Spring 2024, Charlie transitioned to Dr. Louie Nottingham’s Entomology program at NWREC. The search to fill the Weed Science position is now on hold, but Charlie provided us with an overview of primary weeds that growers in our region feel need to be addressed. We are in discussion with Dr. Ian Burke, WSU Weed Scientist, about the potential to recruit a graduate student at NWREC to work under his leadership to target some weed management research needs.

Graduate Student Updates

• Roshani Baral (MS) will be completing her Master of Science in Plant Pathology this Summer. Her thesis was titled, “Monitoring Botrytis fungicide resistance on blueberries in Washington and Oregon” and Roshani has enrolled in a PhD program in Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
• Seth Brawner (MS) will complete his Master of Science in Vegetable Horticulture in summer 2024. His thesis was titled, “Mechanization in the cider apple orchard to reduce labor time” and he will begin a new position as an Organic Inspector with the WSDA in August 2024.
• Stephanie Crane (MSAg), whose thesis was on “Seed Transmission of Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata, and Efficacy of Bactericides for Control of the Pathogen in Beet and Swiss Chard Seed Production” completed her master’s degree in Agriculture. Stephanie is an Assistant Plant Pathologist at Sakata Seed America in Burlington, WA.
• Laura Flandermeyer (MS) completed her Master of Science in Entomology in May of 2024, on “Sampling and management of X-Disease phytoplasma and vectors” advised by Louis Nottingham and Tobin Northfield. Laura is currently a manager at University of Wisconsin’s digital entomology lab.
• Ann Kowenstrot (MSAg) completed her Master of Science non-thesis degree in December 2023. Her project report was titled “Rhubarb research in Alaska and recocommended varieties for commercial production.”  Ann is moving from her University of Alaska position to a new position at University of Wisconsin as technician for new crops research.
• Kayla Spawton (PhD), whose dissertation was on “Ecology and Management of Stemphylium Leaf Spot of Spinach” completed her doctorate in Plant Pathology in 2023. Dr. Spawton is now employed as a Director at the University of Idaho, where she manages the Idaho Seed Potato Germplasm program. You can read about Kayla’s new position in the April 9, 2024 issue of Spudman.

New Arrivals

Graduate Students

• Jordan White (MS) in Vegetable Horticulture, will be working on sweetpotatoes and will serve as TA for the practicum class in Organic and Sustainable Agriculture.
• McKenzie Shelton (MS) in Vegetable Horticulture, will be working on tea plant propagation and assessing pest presence in tea plants growing in the Pacific Northest.

Staff

• Roger Parkey, Maintenance Mechanic 2

Awards

Graduate Students

• Soil Health PhD student Annah Young and postdoc Luis Reyes Rojas attended the Canadian Society of Soil Science conference in June 2024, and Annah won 3rd place for the President’s Award for her poster presentation on “The impacts of integrating buckwheat and wheat in vegetable crop rotations of Western Washington”.
• Roshani Baral, MS student in Chakradhar Mattupalli’s Blueberry and Potato Pathology program, won first prize in the student poster competition at the Pacific Division Annual Meeting of the American Phytopathological Society in Corvallis, OR. Roshani’s poster was titled “Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Botrytis cinerea from blueberry fields in the Pacific Northwest for tolerance to SDHI fungicides” and was co-authored by Roshani Baral, Jeffery A. DeLong, Virginia O. Stockwell, and Chakradhar Mattupalli.
• Laura Schulz received an FFAR Fellowship 2024-2027. The Fellowship provides early career food and agricultural scientists with professional development and soft-skills training.

General Administration Staff

Congratulations to Jennifer Buckles, who received this year’s CAHNRS Classified Clerical/ Fiscal Staff Excellent Award on April 11, 2024! Although Jennifer has only been with us at WSU for a few years, she has learned her work thoroughly and always knows how to find the answer to all the questions that come her way. With staff turnover in the front office shortly after she was hired, Jennifer seamlessly took on the role of Administrative Assistant for several months while quickly learning her new duties as Fiscal Specialist 2. Jennifer continues to unhesitatingly take on additional duties and responsibilities with grace and skill. She approaches her daily work with enthusiasm and dedication, displaying a strong work ethic, team-first attitude, and loyalty to WSU’s ethical principles. She manages multiple projects concurrently with strong attention to detail, problem-solving, and follow-through. Jennifer always goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure she provides the highest level of support for all of us while enhancing workplace morale. She cares about the people she works with, making everyone feel heard, respected, and supported, while providing top-notch service and quality work.

Jennifer embodies the CAHNRS Cougar Spirit: she is dedicated, hardworking, professional, consistent, detail-oriented, highly skilled, and responsive. She is an outstanding team member and steps up to lead from within whenever needed. We are very proud of you, Jennifer! Thank you for being such a wonderful colleague and friend!

Length of Service Milestones

Congratulations to our Length of Service recipients:

• Irene Darnell, 5 years
• Dan Gorton, 25 years
• Lindsey du Toit, 25 years
• Liz Myhre, 35 years
• Mike Derie, 38 years

For those of us who have chosen WSU for our careers, it is a pleasure to see others who have made the same decision, to build our work lives around this institution and at our research center. This is a wonderful place to work because of all the friendly and supportive people who work here, and we should never take for granted how lucky we are to share workspace all together.

• Ahmad, W., L.W. DeVetter, D. McFadden, B. Maupin, D. Bajwa, A. Durado, S. Weyers, S.P. Galinato, B. Weiss, and G. Gramig. 2024. Hydromulches suppress weed emergence for organic strawberry production. Frontiers in Agronomy. In press.
• Avila, L., C. McCullough, A. Schiffer, J. Moreno, N. Ganjur, Z. Ofenlock, T. DuPont, L. B. Nottingham, N. Gerardo, B. Brosi. 2024. Effects of a Field-sprayed Antibiotic on Bee Foraging Behavior and Pollination in Pear Orchards. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 359: 108757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108757
• Carroll, J.L., S.T. Orr, C. Benedict, L.W. DeVetter, and D.R. Bryla. 2024. Feasibility of using pulse drip irrigation for increasing growth, yield, and water productivity of red raspberry. HortScience. 59:332-339. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17467-23.
• Clarke, A. E., K. A. Catron, C. Reyes-Correl, A. T. Marshall, C. G. Adams, W. R. Cooper, S. J. Harper, L. B. Nottingham, T. D. Northfield. 2024. Colladonus spp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Vectors of X-disease: Biology and Management in Western United States. J. Integr. Pest Manag. 15.
• Cooper, W., W. B. Walker III, G. M. Angelella, K. D. Swisher-Grimm, J. J. Foutz, S. J. Harper, L. B. Nottingham, T. D. Northfield, C. H. Wohleb, and C. A. Strausbaugh. 2023. Bacterial Endosymbionts Identified from Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Vectors of Phytoplasmas. Environ. Entomol. 52: 243-253. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvad015
• Curtiss, R. T., L. B. Nottingham, L. J. Gut. 2023. Estimating Plume Reach and Trapping Radii for Male and Female Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Captured in Pheromone/kairomone Baited Traps in Washington State Apple Orchards Under Mating Disruption. J. Econ. Entomol. 116: 1592-1603. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad167
• DuPont, S. T., C. Strohm, C. Kogan, R. Hilton, L. B. Nottingham, R. Orpet. 2023. Pear Psylla and Natural Enemy Thresholds for Successful Integrated Pest Management in Pears. J. Econ. Entomol. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad101
• Eeraerts, M., S. Chabert, L.W. DeVetter, P. Batáry, J. Ternest, K. Verheyen, K. Bobiwash, K. Brouwer, D. Garcia, A. de Groot, J. Gibbs, L. Goldstein, D. Kleijn, A. Melathopoulos, S.Z. Miller, M. Miñarro, A. Montero-Castaño, C. Nicholson, J.A. Perkins, N. Raine, S. Rao, J. Reilly, T. Ricketts, E. Rogers, and R. Isaacs. 2024. Pollination deficits and their relation with insect pollinator visitation are cultivar-dependent in an entomophilous crop. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 369:109036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.109036.
• Grunwald, N., Altendorf, K., Chang, J., de Souza, A., Del Ponte, E., du Toit, L., Dorrance, A., Dung, J., Gent, D., Goss, E., Power, T., Madden, L., Martin, F., McDowell, J., Naegele, R., Potnis, N., Quesada-Ocampo, L., Sundin, G., Thiessen, L., Vinatzer, B., and Zeng, Q. 2024. Open Access and reproducibility in plant pathology research: Guidelines and best practices. Phytopathology 114:910-916.
• Hanel, A., R. J. Orpet, R. Hilton, L. B. Nottingham, T. D. Northfield, and R. Schmidt-Jeffris. 2023. Turning a Pest into a Natural Enemy: Removing Earwigs from Stone Fruit and Releasing Them in Pome Fruit Enhances Pest Control. Insects 14(12). 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14120906
• Harper, S. J., T. D. Northfield, L. B. Nottingham, K. Catron, S. T. DuPont, M. K. Shires, A. A. Wright, C. Molnar, W. R. Cooper. 2023. Recovery Plan for X-disease in Stonefruit Caused by Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni. Plant Health Prog. 24: 258-295. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-02-23-0016-RP *Editor’s Choice Winner*
• Hartshorn, J., M.N. Darr, E.G. Brockerhoff, B. Ganley, and M. Marzano. 2023. Attracting and retaining women in forest entomology and forest pathology. For Policy Econ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103022
• Ilyas, U., du Toit, L.J., Hajibabaei, M., and McDonald, M.R. 2024. Influence of plant species, mycorrhizal inoculant, and soil phosphorus level on arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in onion and carrot roots. Frontiers in Plant Science 14:1324626.
• Jocson, D. M., M. Gonzales, D. R. Horton, L. B. Nottingham, E. H. Beers, L. C. Oeller, D. W. Crowder. 2023. Characterizing Substrate-borne Vibrational Mating Signals Produced by Pear Psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). J. Insect Behav. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-023-09839-2
• Liakos, C., Ibanez, V., Lebre, P.H., Derie, M.L., van der Waals, J., du Toit, L.J., Dutta, B., Kvitko, B., Cowan, D.A., and Coutinho, T.A. 2024. The bacterial and viral communities associated with onion bacterial bulb rot. Phytobiomes: PBIOMES-11-23-0121-R.R1.
• Marshall, A. T., T. D. Melton, G. Bishop, A. E. Clarke, C. A. Reyes-Corral, K. A. Catron, L. B. Nottingham, and T. D. Northfield. 2024. Cultural Control Methods Improve Management of Leafhopper Vector of X-disease. Crop Prot. 175: 106445 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106445
• Orpet, R. J., E. H. Beers, S. T. DuPont, R. Hilton, L. A. Kalcsits, L. B. Nottingham. 2023. Evaluation of Reflective Groundcovers for Pest and Fruit Quality Management in Commercial Pear Orchards. J. Appl. Entomol. 147: 379-391. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13123
• Roberts, E.S., R. Bomberger, M. Darr, J. Glass, J. Hulbert and K. Zobrist. 2023. Managing Emerald Ash Borer in Washington State. Washington State University Extension FS384. https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/managing-emerald-ash-borer-in-washington-state
• Roberts, E.S., R. Bomberger, M. Darr, J. Hulbert, K. Zobrist and J. Glass. 2023. Emerald Ash Borer and Its Implications for Washington State. Washington State University Extension EM127. https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/emerald-ash-borer-and-its-implications-for-washington-state
• Sarpong, K.A., F.A. Adesina, L.W. DeVetter, K. Zhang, K. DeWhitt, K.R. Englund, and C.A. Miles. 2024. Recycling agricultural plastic mulch: Limitations and opportunities in the United States. Circular Agricultural Systems. 4:e005 doi: 10.48130/cas-0024-0003 s.
• Simon, P., Rolling, W., Senalik, D., Dawson, J., Tanimuhardjo, S., Spalding, E., Iorrizo, M., Van Deynze, A., Hill, T., Sumner, D., Goodrich, B., Ullman, K., Roberts, P., du Toit, L., Waters, T., Colley, M., McKenzie, L., Sidhu, J., Diaz, J., and Meng, Y. 2024. The carrot SCRI project taps into carrot diversity to develop genetic and genomic resources, evaluate nutrient bioavailability, and assess factors influencing grower and consumer decisions. ActaHorticulturae 1393:277-286.
• Sloan, C., L.W. DeVetter, D. Griffin-LaHue, C. Benedict, D.R. Bryla, G.T. LaHue. 2024. Nitrogen supply from soil organic matter: predictors and implications for nutrient management in northern highbush blueberry. HortScience. 59(6):725-735. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17632-23.
• Spawton, K.A., and du Toit, L.J. 2024. Prevalence of FRAC group 11 fungicide resistance in Stemphylium vesicarium isolates, but not S. beticola isolates, causing Stemphylium leaf spot of spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Plant Disease: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-23-2328-RE.
• Spawton, K. A., Stein, L. A., and du Toit, L. J. 2024. Evaluation of spinach cultivars for resistance to Stemphylium leaf spot (Stemphylium vesicarium) and white rust (Albugo occidentalis). HortScience 59:51-63.
• Testen, A. L., Puri, P., Shaw, R. S., Domsic, E. C., Griffin LaHue, D., Murphy, K. M., and Mattupalli, C. 2024. A quantitative real-time PCR method to detect the quinoa downy mildew pathogen, Peronospora variabilis. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-23-2308-RE
• Varner, H., Myhre, L., Schacht, B., Spawton, K., du Toit, L. J., Derie, M. L., and LaHue, G. 2024. Irrigation scheduling impacts vegetative growth, seed yield, and diseases of spinach seed crops in a maritime Mediterranean climate. HortScience 59(6):820-830.
• Varner H., Schultz J., du Toit L., Spawton K., Schacht B., Myhre L., and G.T. LaHue. 2024. Impacts of irrigation timing and quantity on spinach seed yield, vegetative growth, and Stemphylium leaf spot. HortScience. 59:820–830. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17661-23
• Wang, P., M. Hur, L.W. DeVetter, F. Takeda, and J. Chen. 2024. Formation/removal of biofilms on/from coupons of selected food-grade elastomeric polymers vs. plexiglass used for the fruit-catching plates of OTR blueberry machine harvesters. Hygiene. 4:146-156. https://doi.org/10.3390/hygiene4020011.
• Weiland, J.E., C.F. Scagel, C.B. Benedict, L.W. DeVetter, and B.R. Beck. 2024. Fungicide sensitivity of Phytophthora rubi isolates from the Pacific Northwest red raspberry industry. Plant Disease. (ja) https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-23-2641-RE.
• Wilson R., Aegerter B., and G.T. LaHue. In Press. The influence of sprinkler and drip irrigation on the incidence and severity of bacterial disease in onions grown in northeast California. Plant Health Prog. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-01-24-0002-RS
• Zilnik, G., W. R. Cooper, D. Horton, R. Orpet, L. B. Nottingham, R. Hilton, C. Adams, K. Dickens, S. Halbert, J. Snyder, R. Schmidt-Jeffris. 2023. Seasonal activity of Trechnites insidiosus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and its host Cacopsylla pyricola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in pear. J. Econ. Entomol. (Online preprint) 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad199

• DeVetter, L.W., M. Milbrath, and R. Isaacs. 2024. Ways blueberry growers can best maximize pollination in their fields. Growing Produce. https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/berries/how-blueberry-growers-can-best-maximize-pollination-in-their-fields/.
• Silva, A.D.D., S. Orr, M. Kraft, M. Hardigan, B. Maupin, R. Pio, D.R. Bryla, and L.W W. DeVetter. 2024. Calcium accumulation in developing fruits of raspberry and blackberry. Acta. Hort. In XIII International Rubus and Ribes Symposium. 1388:339-346. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1388.49.
• Rader, R., L. Schmidt, M. Rocchetti, D. Wright, K. Bezerra da Silva Santos, A. Dingley, J. Preradovic, J. Jones, B. Dawson, L.W. DeVetter, D.J. Perović, and A.E. Davis. 2024. Future-proofing the pollination services to insect-pollinated crop production. Acta. Hort. In XIII International Rubus and Ribes Symposium. 1388:17-36. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1388.3.
• Manganaris, G.A., N. Valanides, R. Gohari, J. Milivojevic, L.W. DeVetter, and V. Fotopoulos. 2024. Exploring the potential of priming agents towards enhanced performance of Rubus species. Acta. Hort. In XIII International Rubus and Ribes Symposium. 1388:7-16. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1388.2.